Mineralni bani Municipality
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"Sharapanite" – “The Sharapanas” (a wine stone "Sharap Tash")



The Sharapanas

They are rock recesses made by humans 2600-2800 years ago. Archaeological excavations date these finds around the VIII-VI century BC. They are artificial recesses in the rocks with a depth of 20-70 cm and a diameter of 50-180 cm.
Each sharapana consists of a small and a large pool with a sloping floor and an open or closed channel. The name sharapana comes from the Turkish word sharap and means wine. From this it is assumed that the ancient inhabitants of these places processed grapes for wine in them.
It is believed that the sharapanas are associated with the cult of the god Dionysius. There are sharapanas in  "Karakaya", "Garvanitsa", "Pozharishteto", "Avramov Kamak" areas and on the land of the settlement of Mineralni Bani.
There are other similar monuments in the area, with different shapes and sizes. There are two theories about the use of these interesting facilities: according to one, these are wineries (for crushing grapes for wine), and according to the other one - for ore mining, for purification of ground ore with water. According to some authors, the sharapanas are synchronous with the megalithic monuments (from the first millennium BC) and have been used for a long time.
Only on the land of the village of Bryastovo were found over 200 sharapanas located in high and hard-to-reach places, and an ancient gold mine was discovered nearby. It is established that the fortress existed from the II century to the XIV century. During this period it was repeatedly demolished and rebuilt.

 


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