Eagles Link Troy with Perperikon

Standart daily, Constantin Sabchev

Europe allots over three million Euro for the reconstruction of the ancient fortress in Perperikon

Have you seen an earthen jar that can hold 200 litres of wine? Have you seen a water tank hewn into the rock that can hold 300 tons of water? If not, you should head straight to Perperikon, the mystic hill in southeastern Bulgaria preserving evidence of centuries of history. Now access is allowed to the reconstructed gigantic water reservoir - the largest in Europe from that time. "Along with the palaces and churches, the reservoir is one of the main attractions in Perperikon," said Prof Nikolay Ovcharov yesterday. The reservoir is six metres wide, six metres deep and 12 metres long. All the reservoirs in Perperikon held total one million tons of water that had to sustain the tens of thousand of citizens of the ancient city, Prof Ovcharov commented. Huge wine jars, the so-called pithoi will be exhibited on the spot. A residential district that was inhibited between the 3rd and 4th AD is now being reconstructed. The Cretan-Mycenaean civilization survived in the Bulgarian lands, according to Prof Ovcharov. He showed the just discovered unique find - a ceramic fragment dating to 11th and 10th century BC with a heralding picture of an eagle, the symbol of royal power. Prof Nikolay Ovcharov believes that such findings point to the fact that when in 12th and 11th century BC the Mycenaean culture waned in the south, swept away by earthquakes and invaders, depicted by Homer in the Iliad, Perperikon was one of its centres that survived untouched.
Conservation and restoration works on the site are going on, according to Prof Ovcharov. A team of 35 people construct Perperikon information and exhibition centre. The total amount of funds allotted on EU programmes for the whole reconstruction and tourist adaptation of the complex is 3 150 000 euro.
Finally the religious complex of Perperikon has been outlined, it spreads on area of 12 sq km. Prof Ovcharov summarized the results from the excavations this year.