Lamps from a church near the Veseloe village

The finds from excavations of a church near the Veseloe village include a small number of sherds from glass hanging lamps. Their examination provided an opportunity to reconstruct their form. The lamps have a bell-shaped neck, a round body and small loop handles with a distinctive holding. The Veseloe lamps find analogies among similar items from Iran, Syria and Egypt. This fact is consistent with the time of the church functioning which falls within the third quarter of the 9th century - first half of the 11th century. The finds from Veseloe demonstrate that the lamps in question were used to illuminate not only mosques but also Christian churches which appeared under the influence of Byzantine culture in the Northeastern Pontic region.