Restored Nebet Tepe archaeological complex in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv re-opens for visitors
The restored Nebet Tepe archaeological complex in Bulgaria’s city of Plovdiv was officially opened on March 20.
Nebet Tepe is one of the hills of Plovdiv where the ancient city was founded, with the earliest settlements on Nebet Tepe dating back to 4000 BCE.
The site was first settled by Thracians, later expanded by Philip II of Macedon and the Roman Empire.
As the town expanded, Nebet Tepe became the citadel of the town’s acropolis. There are remains of the city’s walls, towers, and a postern from the time of Justinian leading down to the Maritsa River.
The remains of city walls, towers and ancient buildings were found during the excavations on Nebet Tepe. The oldest part of the walls on the hill dating from the fourth century BCE.
The opening ceremony was attended by the mayor of Plovdiv Kostadin Dimitrov, deputy minister of culture Todor Chobanov, former mayors Ivan Totev and Zdravko Dimitrov, football legend Hristo Stoichkov, district governor Hristina Yancheva, representatives of local authorities, archaeologists, designers and contractors of the project.
Nebet Tepe will be managed by the Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum, and tour guides will give specialised talks to interested groups and individual tourists from 8am. to 6pm. in the summer and from 8am to 5pm in the winter. Access to the complex for visitors is free.
“Below us are layers of treasures that archaeologists can talk about all day long without stopping,” restoration project leader, architect Roumyana Proykova said.
“There is a feeling of eternity, of peace, of complete harmony here. This is exactly what we tried to do in our project – to support this exceptional place with harmonious cultivation of the terrain.
“I hope that our people will be satisfied with this decision of ours,” Proykova said.
Restorer Nikola Stoyanov emphasised that working on the site was a great challenge due to its complexity, with one of the most difficult moments being the removal of the concrete elements embedded in the authentic archaeology in one of the conservation projects during Bulgaria’s communist era.
(Photo: Pod Tepeto)
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