Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 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

Bulgaria hosts global cryptography and cybersecurity forum

Nearly 700 representatives of the global technology business and scientific elite are in Bulgaria to participate in one of the most prestigious forums in applied cryptography and cybersecurity - Real World Crypto Symposium (RWC )...

published on 3/26/25 7:15 AM

Cloudy Wednesday with precipitation

On Wednesday , it will be cloudy and in many places in the northern and western regions of Bulgaria it will rain. There will be temporary breaks in cloudiness in the afternoon in places in the southern regions. The lowest..

published on 3/25/25 7:05 PM

41 kilos of cocaine found in container with bananas in the port of Burgas

Nearly 41 kg. of cocaine worth 9.7 million euros were discovered by customs inspectors in a container with bananas on a ship at the port of Burgas. The ship arrived from Ecuador and the recipients of the goods are Bulgarian..

published on 3/25/25 3:09 PM