Madara
A village a few km from Pliska, the capital of the first Bulgarian kingdom, whose environs have been inhabited since Neolithic times because of abundant springs. These gush forth at the foot of the rocky upland, on which was built a fortress. It is constructed of large blocks of stone and has a large gate flanked by two pentagonal towers and an internal court with two gates. Into the rocky summit, which reaches an elevation of over 100 m, is carved a large relief, called the Cavalier of Madara.
This relief of the cavalier with a dead lion at the feet of his horse is carved 23 m above ground level. Excavations have brought to light remains from the Thracian-Roman, proto-Bulgarian, and Byzantine periods. On the building stones are found the characteristic pictograms. There are many articles fashioned of metal and clay, including painted ceramics, as well as proto-Bulgarian jewelry.
BIBLIOGRAPHYR. Popov et al., Le cavalier de Madara (1925); G. Feher, Les monuments de la culture proto-bulgare (1932); B. Filow, Geschichte der altbulgarischen Kunst (1932) 11; V. Velkov et al., Madarskijat Konnik (1956); N. Mavrodinov, Starobulgarskoto Izkustvo (1959) 65ff.
A. FROVA