The impressive construction work in Preslav—the new capital, during the reign of Simeon—was  aimed at establishing a reliable security system. To a greater extent, efforts were made to turn the town into a center that would rival Constantinople in grandeur and original architectural concepts. In the very beginning of 10th century, John Ekzarh, a Preslavian  writer, described the picture a traveler could see entering the Palace: “. . . palaces and castles, touching the sky; churches—abundantly decorated with stone, wood and beautiful hues; the inside—all made of marble, copper, gold and silver.” During the ages, the metalwork was all plundered and the wood rotted away. However, many of the sculptured stone pieces survived, so as to justify the ancient writer’s words.  Let us look once again at the beautiful figures of mythical and real animals, of vines and evergreen plants, of harmonious geometric motifs and crosses. This is the Preslav Artistic Style.