Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Drone photos show a bird's eye view of the legendary Thracian sanctuary of Orpheus near the village of Tatul

Photo: Aneliya Kryndeva

New drone photos show the legendary Thracian sanctuary of Orpheus near the village of Tatul from a bird's eye view. A few days ago, the archaeological excavations near the unique temple of the mythical Thracian hero, discovered at the beginning of the XXI century near the village of Tatul in Momchilgrad, were completed. 

The head of the archaeological works in the Rhodope Mountains, Prof. Dr. Nikolay Ovcharov, has filmed the well-preserved sites with a drone. Anyone interested in the history and archaeology of these lands can get a bird's eye view of the early Christian church and the Roman temple near the legendary sanctuary of Orpheus. 

Excavations in the autumn of 2022 have uncovered the remains of a large Christian church built in the 5th-6th centuries. In the words of Prof. Dr. Ovcharov it lasted until the 9th-12th centuries. Its size, reaching almost 18 m in length, ranks it among the three largest Christian temples discovered so far in the Eastern Rhodopes. The surprise discovery was that the church was built on the foundations of a much older monumental building. 

Fragments of walls and an almost 2-m wide massive stone threshold at the entrance testify that there was a huge temple there, which according to archaeologist Ovcharov can be dated to the 3rd-4th century, judging by the coins and ceramics found. 


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Kiril Petkov (L) and Nikolay Denkov (R)

PP will not participate in discussions to form a government

The MPs from We Continue the Change (PP) reaffirmed at a meeting the position of the National Council of PP that "within the 50th National Assembly, there is no necessary majority for the creation of a truly reformist, anti-corruption and..

published on 7/9/24 5:52 PM
Atanas Atanasov

Atanas Atanasov: PP-DB are ready to propose a government with the third cabinet-forming mandate

There is no division in We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) and they will propose a government with the third cabinet-forming mandate if it is handed to them. ''We will go to the president with a ready platform to convince him that we..

published on 7/9/24 5:44 PM

GERB-SDS will not support second or third exploratory mandate

Without having any clarity on the exact timing of the second exploratory mandate for government formation, GERB said in a media statement that the GERB-SDS parliamentary group will unequivocally not support it under any circumstances. This stance also..

published on 7/9/24 4:32 PM