Ancient Megalith Monuments at Thrace
The Holy City of Perperikon and Two Great Historic Prophecies
Sep 12, 2009
The ancient Thracian city of Perperikon is situated in the Holy Rhodope Mountains near the town of Kardzhali, Bulgaria. It covers an area of 12 000 meters square and is one of the largest megalith complexes at the Balkans. The city flourished during the Roman Age but the earliest traces of human activity found there are dated back to the late Neolithic Age, 6th – 5th millennium BC. The archaeological research of the site restarted in 2000 after 17 years at a standstill. The excavations are headed by Prof. Nikolai Ovcharov, known as the Bulgarian Indiana Jones.
At the Dawn of Civilization
Many centuries before the invasion of the Thracian tribes, the Rhodope Mountains were inhabited by people who laid the foundations for a sophisticated megalith culture. They worshiped the awesome scenery all around them – huge solid rocks, rising high above and touching the mighty sun. There is plenty of evidence that the site of Perperikon was one of those prehistoric sanctuaries. The archaeologists have unearthed ritual fireplaces, flint knives, effigies of unknown gods, ceramics, which have been laid in roughly whittled pits in the rock.
Perperikon – a European Machu Picchu or a Stone Pompeii
The Thracian tribes, who arrived and inhabited the Rhodope Mountains during the Bronze Age, 3rd – 2nd millennium BC, turned the primitive sanctuary at Perperikon into a gorgeous temple. Step by step, the place had been developing into a big city with a palace, houses, temples and tombs cut into the surrounding cliffs.
So far, Prof. Ovcharov and his team have unearthed approximately 10 percent of the entire ancient complex and everything that has been revealed is quite fascinating. The remarkable discoveries provoked a Dutch journalist to describe Perperikon as “the European Machu Picchu”. Surprisingly, this comparison makes the Bulgarian Indiana Jones a bit nervous.
“It is unacceptable, for Machu Picchu is just a village located high in the mountain, while Perperikon is a big city with streets, urban planning and development of Antique style. Perperikon is a unique archaeological site in Europe because it is cut into the rocks and is well conserved. So, you can see here real buildings, rooms, streets, squares… There are only a very few authentic ancient cities like Perperikon, so I would describe it as a Stone Pompeii: this comparison is the correct and precise one”, the professor commented.
Two Great Historic Prophecies
Recent scientific research and the archaeological discoveries convinced some historians that the sanctuary and oracular shrine of Sabazios (the Thracian equivalent to Greek Dionysus) at Perperikon had been those ones, mentioned by Herodotus and Suetonius Tranquillus. The “Father of History” compared the Oracle of Sabazios – Dionysus to the one at Delphi: “… it is a prophetess who utters the oracles as at Delphi”.
In his book “Life of the Twelve Caesars”, Suetonius gave full description of the visit paid by the first Roman Emperor’s father at the oracular shrine: “… When Octavian, the father of Augustus, came upon the Holy Mount of Dionysus, he asked the oracle about his son, and the prophetess told him that his son was going to rule the world: for as the wine had been spilt on the altar, the smoke rose up above the top of the shrine and even to the heavens, just as had happened when Alexander the Great himself had sacrificed upon the same altar.” There were some other ancient historians, besides Herodotus and Suetonius, who had mentioned the temple and the sacred wine and fire ritual which was used to deliver prophesies.
For more than a century, historians have been searching for the legendary sanctuary and oracular shrine, because their discovery will be as important as that of Troy and Mycenae. Perhaps, archaeologists have already chanced upon it.
Sources:
Perperikon. A Civilization of the Rock People by Nikolai Ovcharov, Borina Publishing House (2005)
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