Archaeologists Found “City of the Dead” at Perperikon

One of the most interesting finds of this year’s archaeological excavations at Perperikon (South Bulgaria) is the “city of the dead”, Prof. Nikolai Ovcharov said at a press conference in the National press club at BTA on 7^th of August, 2017.

The necropolis is located next to the largest medieval basilica in the Rhodope Mountains.

The professor, who is the leader of the archeological team working at the ancient site of Perperikon, said that more than 105 tombs from the 12th to the 14th centuries CE were found. They are very well-formed burial chambers (sarcophagi) located on top of each other. The graves have already been photographed by a drone. They will be soon opened to explore their content, he explained.

Prof Ovcharov also said that this was the third large necropolis of this period uncovered at Perperikon.

He added that in 2016, his archaeological team had discovered about 30 tombs, containing some very interesting finds, including bronze bracelets, earrings, other jewellery and ornaments. There were More than 500 graves from the 12th to the 14th centuries have already been discovered. According to Prof. Ovcharov, this gives the opportunity to make conclusions about the number of inhabitants at Perperikon in the Middle Ages. In his words, an exact figure can not be said, but there were certainly a few thousand.

Professor Ovcharov revealed another interesting find - the inscriptions in basilica number two. The graffiti found there showed that the connections between Perperikon and Philippi were very close. Among the listed names in the inscriptions is the name of martyr Porphyrios of Philippi. It is believed that he and Onesyphoros were direct disciples of the Apostle Paul.

The ancient Thracian city of Perperikon is located in the Eastern Rhodopes, 15 km northeast of the present-day city of Kardzhali, Bulgaria, on a 470 m high rocky hill,

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.