Archaeology: Mausoleum of Ottoman conqueror found at Perperikon

Archaeologists working at Bulgaria's ancient sacred site of Perperikon have found a mausoleum, with a sarcophagus inside containing a human skeleton believed to be that of a 14th century Ottoman conqueror, Bulgarian National Radio reported.

The building is oval, with a diameter of eight metres.

The skeleton was found to have been laid out in accordance with Muslim custom, the document said.

The remains are said to be those of Izrail, who in the 14th century led to a force of 300 soldiers to the site, then of the most powerful fortresses in Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains.

According to leading Bulgarian archaeologist Professor Nikolai Ovcharov, the find opens a historicallyin the past unknown page in the history of Perperikon and of the early Ottoman empire.

Dozens of silver coins from the Ottoman period were found next to the mausoleum.

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