International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Robert Mihajlovski
La Trobe University, Melbourne VIC, Australia; 
[e-mail]
Byzantine Seals from the Fortress ‘Kale’ in Skopje Discovered during the 
Archaeological Excavations in the Period between 2007 and 2012
The Byzantine seals found in the fortress of ‘Kale’ in Skopje are the largest collection of such 
items in the Republic of Macedonia. It includes some eighty lead seals discovered in archaeological 
excavations in the period between 2007 and 2012. This collection represents an important and 
authentic epigraphic source shedding additional light on the history of Byzantine and pre-Ottoman 
Skopje and its surrounds. The prominence of the Byzantine fortress of ‘Kale’ at Skopje was due to its 
excellent strategic position, on the crossroad of the Morava-Vardar corridor and it was connected 
with the Adriatic coast on the west, the Via Militaris on the east, and the Via Egnatia on the southwest.
As it happens, the chronological sequence was frequently interrupted. Last moment finds 
indicate that this collection of almost eighty Byzantine seals is neither final nor exhaustive. There 
follows a study supported by the Museum of Macedonia in Skopje and a catalogue of these rare 
sigillographic finds which aims to enrich Byzantine prosopography with new personalities; with 
new and hitherto unknown information, and a bulk of unique sfragistic data containing imperial, 
administrative, military and clerical representatives. The finds of Byzantine, Bulgarian and Venetian 
seals at the ‘Kale’ fortress are setting new frontiers for the medieval history of the Balkans and the 
Byzantine world.

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845
Nikolay Kanev
University of Veliko Tarnovo “Ss. Cyril and Methodius”, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria; 
[e-mail]
A Lead Seal of the Latin Emperor of Constantinople Baldwin II 
Discovered in Bulgaria
The aim of this communication is to present a newly discovered lead seal of the last Latin 
Emperor of Constantinople Baldwin II (1228-1261). The molybdobul comes from the area near 
the town of Popovo, Targovishte Region. It is not particularly well preserved as it is pierced and 
partially truncated, which suggests that at some point it was used second-hand as part of a necklace 
or “medallion” worn round the neck, and after that maybe even used third-hand as a lead weight. In 
its present truncated state its dimensions are: height 31 mm, length 32.7 mm, weight 35.30 g.
The obverse of the seal shows the emperor in full size with divitision and loros, sitting on a 
throne without a backrest with a crown (
stemma
) with pendilia, holding a labarum in his right 
hand. Around the image can be seen traces of a circular inscription in Latin, between two lines: