Eldermen

Eldermen is a rock sanctuary near the summit of Елдермен, about 1,5 km from the village of Старосел, Област Пловдив, Bulgaria. It forms part of a wider group of ancient cult sites in the area, close to the cult complex at Четиньова могила and the megalithic sanctuary at Момини гърди.

At the foot of the summit is a mound excavated by treasure hunters. Immediately below the peak is a large, secondarily cut basin in the rock, 2 m long and 0,30 m deep. A shaped channel leads from it toward the east. Nearby rock-cut features include pits and sacrificial altars typical of ancient Thracian ritual practice, while ceramic fragments lie around the basin and the foot of the rock.

A roughly shaped disc carved into the rock faces southeast and offers a view over the Долнотракийската низина. The basin and channel, the disc, and the rock-cut ritual features indicate a connection with the cult of the Sun god among the ancient Thracians. The sanctuary was discovered during field research in October 2010 by д-р Георги Мишев.

Its proximity and visual links with the cult complex at Четиньова могила suggest that Eldermen and Момини гърди belonged to a shared cult center. In this tradition, the Great Mother Goddess was represented as Планина and Планински връх, as well as the womb beneath the mound, while the Sun god was associated with sunlight entering the dark temple or with the solar rock disc joining heavenly light and earthly force. No dates for the sanctuary’s construction or use are given.

Eldermen is a megalith (abstract root) in Starosel, Bulgaria. No English Wikipedia article exists for it; the full text below is the Bulgarian article "Елдермен", shown in the original language.