Between the 28th and 30th of June, 2024, Burgas witnessed the first PALEOFEST organised by the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, in partnership with the Regional Historical Museum of Burgas and the Burgas Municipality.
The event attracted a diverse audience with its programme of popular science lectures regarding the latest world-class discoveries by Bulgarian scientists in the areas of palaeontology and palaeoanthropology. Lecturers at the festival were Prof. Nikolai Spassov, Assoc. Prof. Latinka Hristova, Assoc. Prof. Georgi Markov, and Assist. Vladimir Nikolov of the NMNHS, Prof. Madelaine Böhme (Tübingen University, Germany), Prof. Marlena Yaneva (Geological Institute — Bulgarian Academy of Sciences), Assoc. Prof. Docho Dochev (Sofia University), and Assoc. Prof. Boris Valchev (University of Mining and Geology). The palaeontologists discussed the dinosaur remains found in Bulgaria and the studies of ancient giants — mastodons, horses and their ancient relatives the hipparions, and the earliest representatives of upright primates, on their way towards humanity. The geologists presented interesting facts about the geological heritage of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
The event also included two palaeontological exhibitions, presenting the ancient fauna which inhabited our lands, the first pre-humans, and the role of the Balkans in human evolution.
The Burgas Natural History Museum holds the visiting exhibition of NMNHS “The ancient Balkans and the origins of the African savannah.” Visitors can see interesting fossils, among which the jaw of a young deinothere found at the location of the modern central Bogoridi street. The exhibition will continue until the end of September, 2024.
The visiting NMNHS exhibition “The first steps of mankind” was presented at the Cultural Centre ‘Sea Casino’, showcasing ancient local fauna and the first pre-humans. The specimens included unique, hitherto unseen by the Bulgarian public fossils and an anatomically exact copy of the skeleton of Lucy the Australopithecus.
An open dinosaur art lesson “Palaeoart: A Window to the Prehistoric World” took place at the Flora Expo Centre, led by Assist. Vladimir Nikolov of NMNHS. It attracted the youngest audience with one of the most popular dinosaurs, known for its role in the dinosaur-thriller ‘Jurassic Park’ — the predatory Velociraptor.