No 1D

Location: On the marble balustrade of the first lodge (counting from south to north).

Material: Marble surface, 6th century.

Dimensions: 6 cm (diameter of the outer circle).

Condition: A shallow carving, not intersected by other marks.

Technique: Incised.

Description: The design consists of two circles—small and large—placed one inside the other and connected by eight radiating lines resembling spokes or sun rays.

Attribution: This design should be interpreted not as a game board, but as an apotropaic symbol or protective mark.

Publications: Thomov, Th. The Game of “Nine-Mens Morris” in the Church of St Sophia, Constantinople, in Bulgarian Middle Ages: Alliance, Power, History, ed. by Georgi Nikolov and Angel Nikolov (Sofia: University of Sofia St Kliment Ohridski Press, 2013), 437-452.

Commentary: Thomov, The Game of “Nine-Mens Morris”, 437-452.

Date: Unknown.