ING Bank of The Netherlands has contributed 30 000 euro to the Perperikon project, the bank's country manager for Bulgaria, Jan Willem Overwater, announced.
He made the announcement at the launch last week of the internet site about the ancient town of Perperikon, 16km from Kurdjali.
"We were impressed by Perperikon because it is a precious historical jewel that should be shared with the world," Overwater said.
The costs of excavation and preservation were so high that even a donation from the ING will be insignificant.
"We decided that the best way to help was to support Perperikon being popularised and professionally promoted," Overwater said.
This year the bank is launching a long-term project involving the construction of an internet page about Perperikon. The site, www.perperikon.bg, is being constructed under the auspices of the Culture Ministry with information available both in English and Bulgarian. It is to contain historical data, news about the latest archaeological discoveries, more than 200 photos and a virtual tour of the town, split into 30 subdivisions and seven main parts.
Ages ago Perperikon was just a stone massif uninhabited by people and towards the end of the Neolithic epoch it seemed people were attracted to the place for having cults most probably dedicated to worshipping the sun, Nikolai Ovcharov, head of Perperikon excavations, said.
"I have visited a couple of other historical places in the world but Perperikon has its own spirit," Overwater said.
He said the place must have been a great city in its day.
"The whole board went to Perperikon and saw that it was much more impressive than when you talk about it," he told The Echo.
"A team of international bankers, eminent historians and technicians from the web site have contributed to bring this all together in the newest technology to reveal the mysteries of ancient Bulgaria."
Overwater said that east meets west, and the old meets the 21st century on the web site.
"We will continue to support it (the web site) and develop it in the coming years," he said.
Perperikon has the potential to significantly increase the popularity of the historical heritage of the country and this can further lead to development of cultural tourism.
He said that the programme fits in with ING's usual activities in the countries it operates in. ING has been in Bulgaria for nine years, mainly in the sphere of financial services.
"Our first objective is building a profitable business in the country as well as contributing to the economic development of Bulgaria," Overwater said, adding that at the same time it was ING's wish to contribute to the society it was working with. He recalled how Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev had issued a challenge a year ago, asking what more could be done to promote Bulgaria.
Overwater's first reaction at the time was that ING was already doing enough, from a traditional point of view, to promote Bulgaria to the world.
"This was mainly in figures and a country goes beyond that."
Overwater said that Bulgaria had serious treasures and wonderful people and from that angle ING decided that a lot more could be done besides presenting numbers because a country was much more than this.
Perperikon drew prehistoric humans like a magnet and became an object of worship on the rugged wilderness of the Eastern Rhodope that must have cradled a rich megalithic culture long before the Thracian tribes inherited the land.
"The early inhabitants worshiped the huge undressed stones for their natural splendour. Later generations learned to carve and smooth the rocks and used them for shelter and protection," according to Perperikon's site.
A unique find was discovered at the Kurdzhali Museum of History as curators were taking an inventory of the museum's archaeological collection: a stone tablet bearing an illegible inscription which had been unearthed at Perperikon during the first phase of the excavations in 1982.
More than 20 years later, the tablet was finally given a thorough expert analysis and it turned out that the inscription (a fragment of a longer one) was made in what scholars call 'Linear A' - a form of linear syllabic writing attested in Crete from about 1850 BCE to 1400 BCE.
"The tablet itself was dated to the fifteenth to fourteenth century BCE and was the first undisputed paleographic monument of its kind found in Thrace. What had gradually become an inhabited rock complex continued to develop during the Bronze Age. There is every reason to believe that during the late Bronze Age in particular, eighteenth to twelfth century BCE, Perperikon saw its first heyday, which probably coincided with the peak of the Mycenaean and the Minoan civilisations," according to www.perperikon.bg.
Overwater said that the web site and ING attract attention and he was willing, wherever and whenever possible, to be the ambassador of Perperikon to the rest of the world.
About 10 000 leva is needed to save the Perperikon fortress, said Ovcharov, who added that the high number of tourists visiting it was jeopardising the archaeological site.
Perperikon (Hyperperakion) is in the Eastern Rhodope mauntain range, perched on a rocky peak at 500 metres above sea level, guarded at its foot by the village of Gorna Krepost (high castle) it was visited by over 10 000 people in April and May. The overall restoration of the fortress will absorb millions of euro.
The fertile sheltered place had attracted settlers in very ancient times. Today, dozens of sites clustered around the natural hub of Perperikon reveal layer upon layer of archaeological remains.
Ovcharov said that there was no doubt that the sanctuary of Dionysus was located in Perperikon.
"For the tribe, wine had important and sacral meaning and its technology of production was not revealed since it was very sacred," Ovcharov said.
The method for wine production gives the myth for Dionysus. According to the myth, Dionysus' body was dismembered and smashed and blood ran out of it. The Dionysus temple resembles the Apollo temple in Delphi.
