Archaeologists uncover a complex of dwellings from the 13th-14th centuries at Perperikon (pictures)

A settlement of stone buildings, resembling the ‘city of hobbits’ from Tolkien's novel ‘The Lord of the Rings’, was discovered by archaeologists at the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon.

The houses in it are small, with narrow streets between them and resemble the dwellings of the hobbits from the world-famous trilogy. At least 10 buildings have been uncovered in the Southern Quarter of the rock city, dug into the ground. They are said to date to between the 13th and 14th centuries, when many wars were fought with Byzantium for control of nearby gold mines.

The buildings were built on the remains of an ancient temple. People used the stones from the sacred site to build them. Each of the dwellings was about 20 square metres in size and whole families lived in them. They carried out their daily activities there. Evidence of this are the remains of millstones, metal knives and sickles, and pieces of vessels that have been found. The buildings were inhabited by poor and lower class people.

Archaeologists suggest that the number of buildings of this type was over 100, which allows to estimate the population of Perperikon.

Excavations at Perperikon will continue for another month, and work is currently underway on sites from antiquity.

Images by BTA

Two pagan altars uncovered at Perperikon archaeological site

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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.

The medieval archaeological complex Perperikon is one of the most ancient monumental megalithic structures, entirely carved into the rocks. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bulgaria.

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.