Miglena Stamberova, PhD in Archaeology since 2012. In the period 2012-2015 she worked as an independent researcher. Currently she works for the Department “Exhibitions” in the National Archaeological Institute with Museum in Sofia. Miglena is interested in Archaeology, Cultural heritage and Тourism. She speak English and Italian.
Archaeology during the Communism in Bulgaria
My research presents the impact of the political on the archaeology during the communist period in Bulgaria. It is innovative one as there is no detailed study on the relationship between archaeology and politics and the impact of politics on archaeology so far. The first significant discoveries were related to the large-scale construction undertaken by the communist regime in the late 1940s. The initial few years of the interaction between the archaeology and the politics were very problematic as marked by the belief that the old should not stand on the way of the new. Bulgarian archaeologists were forced to declare a course of integration with the Soviet science and the contact with Western science was completely cut off. After the difficult years of adaptation, the regime realized that the rich cultural heritage of the country could be advantage. Archaeology very often was used to reinforce the political regime, with emphasis on its nationalism and populism. Examples of this can be seen in the organized traveling exhibitions with the Thracian treasures abroad, the events for the 1,300th anniversary of the founding of the Bulgarian state in 1981 etc. The collapse of the communist regime has changed the direction of development of archaeology. However, many of the ideological trends from the recent past could be seen even today. One of the significant is the reconstruction of historical sites, fortress and buildings.