for Russian soldiers suffering from cholera and also had a Russian graveyard. Until the mid-19th century, when a natural phenomenon most likely separated them, the small St. Peter Island to the east of St. Ivan was most likely adjoined to it. Two small islets or large rocks also existed to the east of St. Peter, known by the names of Milos and Gata; they were last described by Russian war correspondents in the 1820s. There is also a lighthouse constructed by French engineers in 1884 and pointing to the Burgas Bay still standing on the island. In the 1970s and early 1980s, there was a project to build a large Balkantourist hotel on St. Ivan, but Todor Zhivkov's intervention prevented that. In August 2010 the BBC reported that remains of John the Baptist had been found on the island. Radiocarbon dating confirmed that the bones belonged to a man who had lived and died in the Middle East in the middle of the first century. Nature Apart from its historical significance, the island is also a nature reserve since 1993, with 72 species of birds nesting on the rocks and around the coast, 3 of which are endangered in the world and 15 in Europe. St. Ivan and the adjacent St. Peter Island host Bulgaria's largest colonies of Audouin's gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii) and Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans). St. Ivan Island is also inhabited by other rare species, such as Mediterranean monk seals. The rocks on the island are covered with black mussels.The island is the only place in Bulgaria where underground rabbits live. Gallery See also List of islands of Bulgaria St. Anastasia Island St. Cyricus Island St. Thomas Island References Bibliography External links Photos of St. Ivan Island at Sozopol.com Satellite image of St. Ivan and St. Peter Island Uninhabited islands of Bulgaria Islands of the Black Sea Bulgarian Black Sea Coast Nature reserves in Bulgaria Landforms of Burgas Province