Archaeologists from the National History Museum, presided over by Assoc. Prof. Ivan Hristov, PhD, have recently discovered the long-sought Roman roadside station Sostra – on the road to Eskus (the present-day village of Guiguen, Pleven region) next to Philippopolis (Plovdiv). The site investigation was made possible through the generous financial assistance of „Trace Group Hold“ PLC.
The station was an important recreation venue for dignitaries (including imperial nobility). The remnants were discovered in the neighborhood of Lomesh inns next to the confluence of Lomesh and Osam rivers. These are three large, chain-arranged rooms in the northeastern part of the station with a total area of 2,000 sq. metres. They were once heated by a hypocaust system, where the hot air used to warm up not only the floors, but the walls as well. A pool for hot water (caldarium) was built adjacent to the rooms and it has been preserved until the present day to its original height of 1.20 meters. It has seats and benches in the niches. Ivan Hristov has discovered a complex system of channels, laid with courses of mortared bricks. There must have been water flowing along them that had been diverted from the nearby river of Osam. At the bottom of one of the channels the archaeologists have found valuable objects, including terracotta head of Pan god, bone needles, gold jewellery fragments and coins.