On May 19, 2026, in the national press club of BTA - Sofia, a final press conference was held under the project of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) "Epochs of History - Integration of Genetic Methods in Historical Research", funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science. The results of the implementation were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Todor Chobanov, head of the project, and the team members, Assist. Prof. Dr. Desislava Nesheva and Svetoslav Stamov.

Using the latest scientific methods, the project sequenced DNA samples from Bulgarian lands and analyzed them in the context of already sequenced ancient DNA samples from Eurasia. The project aims to contextualize, interpret, and integrate the new data in light of existing historical and archaeological research on the questions raised by the study.

The project team brings together historians, archaeologists, geneticists, anthropologists, and specialists in the fields of bioinformatics and isotope analysis to establish standards for the historical interpretation of genetic data and for the integration of paleogenetic information into the historical narrative of the past of the Balkans and Bulgaria. The interpretation of genetic data is done by an interdisciplinary team that works together throughout the process.

The team members presented the results of the project related to sequenced genomes, built databases, and implemented and prepared publications. Results from the sequenced large number of genomes of individuals from the period of the First Bulgarian Kingdom are also presented for the first time. The main questions to which the study seeks answers are related to the origin, ancestral homeland, and migration route of the Proto-Bulgarians, as well as the origin, ancestral homeland, and migration route of the South Slavs.

It is planned that the results of the project will be presented in a joint publication with Harvard University in leading scientific journals, as well as be disseminated among the global and Bulgarian academic community.