site.btaAsteroid Named After Ancient Thracian City of Perperikon

On February 24, an asteroid located between Jupiter and Mars was named Perperikon, after the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon (Eastern Rhodopes), with the name being approved by the International Committee for New Names of the International Astronomical Union, archaeologist Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov, the long-time head of excavations at Perperikon, told BTA on Tuesday.

He explained that the asteroid was discovered in 2014 by a school student from Varna under the guidance of scientists. "The people from Varna decided that its name should be Perperikon," Ovcharov added, noting that the asteroid has the number 560085.

Ovcharov reminded that the British daily The Guardian ranks Perperikon among the top ten most remarkable sites in Europe, while the U.S. tourism website www.islands.com, a part of National Geographic, refers to the ancient city as the 'Machu Picchu Of Europe'.

"We should pay much more attention to these monuments we have, which are admired by the entire world. I am not saying that no attention is given, of course. But the attention should be much greater because our archaeological sites are capable of having an impact worldwide. This is extremely important, especially for the development of cultural tourism in Bulgaria," Ovcharov further emphasized.