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- 19/08/2023 10:00
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Perperikon is the largest megalithic site in the Balkans, located in the Rhodopes Mountains. It is located near to the town Gorna, at 470 m above sea level, near which the gold-bearing river ‘Perpereshka’ flows.
Perperikon was originally named Hyperperakion. There are two theories about the origin of the name, and it is believed to have been derived from the Greek hyperpyros (medieval high-temperature gold refining method) or hyperpyros (altar fire).
There are traces of people living there from 6,000 years before B.C., and it was used for worship of the god of the sun from the end of the 5th century B.C. to the Bronze Age (3rd century B.C.). The stiff rock was cut using sophisticated metal tools, with skill enough to create an oval hall with a huge circular altar in the center. There, the priests performed ceremonies with wine and fire, typical of the Dionysian temples followed on Mount Rhodopes for a long time. Two important prophecies came from this temple. One was the oracle about the conquests of Alexander the Great, the other was about the power and might of Augustus, the first Roman emperor.
Since then, Perperikon has become a village composed of a fortress with walls, a palace, and surrounding dwellings. It was destroyed by the goths in 378 AD, but by the 5th century they had converted to Christianity and became a center. From the 7th to the 14th century, Perperikon prospered as a regional center, but at the end of the 14th century it was attacked by the Ottoman Empire, and the fort fell and the whole town was colonized. As a result, it slowly faded from people's memory, but in 2000, Bulgarian archaeologist Nikolai Ovcharov started excavation. Currently, it is selected as one of Bulgaria's top 100 national tourist destinations, and more than 100,000 people visit each year.
Artifacts found during archaeological excavations can be viewed at the Historical Museum in Kerjali.
reference
http://www.kardjali-tourism.info/en
П Е Р П Е Р И К О Н (perperikon.bg)