“Splendour of Perperikon” Exhibition Presents over 200 Artifacts, Including Cross with Relics of Unknown Saint

An exhibition titled “The Splendour of Perperikon” opened this evening, December 16, in the town of Kardzhali. It marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the local museum and 25 years since the start of archaeological research at the ancient Thracian stone city of Perperikon.

For the first time, the exhibition features a previously unseen cross containing the relics of an unknown saint.

More than 200 artefacts are on display, some dating back to the era of the Egyptian pyramids. All were discovered at a single site – the rock city of Perperikon – during archaeological excavations over the 25 years of research.

Professor Nikolay Ovcharov described the scale of the discovery:

“This is an era in itself, and that era – 25 years – has encompassed another, much larger one: 7,000 years. Perperikon truly is an encyclopaedia.”

The exhibition includes Stone Age tools, bronze swords, numerous items of jewellery from Antiquity, and gold coins. The greatest interest, however, has been drawn by the relics of an unknown saint preserved in a medieval cross discovered among the ruins of Perperikon’s churches.

Professor Ovcharov explained:

“We found two crosses that were unopened and hermetically sealed. One contained bone fragments of an as-yet unknown saint, and the other held particles believed at the time to be from the Holy Cross. Those relics were handed over to the monastery of the late Father Boyan Sarayev and have attracted large numbers of visitors for years. The other cross is being shown publicly for the first time now.”

The exhibition is a gift to the people of Kardzhali for the Christmas and New Year holidays. After the festive season, it will tour other cities across Bulgaria.