Nebet Tepe is one of the hills of

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

where the ancient town was founded. The earliest settlements on Nebet Tepe are dated back to 4000 BC.Детев П.
Известия на музейте в Южна България
т. 1 (Bulletin des musees de la Bulgarie du sud), 1975г., с.27, ISSN 0204-4072 The site was first settled by

Thracians The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared betwee ...

, later expanded by

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

and the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. As the town expanded, Nebet Tepe became the citadel of the town's acropolis. There are remains of the city's walls, towers, and a

postern A postern is a secondary door or gate in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often placed in concealed locations, allowing inconspicuous entrance and exit. In the event of a siege, a postern could act as a s ...

from the time of

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

leading down to the

Maritsa Maritsa or Maritza ( ), also known as Evros ( ) and Meriç ( ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,

river. Today, the archaeological complex on the hill is one of the most popular tourist sights in Plovdiv and a cultural monument of national significance.

Name

The name "Nebet" comes from the Turkish words ''nevbet'' (meaning "guard") and ''tepe'' (meaning "hill") or "The hill of the guards". It is assumed that in ancient times the garrison that guarded the city was located on the hill. The hill has another name in ancient times - "The hill of Musaeus", which is associated with the Thracian Musaeus who was the most talented student of

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

History

Archaeology

The remains of city walls, towers and ancient buildings were found during the excavations on Nebet Tepe. The oldest part of the walls on the hill dating from the 4th c. BC was built with large syenite blocks closely fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and no use of mortar, typical for ancient

cyclopean masonry Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...

. The remains of the Western wall with the imposing quadrangular tower and its entrance are evidence of the

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

when the ancient town expanded and the city on Nebet Tepe became the

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

of the town's

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

. There are also thick stone walls from later periods and other ancient buildings. One of the most interesting excavations is the unique

with staircase from Roman times: a secret tunnel in the rocks under the North wall built in the 6th century AD during the reign of

. Some historians say that

Apostle Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

walked through this tunnel. The postern is thought to have led to the banks of the

Maritsa Maritsa or Maritza ( ), also known as Evros ( ) and Meriç ( ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,

river. Water reservoirs used for water supply were also located on the hill. A large rectangular water reservoir with a volume of 350 m³ is preserved in the Southern part of Nebet Tepe. It was built of alternating layers of stones and bricks while the inner walls and the floor were treated with hydrophobic coating. Excavations from 2016 have brought to light a Roman wall bastion dating from the 1st c. AD.Latest Finds from Nebet Tepe Fortress in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv: Roman Fortress Tower, Bronze Horse Harness Appliques, 2,000-Year-Old Wheat Barrel http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2018/03/26/latest-finds-from-nebet-tepe-fortress-in-bulgarias-plovdiv-roman-fortress-tower-bronze-horse-harness-appliques-2000-year-old-wheat-barrel/

Gallery

File:Nebet tepe 9.jpg, Stone walls and ancient water reservoir File:Nebet tepe 2.jpg, The water reservoir File:Nebet tepe 7.jpg, The quadrangular tower and Western walls File:Rezervoar.jpg, The inner walls of the water reservoir File:Nebet tepe stena 3.jpg, Eastern wall File:Nebet tepe postern.jpg, The

File:Nebet_tepe_stena2.jpg, Eastern fortification File:Nebet tepe gate.jpg, Ruins of ancient gate File:Nebet tepe view 1.jpg,

References

{{Ancient Monuments in Plovdiv Roman sites in Bulgaria Tourist attractions in Plovdiv History of Plovdiv