FOUNDERS
IVAN VASILEV
DR ANGELA PENCHEVA
DR NAYDEN PRAHOV
BOARD of Trustees
IVAN VASILEV
DR ANGELA PENCHEVA
ALBENA THEODOROVA
ELENA VASILEVA
CEO
IVAN VASILEV
Founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Balkan Heritage Foundation, BHFS Instructor
Adjunct Professor and Ph.D. Candidate in Medieval Archaeology, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria. Chair of the Bilateral (Bulgarian-US) Commission for Preservation of Cultural Heritage of Bulgaria.
Research interests: Cultural Heritage Management; Medieval Balkan Archaeology & History; Architecture & Arts of Eastern Christianity.
Programme director
Dr Angela Pencheva
Founder, BHFS Program Director, Member of the Board of Directors of Balkan Heritage Foundation, BHFS Instructor
Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology, Humboldt University, Germany. Adjunct Professor, CPCE, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria. ICCM Board Member.
Research interests: Late Classical & Hellenistic Archaeology & History of the Balkans; Cultural Heritage Management; Ancient Mosaic Conservation.
TEAM
Chriselpida Kamma
Admissions & Administrative Officer
Ph.D. Candidate in History at Sofia University.
Research interests: Culturology, Medieval history and archaeology, Cultural heritage management and marketing
Lyuba Manoilova
Balkan Heritage Foundation Program and Office Assistant
Ph.d. Candidate in physical anthropology at Institute for Experimental Morphology, Pathology and Anthropology with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Research interests: Classical archaeology, Late Antiquity, Osteoarchaeology, Paleopathology.
Kamelia Kalaydjieva
Chief Accountant
Svilen Ovcharov
Аttorney-at-law
BAR registration since 2003 under No. 1000024763 of the Bulgarian Bar Association.
DR MATTHEW SCHUELLER
Representative of BHFS in USA & Canada and BHFS instructor
Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
Research interests: Roman Macedonian & Thracian Archaeology. Roman Architecture & Cultural Dialogue.
Eduard Baltov
Office & Project Assistant
Anton Chalakov
Project Assistant
Professional Photographer and Marketing Specialist.
BRANCH MANAGERS
DR ANGELA PENCHEVA
Branch Manager – Sofia
SVILEN OVCHAROV
Branch Manager – Mezek
LYUBA MANOILOVA
Branch Manager – Emona
DR VASSIL TENEKEDJIEV
Branch Manager – Varna
DR STANISLAV STANEV
Branch Manager – Dragoman
Advisory Board
Dr Nayden Prahov
Founder, Chairman of the Advisory Board
Ph.D. in Archaeology, Sofia University, Bulgaria; Assistant Professor, National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Adjunct Professor, CPCE, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria.
Research interests: Underwater and Maritime Archaeology; Predictive Modeling and Spatial Analyses in Archaeology.
Alexander Manev
BHFS Instructor, Dig Director and Coordinator
Ph.D. Candidate in Archaeology, Department of Classical Archaeology, National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Research interests: Late Antiquity & Early Christian Archaeology & History; Ecclesiastic Architecture.
Dr Alexey Gotsev
BHFS Advisory Board, Dig Director and Instructor
Ph.D. in Archaeology; Associate Professor at the Department of Thracian Archaeology, National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Research interests: Archaeology of the Classical Antiquity and Ancient Thrace.
DR VASSIL TENEKEDJIEV
Balkan Heritage Foundation Branch Manager – Varna, BHFS Instructor
Ph.D. in Archaeology, Sofia University, Bulgaria; Archaeologist, Assistant professor at the Department of Archaeology, Varna Regional Museum of History.
Research Interests: Late Antiquity & Early Christian Archaeology & History; Christian Art; Orthodox Iconography.
GAVRAIL LAZOV
BHFS instructor
MA in Archaeology, Sofia University, Bulgaria; Former Director of the Archaeology Department of National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Science; Visiting professor at the National Academy of Arts, Bulgaria.
