REDISCOVERED THEATRE
Plovdiv, Bulgaria is one of Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Nestled on the Maritsa River, in a valley between the Balkan and Rhodope mountain ranges, the Neolithic settlement became an important Thracian population centre, and then the Roman provincial hub known as Philippopolis.
Due to its economic and cultural significance, Philippopolis enjoyed the benefit of Roman construction and development, including this theatre built in the saddle between two hills overlooking the ancient city. Originally built to accommodate an audience of 5,000-7,000, the subsequent centuries of history (Byzantine, Ottoman, “Eastern Rumilia,” Eastern Bloc) figuratively and literally buried this classical structure, until it was rediscovered thanks to a landslide in 1970.