Exhibition dedicated to Bulgarian ancient city of Perperikon was opened in the European Parliament

The archaeologist professor Nikolai Ovcharov on June 1 opened an exhibition dedicated to the rock city of Perperikon. The exhibition is presented in the European Parliament in Brussels. The initiative is of the MEP from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Iskra Mihailova, and aims to show the Bulgarian cultural heritage in the light of the new initiative "European Bauhaus".

The exhibition includes a four-metre high model of the rock town and photos of the complex and the Eastern Rhodopes. The opening was attended by Bulgarian and foreign MEPs, the Mayor of Kardzhali Hasan Azis and the Director of the History Museum in Kardzhali, Daniela Kojamanova. Hasan Azis said that Perperikon is the calling card of Bulgaria in Europe.

"Nothing better can be shown than Bulgaria and its cultural heritage to our MEPs and all Europeans. My appeal is to make sure that the city that was unique in antiquity and the Middle Ages can shine again in all its light. We have done a lot, 24 years of excavations already, but we need another 3-4 years to be completely finished. The money for excavation is less than the money needed for conservation and restoration, which we earn thanks to the municipality of Kardzhali," said prof. Nikolai Ovcharov at the opening.

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The ancient Thracian city of Perperikon is located in the Eastern Rhodope mountains, Southerm Bulgaria, 15 km northeast of the present-day town of Kardzhali, on a 470 m high rocky hill, which is thought to have been a sacred place.

The village of Gorna krepost ("Upper Fortress") is located at the foot of the hill and the gold-bearing Perpereshka River flows nearby.

Perperikon is the largest megalith ensemble site in the Balkans.

As an archaeological site, Perperikon is an 8,000-year-old prehistoric megalithic shrine, which was later built upon by the Thracians, the Romans, the Byzantines, and the medieval Bulgarian Empire.

The latest finds at the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon