АНЦЕСТРАЛНИ КУЛТОВЕ ОТ ДРЕВНА ТРАКИЯ, КУЛТЪТ КЪМ СКАЛАТА И ТЕХНИТЕ ФОЛКЛОРНО-МИТОЛОГИЧНИ РЕМИНИСЦЕНЦИИ – НЯКОИ ПРИМЕРИ ОТ ЗАПАДНИ РОДОПИ В КОНТЕКСТА НА СРЕДИЗЕМНОМОРИЕТО
ANCESTRAL CULTS FROM ANCIENT THRACIA, THE CULT TO THE ROCK AND THEIR FOLKLORE MYTHOLOGICAL REMINISCENCES – SOME EXAMPLES OF WESTERN RHODOPES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

Summary/Abstract: The combination between the territory of a sanctuary and a necropolis is well evidenced in other places in the Western Rhodopes region. In the study of the tomb necropolis near the village of Kochan, as well as at other sites in the Dospat region, Barutin village and Lyubcha village, has been registered a combination of facilities, which can be interpreted as a combination of necropolis and rock cult site (Gergova 2010: 35–40). We can also trace this tradition to a very early period – the Bronze Age, as evidenced by the recorded funeral rites around the Skaleto shrine near the village of Tsrancha. In this regard we can think also for the rock cut-tomb near the village of Zhizhevo, as more than just a burial facility. In the layout and structure of the monument, some similarities can be found with the one near the village of Tatul, which also looked similar to a mound, before its uncovering. The choice of such a dominant position for the carving of a tomb, as well as the presence of altars and places of worship, characteristic of the rock sanctuaries, suggest that we should think of it as a heroon, or a place of reverence that is dedicated to a person who is mythologized and is important to the community. The semantics of such a sacred place may be related to the symbolism of the center in local beliefs and the idea of an entrance to the beyond.

• Details
• Contents