Nebet Tepe Archaeological Complex in the City of Plovdiv – the Watchtower of Ancient Philippopolis Through the Centuries
- Stefan Ivanov
- Jun 30
- 15 min read
Updated: Jul 23
Kendrissos
Eumolpia
Odryssa
Philipopolis
Pulpudeva
Trimontium
Ulpia
Puldin
Philibe
Plovdiv
I have been postponing the launch of the "Plovdiv" topic on the digital encyclopedic pages of "Photo Moments" for quite a long time, and not only because of the fact that Plovdiv is an exceptional, comprehensive, unique, inexhaustible book, overflowing with ancient history and countless deeply impressive cultural monuments of national and local significance, which arouses such admiration, joy, curiosity and passion that it has completely dizzyed the heads of hundreds of authors, discoverers, travelers, photographers and adventurers.
I certainly did not feel afraid of my upcoming cultural clash with this bottomless treasury of knowledge, rather I knew that by starting it, I would definitely have to finish it, which would certainly drag on for quite a long time.
And now that day has come!
I said to myself:
Steph, you have lived here for so long – familiar with the many secrets of this ancient city and you can reveal them to everyone in your own, original, detailed and unique way!
Just do it!
Dear discoverers, connoisseurs of curiosity, seekers of beauty, lovers of the history of Bulgaria, with great pleasure I present to you my first publication from the (probably endless and never-ending) series dedicated to one of the oldest cities in Europe – Plovdiv, forever marked by the colors of different eras and civilizations – Thracians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans and Bulgarians, who left a mark on this place and their own charm!
But where to start...
I will start with the most popular tourist destination in Plovdiv – the Old Town, also the Architectural and Historical Reserve "Ancient Plovdiv", formed as a result of continuous life in the city for centuries (from prehistory to the present day) and combining the spirit and architecture of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Bulgarian Renaissance, coexisting in a unique unity.
I will start from Nebet Tepe, the place where it all began thousands of years ago!
I will start from Nebet Tepe and the majestic ruins of the centuries-old fortress – the guardhouse of Philippopolis throughout the centuries!
The Nebet Tepe Archaeological Complex in the city of Plovdiv is located on the top of the northern hill of the Trihills, formed by Nebet Tepe, Dzhambaz Tepe and Taksim Tepe.
Nebet Tepe is 207 meters above sea level, and its highest point rises 46 meters from the terrain at the base of the hill.
The name Nebet comes from the Turkish word nevbet, which means guard, and tepe – hill, which means observation (guard) hill or guardhouse.
Traces of human activity here have been attested from the Stone Age (from the 4th millennium BC) to the present day.
For the earliest periods of habitation (in the period from the 4th to the 2nd millennium BC) data are scarce, but it is assumed that at one stage, a Thracian cult center existed here (probably in the period from the 12th to the 6th century BC).
A careful analysis of historical sources tells of a Thracian settlement existing at this location in the 5th to 4th centuries BC, but the expansion and flourishing of the settlement, and especially its transformation into an urban center, is associated with the campaigns in Thrace of Philip II. Here he left his garrison and probably fortified the ridge of Nebet Tepe.
The hilltop fortress and the city on the plain often changed their rulers.
In the 2nd century BC, Philip V briefly conquered this place. In the years before the establishment of Roman rule in Thrace (mid-1st century AD), the last Thracian kings, Remetalcus I and Remetalcus II, ruled here.
After the Roman troops were stationed on the territory of the city, the construction of the fortress wall began, protecting the entire Trihilmia.
Over the years, these fortifications have been repeatedly expanded, barbarically destroyed, duly repaired, diligently doubled, and upgraded.
In the remains preserved to this day, several main construction periods can be distinguished:
Thracian, covering the period from the 5th century to the 1st century BC
Roman, covering the period from the 1st century AD to the 4th century AD
Early Byzantine, covering the period from the 5th century to the 6th century
Middle Ages, covering the period from the 9th century to the 14th century
Ottoman, covering the period from the 15th century to the 19th century
The name left over from the Ottoman era - Nebet Tepe - watchtower, conveys through the centuries the importance of the hill as an important observation post for traffic on the Maritsa River from the deepest antiquity, a sacred place for the Thracians, a residence, a strategic location for military garrisons.
The continuous human presence contributed to the significant destruction of most buildings and structures from earlier eras, as a result of which today, in addition to the protective fortress walls, two water reservoirs, parts of two buildings with chain rooms and fragments of brick pavements have been preserved and restored.
The lack of a water source on the hill forced its inhabitants to stock up on water, and reservoirs were built to store it.
Reservoir
Legend:
Roman reservoir (2nd – 3rd century)
Medieval reservoir (13th – 14th century)
Renaissance cistern
The earliest preserved reservoir of Nebet Tepe dates back to the Roman era (2nd – 3rd century). Most of it was dug into the ground, and the upper part probably had a structure that ensured the extraction of water. It is coated on the inside with several layers of hydrophobic mortar, preventing the passage of water.
According to modern measurements, its capacity is over 70,000 liters. In the 5th-6th centuries, the reservoir was partially built into the fortress wall during its reconstruction.
However, I will take the liberty of telling you a little more about the large rectangular reservoir, marked on the above sign as Medieval.
It is impressive in its size and, according to the latest research, has now been definitively dated as Roman, from the period from the 2nd century to the 4th century AD. It is one of the most significant engineering structures discovered on the hill.
This reservoir is a remarkable example of Roman engineering and was crucial to life in the fortress, as every fortress needed a reliable source of water, especially during sieges. This reservoir fulfilled this vital function.
It is rectangular in shape, typical of Roman engineering structures.
Its dimensions are impressive, providing a capacity of about 300 to 350 cubic meters (300,000–350,000 liters) of water. This is enough to sustain the lives of hundreds of people and animals for an extended period of time.
It was built with solid stone blocks, but more characteristic is the use of mixed masonry (opus mixtum) – alternating rows of dressed or broken stones with horizontal belts of bricks. This technique is characteristic of late Roman and early Byzantine building practice and provides exceptional strength and durability.
Inside, the walls and floor were covered with a thick layer of hydrophobic (water-resistant) mortar, known as opus signinum. This mortar was prepared by mixing slaked lime, sand and crushed brick material (ceramics). It had excellent water-repellent properties and prevented water from seeping in. It was often colored reddish.
It was mainly filled with rainwater, which was collected from the roofs of the surrounding buildings or from the surface of the hill and was led to it through specially constructed channels.
It is not excluded that there was also a connection with an aqueduct system that supplied water from outside the city, especially when Philippopolis had a developed water supply.
Its main function was to provide water during sieges, when external water sources were unavailable. In peacetime, it provided drinking and domestic water for the inhabitants of the acropolis.
The abundance of household and cultural objects found here during numerous archaeological excavations can be seen in the exhibition and funds of the Archaeological Museum Plovdiv.
The Nebet Tepe archaeological site consists of an area bounded by a metal fence. It has designated pedestrian areas that allow visitors to explore all parts of the site.
The route is well defined and marked by numerous information signs, providing the numerous tourists with invaluable information.
The trails pass through key locations that help to form an excellent picture of the historical and archaeological development of the place.
Nebet Tepe was inhabited during the Late Chalcolithic* (covering the end of the 5th millennium and the first half of the 4th millennium BC).
*The Chalcolithic, also called the Copper Age or Eneolithic, is a transitional period in the development of human civilization that follows the Neolithic (New Stone Age) and precedes the Bronze Age. This is an extremely important stage, marked by the discovery and beginning of the use of copper - the first metal that people began to process.
Southwestern sector
Traces of habitation from the Early Bronze (3,200 - 2,100 BC) and Late Iron (5th - 1st century BC) ages have been discovered in the southwestern sector, as well as numerous overlapping structures from the Roman, Early Byzantine and Medieval periods. In the 14th century, the space was used as a necropolis.
Legend:
Southwestern fortress wall with tower (mid-1st century)
Street (1st century BC – to 1st century AD)
Granary (second half of the 2nd to mid-3rd century)
Fortress wall with gate (second half of the 3rd to 4th century)
Double fortress wall (5th – 6th century)
Medieval fortress wall (13th to 14th century)
Life continued during the Bronze (covering the period from 3,200 to 1,200 BC) and Early Iron (covering the period from 1,100 to 600 BC) ages. However, its function – as a settlement and sanctuary – remains unclear.
The remains of the earliest periods of occupation of Nebet Tepe have been severely disturbed by later massive stone constructions and the use of the rocks for quarries in Antiquity.
Early periods of occupation
Platforms and materials from the Late Chalcolithic (end of the 5th - first half of the 4th millennium BC) and the Late Bronze Age (1500 - 1200 BC) have been studied mainly in the highest parts of the hill.
Legend:
Kupa. Late Chalcolithic (end of the 5th - first half of the 4th millennium BC)
Askos. Early Bronze Age (3200 - 2100 BC)
Kantharos. Early Iron Age (1100 - 600 BC)
During the Early Bronze Age (3200 - 2100 BC) and the Early Iron Age (1100 - 600 BC) the inhabited territory occupied a larger area, reaching the plains at its foot.
