This page is under construction. Check back soon for updates.
Prehistoric peoples inhabited the caves as early as the Middle Paleolithic, 200,000 to 150,000 BCE. Flint, stone, and bone weapons were found in the caves, akong with fragments of clay pots and amulets.
The Thracians settled in the area between Stara Planina and the Danube around the middle of the first millenium BCE. They built a sanctuary in the big cave dedicated to three nymphs, patronesses of nature, around the first century BCE.
The Madara horseman is a large, nearly life-size, early medieval rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau east of Shumen in northeastern Bulgaria in the late 7th or early 8th century during the reign of the Bulgar Khan Tervel. It was discovered in 1872. Three partially-preserved texts in medieval Greek are carved around the figure of the rider, the earliest dating from 705CE. The figure is 23m from the base of the cliff. The subject is probably the Bulgarian Khan Tervel (701-721 CE), who helped the Byzantine emperor Justinian to regain his throne. It is the only rock relief in Europe.
Christian chapel
©2025 Mermaid Underwater Photographic. All Rights Reserved.
This page sponsored by Mermaid Underwater Photographic. Contact us at mermaid@underwater.org.
Last modified 7 September 2025