Perperikon
The ruins of the ancient city of Perperikon | |
| Location | Kardzhali Province, Bulgaria |
|---|---|
| Region | Thrace |
| Coordinates | 41°42′53″N 25°27′55″E / 41.71472°N 25.46528°E |
| Type | Settlement, capital with Palace and Shrine |
| History | |
| Material | rock-cut, stone masonry |
| Founded | 5000 BCE, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Classical era |
| Abandoned | 14th century |
| Cultures | Thracian, Roman, Byzantine |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1931; from 2000 and still ongoing; |
| Archaeologists | Nikolay Ovcharov |
| Condition | In ruins |
Perperikon (Bulgarian: Перперикон), also Perpericum, is an ancient Thracian city located in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, 15 km northeast of the present-day town of Kardzhali, Bulgaria 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. Perperikon is the largest megalith ensemble site in the Balkans. In the Middle Ages Perperikon served as a fortress.