The numerous alterations of the defensive fortress walls during the Late Iron Age (covering the period from the 6th century to the 1st century BC), the Roman (from the 1st century to the 3rd century), the Early Byzantine (from the 4th century to the 7th century) and the Medieval (from the 9th century to the 14th century) periods make it possible to trace the development of the fortifications, but the lack of sufficient stratigraphic data does not allow for their precise dating. Information about the internal layout – architecture and the adjacent structures (residential, public and religious) is also scarce.
Early fortifications
From the earliest stone architecture, remains of a massive wall have been preserved. It represents two, structurally connected to each other, single-faced walls. Their routes follow the ancient terrain and use natural rock in their construction.
Their specific construction – stepped and single-faced, as well as the width of over 3 meters suggest that the structure had more than one purpose. It served as a fortress wall, as a support and terracing of the terrain. They date back to the 4th century BC.
The construction of the first defensive fortress walls of Nebet Tepe can be divided into two main stages.
The first period – from the middle or end of the 4th century BC, is associated with the time of the conquest of Thrace by Philip II of Macedon (342 – 341 BC) and the construction of the first fortification, enclosing the highest part of the hill. The southwestern and northern defensive fortress walls belong to it.
The second period – from the end of the 3rd century – 2nd century BC, when the Diagonal Fortress Wall was built on the earlier southwestern fortress wall.
Diagonal fortress wall
The diagonal fortress wall is the western wall of the fortification from the end of the 3rd - 2nd century BC. A bastion tower was built on its outer face, and a staircase on its inner face, which has not survived to this day.
Legend:
Diagonal fortress wall (late 3rd – 2nd century BC)
Tower-bastion to the Diagonal Wall
Early fortress wall (4th century BC)
It existed parallel to the northern fortress wall. At the connection between them there is an entrance paved with large rectangular stones. The fortified area during this period certainly occupied the highest, northern part of the hill. It remains unclear how far it continued in a southerly direction.
South Entrance
The south entrance to the enclosed trapezoidal space is a street to which two drainage channels belong.
Legend:
Northern fortress wall
Diagonal fortress wall
Double single-faced walls
Southern entrance
Entrances
Hearth – eshara
Imprints of beds for large stone blocks cut into the rock give some researchers reason to believe that the Diagonal Wall developed east of the entrance and enclosed a much larger area.
After the middle of the 1st century, the street and its associated buildings continued to function, but the space enclosed by them was used as a grain warehouse.
The accession of Philippopolis to the Roman Empire in 45 AD led to large-scale construction activities. The fortified area of the hill was increased, the existing fortress walls were reconstructed, and entirely new routes were built.
After the devastating Gothic invasion in 251, a new defensive fortress wall was added from the south, forming the highest part of the hill as a citadel.
The Secret Underground Entrance
The Secret Underground Entrance was built in the 4th – 6th century.
Legend:
Northern Fortress Wall
Underground "secret" entrance
It passes through the base of the northern fortress wall and leads out to a steep slope in which beds have been cut into the rocks with remains of masonry steps.
They reach the foot of the hill, where a reservoir was located.
Traces of an earlier construction have also been documented on the rocks.
In the period from the 4th century to the beginning of the 7th century, intensive construction activities were also carried out on the hill. Part of the northern fortress wall was reconstructed, and in the remaining sections the walls were doubled.
At the end of the 12th century, a large section of the eastern fortress wall was completely rebuilt.
In the 13th – 14th centuries, part of the western fortress wall was rebuilt and an east-west wall was built, which again separates the highest part of the hill as a citadel.
Late Antique building
It is a public building, of which 6 rooms have been preserved, 5 of which were probably transitional. A staircase and a corridor have also been discovered.
Legend:
Late Antique Building (5th – 6th century)
Southwestern Fortress Wall (5th – 6th century)
Medieval Fortress Wall (13th – 14th century)
In the 13th and 14th centuries, part of the premises were occupied during the construction of the fortress wall.
The fortress facilities functioned until 1410, when the city's citadel was mentioned in connection with the war between the sons of Sultan Bayezid I. After that, they were abandoned.
The earliest written record of the existence of a fortress on Nebet Tepe dates back to 1410.
And because they wanted to preserve the city, the princes closed the gate and climbed into the tower. And the king himself shouted to His Eminence Metropolitan Kir Damian:
"Hand over the fortress to me!".
And he replied:
"Those who closed the fortress are in the tower".
