Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

A Hobbiton discovered by archaeologists in Perperikon

Prof Ovcharov said the tiny houses resembling Hobbit dwellings were homes for the poor

Perperikon
Photo: Facebook /Vladislav Terziiski Photography

A village of small houses dating from the 13th-15th cent. AD, very similar to the dwellings of the Hobbits, has been excavated by archaeologist Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov and his team. It is a complex of a dozen small houses located in the southern part of the rock city of Perperikon. Prof Ovcharov told BNR-Kardzhali that the complex bears a strong resemblance to the city of the Hobbits in 'The Lord of the Rings'. 

Whole families lived in houses no larger than 20 square metres. Cooking utensils, chrome pots and tools have been found. There are narrow streets between the houses.

According to the archaeologists, the houses were inhabited by the poorer part of Perperikon's population, which numbered around 5,000 people at the time. "This is not a small number, as it was the population of Vienna at the same time," says Professor Nikolai Ovcharov.

At the end of the 14th century, burials took place there. The data show that the population declined sharply. This was probably due to the plague that hit Europe at that time, the archaeologists believe.



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

Snow, rain and freezing temperatures

Minimum temperatures on Monday will be between minus 4 and 1°C. In Sofia it will be around minus 3°C. The mercury will hover between -3 and 0 °C in the north. Maximum temperatures in southern Bulgaria will be between 2 and 7°C. In the capital it will..

published on 2/16/25 7:05 PM

New Russian emigration in Bulgaria pays tribute to Alexei Navalny

The one-year anniversary of the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was marked with a memorial service in Sofia's St Nedelya Cathedral. It was organised by the movement "For a Free Russia" - an association of Russian immigrants in..

published on 2/16/25 5:39 PM

Scientists bring back live fish from Antarctica 

Kristiyan Vladov and Stefan Kyurkchiev of the Plovdiv Museum of Natural History are working on a project to bring live fish from the southern Arctic Circle to Bulgaria . The aim is to create an Antarctic aquarium in Plovdiv, where visitors - from..

published on 2/16/25 2:04 PM