Gerlica

Gerlica is a megalithic sanctuary above the village of Рибново in Област Благоевград. It lies at the eastern foot of Селски връх in the Западни Родопи, within the westernmost part of the locality of Герилица.

The sanctuary consists of a large rock formation with a natural arch at its northeastern foot. Above this arch stands a big, roughly shaped stone block forming a second arch. A rectangular rock-cut altar is marked on the northern rocks above the arch. Artificially levelled rock platforms surround the sacred rock, and fragments of pottery were found on them.

Fieldwork in 2012 exposed a cultural layer on the southern side of the rock group. It had been disturbed by a feudal invasion and reaches a depth of over 1 m in places. The layer contained many fragments of Thracian pottery, including coarse, handmade, thick-walled, poorly fired pieces, along with a few grey wheel-made fragments. About 30 m away, on another rock platform beside a smaller rock group, the team also found pottery fragments and part of an iron knife blade.

The sanctuary is broadly dated to the 1st century BCE, although it may have begun in prehistoric times and was later reused by Thracian tribes. It was partially investigated during the second stage of the project „Тракийски светилища от Западните Родопи“, conducted by the University Research Centre for Ancient European and East Mediterranean Cultures with the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences – София, the „Юрий Гагарин“ National Observatory in Стара Загора, and the Regional Ethnographic Museum in Пловдив.

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