A team of archaeologists headed by Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov has discovered the foundations of a big episcopal early Christian cathedral in the rock town of Perperikon. 
The cathedral is dated to the second half of the 5^th century. The building had a monumental colonnade, walls made of huge square blocks and beautiful monumental decorations. So far only the building’s central part (25 x 15 meters) has been unearthed, but the overall length is expected to be 40 meters or the size of the old bishopric in the town of Nessebar or of the St. Sofia church in the capital city. In the 9^th century the cathedral was reconstructed into a single-nave basilica, again impressive in size. As a basilica it functioned right up to the 14^th century when Perperikon was captured by the Ottoman Turks. A necropolis of vaulted tombs formed around it, 25 of which are fixed though they are yet to be uncovered.