Travel Challenge # 15: Perperikon fortress

Perperikon.
The ancient sanctuary became known by the studies conducted by the famous Bulgarian archaeologist Nikolay Ovcharov. However, little is known about what it really is, what its history and meaning, and in the next lines we will try to answer these questions.

Perperikon is a huge rock massif in the Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria, which is believed to have occurred about 8000 years ago. The stone monument rises 15 km from Kardzhali, near the Perperikos River, which claims that the ancient people have won gold. For the first time the archaeological complex was described by Prof. Ivan Velkov in 1930, but the place gained popularity as a result of the researches Professor Nikolay Ovcharov. It is one of the main reasons for the popularization of Perperikon in the media and, consequently, the increased tourist interest in this cult complex. The extensive excavations led by the archaeologist reveal the palace, the Acropolis and other interesting places unknown to the public until then. It comes to the point that CNN reflects as Perperikon's event in its reports.

The ancient inhabitants of these lands believed from time immemorial in the sun god. This is one of the reasons why they find themselves on a large scale, as the main reason for this is the lack of vegetation and the convenient location from where the rising sun can be easily seen every morning. A little less with the development of the instruments, the improvement of the tools, developed in the Bronze Age, enabled people to process the stone. They began to cut out various cult niches, sanctuaries, tombs. Thus Perperikon began to change his natural appearance. In some of the niches are found many votive vessels, grooves, ancient objects related to the cult of the sun god.

The sanctuary developed its importance in the late Bronze Age. The big bloom took place in XVIII-XII century BC. This is the period of development of the first European civilization, in the face of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture. The cult complex developed and acquired a drainage system for draining water. One of the vessels of this period impresses archeologists with the images of their God and six human figures. People are symbolically shaped like flowers, their heads are represented as little Suns. Slightly less the cult of the sun develops and many other gods appear in the Early Iron Age, IX - VI c. BC. Thracian religion, for example, is heavily oriented towards the cult of Orpheus and Dionysus, and Perperikon becomes the center of these beliefs and customs.

During the late Bronze Age, Perperikon became a spectacular sanctuary. Many facts suggest that Perperikon was the famous sanctuary of God Dionysus. In Antiquity, Dionysus was known as the oracle in Delphi, but there is still no conclusive evidence that it was there.

According to legends, two fateful prophecies were made from the altar of Perperikon. The first predetermined the great conquests and glory of Alexander the Great, and the second, which was made a few centuries later, propounded the power and power of the first Roman emperor Guy Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus. Shotonius described the significant visit to the sanctuary of the father of the future ruler:
"When Octavian, father of August, led his troops somewhere in a remote part in the sacred mountains of Dionysus, consult the oracle about his son, wherher HIS confirmed by the priest that his son would become the master of the world, beacause after the wine has been removed on oltar, the smoke was rise up to the heaven - a significance as that you get the Alexander the Great, when you were victities os the same oltar."

In 2002 a huge, roofless hall was opened, which corresponds to all the descriptions of Dionysus' temple in ancient texts. At its center is a majestic altar, about 2 meters in diameter, about 3 meters high. In the altar can be seen many carved pits filled with pieces of ceramics. Fragments of smaller clay altars are also found in the foothills. Obviously, the hall had no roof because of the flame of fire, the height of which was supposed to be. The whole area and the very peak of Perperikon are covered with thousands of rock cuttings in the form of troughs, basins, spillways. All these altars were most likely to have been used to sacrifice in honor of the gods. The view of the monument with the thousands of small altars and stone cuttings was impressive. The functions of Perperikon are dated during Hellenism (IV - 1st century BC). In the 1st century Thrace was conquered by Rome, and Perperikon experienced a real renaissance.

Perperikon consists of four parts: a powerful fortress - the Acropolis; Palace-sanctuary, which is just below the Acropolis from the southeast; North and south suburbs. There are many temples and buildings built on the hills. There are wide streets where every visitor can walk. On the sides of each street are preserved houses, cut into the stone itself. An enormous Basilica is excavated in the eastern part of the Acropolis. The Basilica was probably an ancient temple, and during Christianity it became a church. From the basilica to the interior of the Acropolis there is a covered colonnade, a portico whose columns have survived to this day. From the data of ancient and medieval authors it is known that such porticos were built only in the big cities and the significant cult complexes. Two gates of the Acropolis were found at this stage of the research. One is from the west and protected from a powerful rectangular bastion. The other was excavated from the South in 2002. Its purpose is particularly important because it leads to the impressive Palace-sanctuary.

The palace was probably a temple complex dedicated to God Dionysus. It is located on seven floors, and at its center is a 30-meter ceremonial hall, which most probably served to perform rituals and rituals. Another remarkable object in the Palace is a massive stone throne with leg rests and arm rests. Beneath the brick floor of each room there are thousands of rainwater drainage channels, which suggests that a shiny system has been created for its time. The palace is surrounded by a huge fortress wall that is connected to the Acropolis and together form a unique ensemble.

Perperikon is a unique complex dedicated to the cult of the sun god. It is a symbol of one of the earliest cultures on our lands. There was the religion that was at the heart of the development of culture, architecture and knowledge. The discovery of Perperikon is something that besides moral, it could also bring a material benefit to the Bulgarian state as long as it is duly presented to the world.

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