Among the great number of megalithic monuments in the Municipality of Mineralni Bani, the Thracian cult complex near the village of Angel Voyvoda takes a special place.

The ancient sanctuary - one of the largest in Bulgaria, has the status of a cultural monument of national importance and is currently being studied through archaeological excavations.

The complex is located on a rocky peak known as Asara. A powerful fortress wall has left traces on its ridge, and over 50 (cult) niches have been carved on the rocks.

At the approach to the height there is a rock pool with a trapezium shape and rounded corners - probably the facility served as an altar.

In its highest part, on three ridges, cult facilities have been carved.

On the easternmost there is formed a tomb to which lead five steps. The Sharapanas, both on Perperikon and elsewhere in the Eastern Rhodopes are stone troughs, which are associated with the rituals of the Thracians, since the time of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages.

There are hundreds of them registered, all of them of different shapes and sizes.

The open sharapana is almost 6 meters long, but there lacks depth. More excavations are needed to establish what it was intended for.

Currently, six subprojects are being studied in the eastern part of the peak, where the fortress and the old Thracian sanctuary are located.

One of them is the eastern route of the fortress wall, which is directly connected with the most important focus of the archaeological complex - the rock tomb.

This year, the rock passage leading to the sanctuary on the south side was also discovered. This is a staircase carved into the rocks, very similar to that of Perperikon.

In it was later built probably one of the entrances to the fortress. This is an entrance - tower, which was on wooden beams and is quite interesting as an architectural structure.

An ancient tomb with skeletal fragments was also discovered by archaeologists.

The tomb is quite long, but unfortunately robbed, shared his first impressions the young archaeologist Nikolay Gyurov from Sofia.

It was carved into the rocks between the sarcophagus and the Christian church uncovered last year in the City of the Sun.

After uncovering the stone tombstones, archaeologists found the remains of a skull and some bones - part of the shoulder blade and femurs. It is assumed that the tomb is of a cleric.

For the later Roman and ancient period, we can already say that the fortress of "Hassara" near the village of Angel Voyvoda in the municipality of Mineralni Bani was built somewhere in the late 4th and early 5th century.

Its strongest period of existence was during the most pronounced and well-documented historical activity of Emperor Justinian.

He ruled the Eastern Roman Empire in the 6th century and was one of the greatest Eastern Roman emperors.

In fact, during his reign for the last time within the borders of today's Bulgaria a very strong defensive system was built, which started from the Danube River, the second defensive line is along the Stara Planina Mountain, and the third is right here in the Rhodopes. And the fortress "Hassara" near Angel Voivoda is the third such fortress in the area, which is connected with the fortification activities of Justinian.

Here is one of the centers, the fortress near Pchelarovo, which is located about twenty kilometers away and is also connected with this defensive line, and the largest fortress in the area is of course Perperikon, which has direct visibility with this fortress  we are studying here on Hassara.

From the pre-Roman and Thracian periods it is definitely a sanctuary similar to that of Tatul, as the rock pyramid we have at the top with the sarcophagus-like bed is the only exact analogue of the two-chambered rock tomb of Tatul.

Most likely, as Prof. Venedikov stated this hypothesis decades ago, it was later proved in the excavations of Prof. Ovcharov on Tatul, it is a matter of heroization, i.e. the veneration of unknown Thracian rulers who after their death  were deified.

We already know a lot about these Thracian beliefs and this is another archaeological evidence in support of this hypothesis, expressed by the most prominent thracologists in our archaeological historical science.

 

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