Research Interests: Thracian Archaeology & History.
Dr Darko Stojanovski
BHFS Co-Dig Director, Coordinator & Instructor
Ph.D. in Quaternary and Prehistory, University of Ferrara, Italy.
Research Interests: European Prehistory & Neolithisation; Balkan Neolithic; Population Dispersal in Pleistocene Europe; Neanderthal Mobility Patterns and Behaviour; Middle Palaeolithic Stone Tool Technology.
DR EVELINA TODOROVA
BHFS Instructor
Ph.D. in Archaeology, Sofia University, Bulgaria; Assistant professor at the Department of Medieval Archaeology, National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Research interests: Byzantine and Medieval Balkan Archaeology; Medieval Pottery; Medieval Jewelry; Burial Practices in Medieval Balkans.
DR GEORGE BEVAN
BHFS Instructor
Ph.D. in Classics, University of Toronto; Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada; Cross-appointment to the Departments of Art History and Classics at Queen’s University.
Research interests: Late Antique History and Archaeology; Epigraphy; GIS; UAV Mapping; Photogrammetry.
Prof. Dr Ivan Gatsov
Archaeologist and Traceologist
Department of Archaeology, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria.
DR KAMEN BOYADZHIEV
BHFS Coordinator, Dig Co-Director and Instructor
Ph.D. in Archaeology; Archaeologist and Head of the Exhibitions’ Department at the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Research interests: Prehistory and Prehistoric Archaeology; Prehistoric Weapons and Tools; Warfare in Prehistory; Prehistoric Stone Artifacts.
DR KRASTINA PANAYOTOVA
BHFS Dig Director and Instructor
Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Classical Archeology, National Institute of Archeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Ph.D. in Archeology, Sofia University, Bulgaria.
Research interests: Ancient Greek Archaeology; Greek Colonies on the Black Sea Coast; Funerary Practices and Traditions of the Ancient Greeks Apoikaas.
DR LIDIA DOMARADZKA
BHFS Consultant & Visiting Instructor
Ph.D. in Classical Philology and Visiting professor, Sofia University, Bulgaria; President of the “Pistiros” Association. Epigraphist in Greek & Latin. Former Teacher at the National School for Ancient Languages and Cultures “Constantine-Cyril Philosopher”, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Research Interests: Ancient Greek & Roman Coinage; Epigraphic Monuments.
DR MAŁGORZATA GRĘBSKA-KULOVA
BHFS Consultant
PhD in Archaeology, National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Archaeologist, curator and research fellow at the Department of Archaeology, Blagoevgrad Regional Museum of History; Visiting professor at South-West University, Bulgaria.
DR SILVANA BLAZHEVSKA
BHFS Dig Director
Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology, Skopje University, North Macedonia. Archeologist & Curator of National Institution Stobi.
Research interests: Classical and Roman archaeology; Religion & Cult.
DR Teodora Bogdanova
BHFS Deputy Dig Director and Instructor
Ph.D. in Archaeology at the National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Curator at Museum of Archaeology – Sozopol, Bulgaria; Adjunct Professor, CPCE, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria.
Research interests: Ancient Greek Colonization along the Black Sea Coast; Ancient Greek Pottery; Women’s Toiletries in Greek Colonies.
VIARA PETROVA
BHFS Deputy Dig Director and Instructor
MA in Archaeology, Sofia University, Bulgaria. Interim Director of Archaeological Museum “Prof. M. Domaradski” in Septemvri, Bulgaria.
Research Interests: Archeology of Thracian Settlements; Ancient Greek Ceramics.
DR YAVOR BOYADZHIEV
BHFS Dig Co-director and Instructor
Ph.D. in Archaeology and Associate Professor at the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Research interests: Prehistory and Prehistoric Archaeology; Physicochemical Methods for Dating in Prehistory.
