Пробитият камък (Куклата) кран Равна — култов обект и древна обсерватория
The Pierced Stone (the Doll) near Ravna, a Cult Object and Ancient Observatory

Summary/Abstract: A natural phenomenon, a rock pinnacle, orientated north-south, with an almost round opening of considerable size, is described in this announcement. It stands on a high hill near the village of Ravna (North-Eastern Bulgaria). The local population call it the Pierced Stone or the Doll. The author supposes that the Doll was a cult object connected with the presence of the proto-Bulgarians in this region of Bulgaria. He also thinks it possible that it was used as a primitive observatory in determining the days of the winter and summer solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes. The author bases his hypotheses on the location of the Doll and the site of its opening, on archaeological materials, on data provided by folk culture (beliefs, folklore, customs), toponymy and apocryphal literature. He examines these materials as a system and explains them from the positions of an early pagan religious world outlook and its effect on Christianity. The materials from the ruins of a large monastery complex (probably built in the 9th century) at the foot of the Doll and now excavated have an important place in the proof of his hypothesis which he provides.

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