General information
Perperikon is an archaeological complex located on a rocky hill (470m high) in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, about 15km from the town of Kardjali. It consists of a large megalithic sanctuary, a fortress, a palace, and an acropolis with remains of streets, houses and temples. The first excavations were carried out in 1979-1982 and resumed in 2000. They have revealed an amazing architectural and engineering achievement that has yielded a wealth of evidence on the course of human civilization in this region. The earliest traces of human presence, mainly pottery, date back to the late Neolithic Age (6th-5th millennium B.C.). Next came the Eneolithic or Copper Age but it was not until the late Bronze Age ( 18th-12th century B.C) that Perperikon reached its first peak and became a major place of worship. This period coincided with the heyday of the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations. The latest excavations suggest that Perperikon was the site of the Temple of Dionysus in the Rhodope Mountains. Its importance seems to have matched that of Delphi in ancient Greece.