The ancient theater of Philopopolis

The ancient theater of Philopopolis, where you can get a glimpse of the cultural life of the Roman era

One of the best-preserved ancient theaters in the world, the Philippopolis Ancient Theater is now located between Dzhambaz Tepe and Taksim Tepe in Plovdiv.

It was built during the reign of the Roman emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajan (98-117 AD, Marcus Ulpius Trajan). The proof of this is the inscription on the stone pillar facing the east of the stage. The state of preservation is so perfect that it is still being used as an outdoor performance hall for operas and concerts, and it can accommodate about 3,500 spectators.

The grandstand Cavea has 28 marble seats, divided into 26 tiers by aisles called Diazoma. It is round and horseshoe-shaped and surrounds a stage with a diameter of 26.64 m. Skene, a part of the stage structure, is composed of three layers. As in other Roman theaters, there are reserved seats for honor, for example, seats reserved for judges, friends of the emperor, and representatives of the city council.

Judging from the ruins and ruins, it is believed that gladiator fights and animal fights were held in this theater in the past, and it seems to be related to the visit of Emperor Caracalla in 214 A.D. The theater was damaged by Attila the Hun in the 5th century AD and was buried in a landslide until it was discovered in the early 1970s. In the process of restoring the theater, a technically difficult archaeological excavation was made, including removing 4.5 m of the mound from a landslide, which is considered one of the best achievements of Bulgarian cultural heritage preservation researchers.