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Bulgarian people created from antiquity to present days
Just year after the exploration of the Cybele’s temple near Balchik, the archaeologists Igor Lazarenko, Elina Mircheva and Radostina Encheva have found two statues during excavation works. They both represent Cybele and it is presumed that probably they have been possessed by Aphrodite or Dionysus, relief of Thracian horse rider, another relief of three nymphs, limestone plate with relief illustration of lion also.
Continue reading News from the temple of Cybele, Balchik municipality
King’s throne of clay from 6 000 years ago was found at the king’s rock castle Perperikon from the Nikolai Ovcharov’s team. The clay is with four legs, an arched roof back and phallus in the center of the seat. According to mr Ovcharov’s words, that might typify the prelude toward the religious rite of the matrimony.
From this period of the finds at Perperikon there are found seven or eight more objects - idols, religious side-tables, utensil used for opiates, but the throne got no analogue. Just two days before that find, at Perperikon was found golden coin from the first half of the eleventh century, dating to the Mihail third Paflagon era. That coin has never been used and has been preserved into pelvis with analytical balance. At the first side is depicted the effigy of the emperor, at the other is the blessing Jesus Christ. That finds are available now with all other at the exposition at the Historical museum in Kurdjali.
The rocky niches are unique and characteristic monuments of the Thracian culture for the region of Eastern Rhodopes. Several groups of niches are registered within the region around the town of Madjarovo. Some of them nowadays are within medieval fortresses (Meneken Stones, Hisaria Peak, etc.). The niches in the area called Hambar kaia were chiseled out of interesting rock formations, situated at the saddle between two high peaks, 3.5km northwest of Madjarovo.
Continue reading Rocky Niches situated in Hambarkaia,Madjarovo municipality
The rocky tomb is situated in the region of Furnadjica - 2km northeast of Gorno Pole. The rocky tomb was chiseled out of the volcanic rock. The tomb is composed of an antechamber, entrance and burial chamber. The antechamber was formed in outline by chiseling in the rock; the entrance leads towards the rectangular chamber with rounded angles. Significant in this particular tomb is that it also has an opening from the top – on the ceiling of the burial chamber. Building of such tombs required a lot of time and effort, which indicates that they were built for people with high social ranks. Traces of burials and burial inventory have not been discovered because the majority of the rocky tombs were plundered in antiquity. Materials of archeological interest were discovered in several similar facilities that suggest that the rocky tomb in the region of Furnadjica is a Thracian cultural monument dating back to the 1st Century BC.
There is another Thracian rocky tomb registered as belonging to the village lands, but it has a much simpler plan of construction. Another interesting monument – a rocky relief displaying two small human figures – is situated nearby in the Furnadjika area. The tomb very likely belongs to a huge Thracian cult complex related to the beliefs and rituals of the ancient people.
The Antique Mound heaped on a stone basis is situated near Villa Armira in the outskirts of the village of Svirachi. Usage of the mound and its installations is dated to the period of the Roman epoch (1st-5th Century), precisely during the early period of the reign of Emperor Trajan (97-117 AD). The mound was likely used as a family necropolis for the proprietors of Villa Armira.
The 16-meter high mound is heaped on a massive stone construction with a total length of approximately 200m, surrounding its base. The construction is a unique representative of the ancient architecture from the early Roman epoch and is the only one of its kind on the territory of Bulgaria. Stone tiling was laid upon a foundation built in a complex manner of stone and plaster. The whole construction was built following a pre-prepared architectural plan. The tiling blocks are 3.7m long, each one cut in a catenary shape in its outer end. The stones are amphitheatrically arranged in ten rows. They are connected by massive iron cramps, soldered with lead. The mound is composed of many small, heaped hillocks made from the soil taken from the surrounding territory. Ancient materials, perhaps taken from a nearby prehistoric settlement, were also found in the mound.
The integrity of the mound was compromised many times – from antiquity and during the Russian-Turkish War for Liberation in 1878, when defensive facilities were built there and probably destroyed some of its installations. Two secondary burial sites were discovered during archeological excavations (built later than the mound). The first burial site was for an infant and is surrounded with marble plates. The second burial site was for a young man cremated on a funeral pile built on a preliminary leveled terrace. The remains of the pyre were piled in the center of the terrace and covered with flat tiles. The funeral included rich offerings – bronze, marble, glass and clay vessels, toilet boxes ornate with applications, masks and a breastplate – symbols of the Thracian aristocracy – finery and amulets. Two antique chariots were also found near the mound.
