Rock complex Deaf stones/Gluhite kamani/ Lyubimets city

Overview

Deaf stones is a rock cult complex created by the Thracians several millennia ago. It is located a few kilometers from the village of Malko Gradishte in the northeastern Rhodopes, below Mount Sveta Marina. Several hundred trapezoidal niches are carved on a monolithic rock block 30 meters high. They are thought to have been used for the urns of poorer residents who could not afford a rock tomb.

50 m from the niches are the megalithic tombs, two of which are perfectly preserved. The first is a room 2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, carved into the granite rock. From it, through 33 steps carved in the stone, one goes to the very top, on which the tomb is located - a mausoleum measuring 3 x 3 m.

The entire burial complex of the Deaf Stones was surrounded by a large fortress wall, the foundations of which are still visible today. The megalithic complex was one of the largest Thracian sanctuaries from BC, whose power continues to act today to anyone who visits it.
There was also a richly decorated medieval church, which, however, was demolished by treasure hunters. Fragments of murals were also found in the soil.

A Christian grave in which a young woman is buried was discovered by the team of Dr. Nehrizov from the Archaeological Institute with the Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in the Deaf Stones area. The locals tell legends about the Thracian settlement here, and the excavated skeleton proves that the sanctuary was used by the early followers of Christ in the Eastern Rhodopes.

The woman is buried according to a typical Christian rite - with her arms crossed over her chest, and her face is facing east, explains Dr. Nehrizov. Among the other more interesting discoveries of archaeologists are pieces of pottery with a very beautiful decoration.
The rocks have been declared a cultural monument. In over 200 trapezoidal niches carved into the stone, the Thracians placed the dust of their dead.
From the top of St. Marina to the Arda River centuries ago there was a huge city with streets and houses, and the highest hill served as a cult of the Sun God.

Archaeologists have also discovered a unique Thracian petroglyph - a drawing carved into the rock. Rather, the Deaf Stones are associated with the cult-burial beliefs of the Thracians.
Location: On the border of the lands of Lyubimets municipality, Madjarovo municipality and Harmanli municipality. Forest Road; Off-road vehicles.