The Institute of Balkan Studies & Professor Alexander Fol Centre of Thracology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), with the support of the INFRAMAT Project and with the cooperation of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum of BAS, the Regional History of Sofia Museum, the Regional Archaeological Museum in Plovdiv and the Ministry of Culture are pleased to show the exhibition Cinnabar – the Royal Colour in Thracian and Roman Culture in the Bulgarian Lands, 2-16 March 2021, in the Sredets Art Gallery, 17, Alexander Stamboliyski Blvd. in Sofia. Numerous sacral buildings with colour decoration have been examined.

The pigments used for very few of them have been tested. They follow entirely the pattern of the Mediterranean context for decoration of monumental constructions. Cinnabar is extremely precious and is charged with definite meanings and functions that can be revealed more comprehensively only through complex research that is predetermined by its qualities. The exhibition presents some of the most impressive sacral sites of Thracian and Roman culture in the Bulgarian lands, where the use of cinnabar has been documented or tests of the pigments used have been planned.