He made the announcement at the launch last week of the internet site about the ancient town of Perperikon, 16km from Kurdjali.
"We were impressed by Perperikon because it is a precious historical jewel that should be shared with the world," Overwater said.
The costs of excavation and preservation were so high that even a donation from the ING will be insignificant.
"We decided that the best way to help was to support Perperikon being popularised and professionally promoted," Overwater said.
This year the bank is launching a long-term project involving the construction of an internet page about Perperikon. The site, www.perperikon.bg, is being constructed under the auspices of the Culture Ministry with information available both in English and Bulgarian. It is to contain historical data, news about the latest archaeological discoveries, more than 200 photos and a virtual tour of the town, split into 30 subdivisions and seven main parts.
Ages ago Perperikon was just a stone massif uninhabited by people and towards the end of the Neolithic epoch it seemed people were attracted to the place for having cults most probably dedicated to worshipping the sun, Nikolai Ovcharov, head of Perperikon excavations, said.
"I have visited a couple of other historical places in the world but Perperikon has its own spirit," Overwater said.
He said the place must have been a great city in its day.
"The whole board went to Perperikon and saw that it was much more impressive than when you talk about it," he told The Echo.
"A team of international bankers, eminent historians and technicians from the web site have contributed to bring this all together in the newest technology to reveal the mysteries of ancient Bulgaria."
Overwater said that east meets west, and the old meets the 21st century on the web site.
"We will continue to support it (the web site) and develop it in the coming years," he said.
Perperikon has the potential to significantly increase the popularity of the historical heritage of the country and this can further lead to development of cultural tourism.
He said that the programme fits in with ING's usual activities in the countries it operates in. ING has been in Bulgaria for nine years, mainly in the sphere of financial services.
"Our first objective is building a profitable business in the country as well as contributing to the economic development of Bulgaria," Overwater said, adding that at the same time it was ING's wish to contribute to the society it was working with. He recalled how Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev had issued a challenge a year ago, asking what more could be done to promote Bulgaria.
Overwater's first reaction at the time was that ING was already doing enough, from a traditional point of view, to promote Bulgaria to the world.
"This was mainly in figures and a country goes beyond that."
Overwater said that Bulgaria had serious treasures and wonderful people and from that angle ING decided that a lot more could be done besides presenting numbers because a country was much more than this.
Perperikon drew prehistoric humans like a magnet and became an object of worship on the rugged wilderness of the Eastern Rhodope that must have cradled a rich megalithic culture long before the Thracian tribes inherited the land.
"The early inhabitants worshiped the huge undressed stones for their natural splendour. Later generations learned to carve and smooth the rocks and used them for shelter and protection," according to Perperikon's site.
A unique find was discovered at the Kurdzhali Museum of History as curators were taking an inventory of the museum's archaeological collection: a stone tablet bearing an illegible inscription which had been unearthed at Perperikon during the first phase of the excavations in 1982.
More than 20 years later, the tablet was finally given a thorough expert analysis and it turned out that the inscription (a fragment of a longer one) was made in what scholars call 'Linear A' - a form of linear syllabic writing attested in Crete from about 1850 BCE to 1400 BCE.
"The tablet itself was dated to the fifteenth to fourteenth century BCE and was the first undisputed paleographic monument of its kind found in Thrace. What had gradually become an inhabited rock complex continued to develop during the Bronze Age. There is every reason to believe that during the late Bronze Age in particular, eighteenth to twelfth century BCE, Perperikon saw its first heyday, which probably coincided with the peak of the Mycenaean and the Minoan civilisations," according to www.perperikon.bg.
Overwater said that the web site and ING attract attention and he was willing, wherever and whenever possible, to be the ambassador of Perperikon to the rest of the world.
About 10 000 leva is needed to save the Perperikon fortress, said Ovcharov, who added that the high number of tourists visiting it was jeopardising the archaeological site.
Perperikon (Hyperperakion) is in the Eastern Rhodope mauntain range, perched on a rocky peak at 500 metres above sea level, guarded at its foot by the village of Gorna Krepost (high castle) it was visited by over 10 000 people in April and May. The overall restoration of the fortress will absorb millions of euro.
The fertile sheltered place had attracted settlers in very ancient times. Today, dozens of sites clustered around the natural hub of Perperikon reveal layer upon layer of archaeological remains.
Ovcharov said that there was no doubt that the sanctuary of Dionysus was located in Perperikon.
"For the tribe, wine had important and sacral meaning and its technology of production was not revealed since it was very sacred," Ovcharov said.
The method for wine production gives the myth for Dionysus. According to the myth, Dionysus' body was dismembered and smashed and blood ran out of it. The Dionysus temple resembles the Apollo temple in Delphi.