(During the period, the word tower had the meaning of a citadel)
In 1578, the German traveler Stefan Gerlach also described the fortress of Nebet Tepe:
On the first hill, another cistern and a ruined wall are visible, which, it seems, encompassed the most important part of the palace. From here, a wonderful view opens up to the flat field and the Maritsa River.
In 1652, the Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote:
Now the fortress represents an old stone settlement in the shape of a pentagon on a rock.
During the Ottoman period, the city's garrison was located here.
In the 1870s, Albert Dumont gave a brief description of the fortress walls on Nebet Tepe.
Renaissance
The plaque shows Nebet Tepe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
During the Bulgarian National Revival (19th century), this part of the hill was built up with houses. The only preserved structure from this period is a small cistern for storing water.
In the 1930s, Nebet Tepe was also known as Simeon's Hill.
In the early 1930s, the houses were demolished in connection with a project to turn the site into a park. This is why the first archaeological studies began here in 1934.
Archaeological excavations at the top of Nebet Tepe began in 1934 under the leadership of Dimitar Tsonchev (1934–1937) in connection with the construction of a park at this site. In the early 1960s, they were resumed by Petar Detev (1960, 1961, 1969), Hristo Dzhambov (1962) and Liliya Botusharova (1961, 1969, 1970, 1971). They were continued by Atanas Peykov (1976–1980, 1984, 1985). Thirty years later, the studies were renewed again at the initiative of the Plovdiv Municipality with the aim of socializing the site. In 2015, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kostadin Kisyov is conducting geophysical research in the southwestern part, where in 2016 archaeological research was conducted under the supervision of Sofia Hristeva (2016, 2017, 2021 – 2023).
Also contributing to the research of the site were architect Vera Kolarova, who made its first planned survey, explored and preserved the discovered remains of the fortress, and Mina Bospachieva, who conducted drilling excavations on the outside of the fortifications (1997) and summarized the results of the archaeological excavations up to 1985 in a book.
As a result of the excavations, layers and structures from the late Chalcolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, Roman, Early Byzantine, Medieval and Ottoman periods have been discovered.
In 1956, the Nebet Tepe Archaeological Complex was included in the List of Archaeological Reserves as the Ancient City of Philippopolis and Ancient Plovdiv.
In 1995, the Nebet Tepe Archaeological Complex was declared an archaeological monument of national importance.
The Nebet Tepe Archaeological Complex in the city of Plovdiv was officially opened to visitors on March 20, 2025.
The Nebet Tepe Archaeological Complex is managed by the Regional Archaeological Museum - Plovdiv, which provides specialized talks to interested groups and individual tourists. This opportunity will be available from 8:00 to 18:00 (summer time) and from 8:00 to 17:00 (winter).
Access to the Nebet Tepe Archaeological Complex for visitors is unlimited and no entrance fee is required.
How to get to the city of Plovdiv?
Imagine a city that has seen thousands of sunrises and sunsets, that has witnessed the rise and fall of empires, and that today proudly stands, telling its thousand-year history!
Welcome to Plovdiv – one of the most ancient cities in Europe!
Plovdiv is one of the best European tourist destinations!
Plovdiv is one of the best destinations for cultural tourism in Europe!
Dear travelers, get ready!
We will head to an extraordinary place where history is not just a series of dates, but if you reach out, you will touch it!
A place so old that it was born before legends, and so beautiful that it will steal your sleep.
When you step onto the smooth cobblestones of the narrow streets of the Old Town, you can't help but feel the breath of the past.
Every stone here, every house with carved facades, every hidden alley bears the imprint of Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans.
Plovdiv is not just another tourist destination, it is an experience!
It is a place where you can drink your morning coffee in a square where Roman legions once marched!
It is a place where you can get lost among the Ancient Theater, which was a stage for gladiatorial fights and dramatic plays!
It is a place where you can admire the sunset from Nebet Tepe – the hill where it all began millennia ago!
Prepare your senses for a celebration – for the aroma of figs and old wood, for the whisper of centuries-old stones, for the bright colors of the Revival houses, and for the pulse of a city that lives in harmony between antiquity and modernity!
Plovdiv will enchant you, excite you, inspire you and make you fall in love.
Are you ready to immerse yourself in this fabulous reality?
Plovdiv stands on:
161 kilometers (about 2 hours and 6 minutes by car) from the capital
376 kilometers (about 4 hours and 14 minutes by car) from the city of Varna
254 kilometers (about 2 hours and 24 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
How to get to Nebet Tepe Archaeological Complex?
You can only reach the Nebet Tepe Archaeological Complex on foot. If you are driving, you can park at the public parking lot located at 1 "Metropolit Paisii" Street.
And finally, my dear friends,
you shouldn't miss checking out
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