National Institute of Archaeology

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ National Institute of Archaeology with Museum encompasses the whole study of the civilization of tribes and peoples who populated present-day Bulgaria from the distant past until the 18th century. NIAM-BAS is a national agency that coordinates all field research in Bulgaria and has academic and methodological authority over it. The Museum of Archaeology has the most extensive collections in Bulgaria, and its displays demonstrate that it is one of the most significant institutions in the nation for promoting modern Bulgaria’s cultural legacy. Because of its academic and museum potential, NIAM-BAS has grown to become the largest research archaeological unit in Southeast Europe. NIAM-BAS was founded in 1949 as a follower and successor of the Department of Valuables, which was part of the Sofia Library in 1878-1879 and was reorganized into a National Museum in 1892, and the Bulgarian Institution of Archaeology (1921), which was Bulgaria’s first academic institute.

There are four ongoing exhibitions:

The Prehistory Hall has artifacts from Bulgaria’s Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Middle Bronze Ages.

The Central Hall spans the Late Bronze Age to the Late Middle Ages, and so encompasses Thracian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian, and Ottoman people and civilizations.

The Middle Ages Hall has Bulgaria’s most extensive collection of Middle Ages art, including some of the best Medieval wall paintings.

The Vault is intended to showcase the magnificent antique riches for which Bulgaria is famous.