FIELD TRIPS

Now you can choose your favourite trip in Bulgaria. If you are applying for Modules 2, 3 or 5 you can use the Bulgarian Archaeological Association's Tours services. Just go to our new web page www.baa-tours.archbg.net and visit our Topics section. For all of these tours we have a relevant programs adapted for our field school participants. Send us a short message and we will include the tour chosen by you in your field school individual progame.

FIELD SCHOOL TRIPS FOR STANDARD MODULE 1

After arriving one-day guided tour will be given to the participants to the following locations in the Bulgarian capital: National Historical Museum, Archaeological Institute with museum, Boyana church and other cultural monuments.

Each Sunday during the Field School guided Field Trips will be taken to:

The Regional Historical Museum and Art Gallery in the Bulgarian town of Vratsa. In Museum exposition could be seen 165 vessels, which are part of the silver-golden Thracian treasure from the village of Rogozen, as well as the golden crown and a silver knee piece of a Thracian warrior from the Mogilan mound in Vratsa. In the town of Vratsa you can visit the Meshchii towers and Kurtpashovi towers, built in XVII century as residential and defending towers. The towers are of great historical and architectural importance and they are announced to be cultural monuments with national importance.

The Belogradchik Fortress. One of the most attractive historical monuments in the region. This ancient stronghold had been built among the unreachable rocks, when the Balkan Peninsula was within the confines of the Roman Empire (III century A.D.).

The Vidin Tzar Ivan Sratzimir had used it as a mansion during the XIII century. Its present appearance is dated back from 1805-1837, when the Turks rebuilt it.

The Magura Cave . The Magura cave is in the Nothwest of Bulgaria, 25km away from the town of Belogradchik. It is hollowed out in the Rabisha hill limestone (461m above sea level). The Magura is one of the largest caves in Bulgaria . The total length of the galleries discovered till now is about 2500m. It consists of one main gallery pointing southeast northwest and three side branches. The cave halls are enormous in size. Each one is over 200m long, more than 50m wide and over 20m high.

Rabish hill is built up of Aptian Urgonian limestones. The Magura cave's formation has started some 15 million years ago, the cave is hollowed by Tortonian river.

The caves gave fantastic formations - stalactites, stalagmites, stalactones, cave pearls, "cave milk". Some of them are impressive both with their beauty and size. "The Big Stalactone" is over 20m high and has a diameter of 4m at its base. "The Fallen Pine" is the biggest stalagmite in the Bulgarian caves explored till now. It is over 11m long and has a diameter of 6m at its base.

Pearls of the cave are the unique paintings on stone, done in bat guano. Religious and hunting scenes are depicted on them; The Solar calendar from The Late Eneolith, with some later additions to it, made during The Early Bronze age, is quite accurate.

The Belogradchik rocks. The rocks lay near the town of Belogradchik. The area length is about 30 km and its width is 3 km. Many of the rocks are related with interest legends.

The central group of rocks is situated to the South of Belogradchik. Here are the most interesting and impressive formations - Adam and Eve, The Schoolgirl, The Bear many others. They are declared as a natural landmarks.

The second group is to the West of the town. The rocks are of Alpine type, they surround big precipices. The most famous rocks are Zbegovete, Erqupriya, Boritch.

The third group is some 4 km away to the East of the town, which includes the rocks around The Latin Kale and The Lipenik cave.

The fourth group is extended between the villages of Borovitsa and Falkovets. There are the well-known Pine stone (declared as a natural landmark), The Red stone, The Bee stone, Torlak, The Maid's rock.

The last group is situated between the villages of Gyurgitch and Belotintsi.

The Ledenika Cave is situated in close vicinity to the town of Vratsa . It offers a look to the underground world with its interesting forms, beautiful colors and an exciting trip in the dark.

The Monastery Of Cherepish is one of the most remarkable Christian monuments in the Iskar defile. It is situated on the very riverbank and is surrounded by unscalable imposing rocks. It was the main center of the literary and the cultural life in the region for centuries on end.

At present day the monastery is a completed architectural complex, which includes a drawing-room, a school, the monastery kitchen (magernitsa), a chapel, residential and official buildings, storage and production workshops. The attractive location and the traditional architecture of the monastery offer to the visitor picturesque place for a rest.

The Early-Christian Church In Ochindol. The village of Ochindol is 8 km away from the main road Sofia-Mezdra and is situated up in the mountains. It is small and picturesque and offers the visitor the quietness and charm of the authentic well-preserved rustic everyday life and traditions. Nowadays village is a successor of an important settlement, which existed throughout the Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. There is an Early-Christian church on the most elevated place in the village which offers a splendid panoramic view. The church has a unique architecture.