Pobiti Kamani
Pobiti Kamani ( Bulgarian Побити камъни ; translated: "Stones rammed into the ground") is a widely scattered group of stone formations in Bulgaria . The north-south extension of the area is 8 km, the east-west extension 3 km. The stone formations are located one kilometer east of Devnya , 18 km west of Varna and extend over an area of 7 km². Occasionally, the term stone forest is used because of the similarity to trees that have become stone .
Until the beginning of the 19th century, when a Russian officer described it precisely, these columnar stone formations were believed to be the remains of a Greek city. After all, 10 km to the west are the remains of Marcianopolis , the largest former Roman city in today's Bulgaria.
location
The stone formations Pobiti kamani are close to both sides of the Varna - Sofia motorway ( E 70 ), between the villages of Slantschewo , Banowo and Straschimirowo and the town of Poweljanowo, a district of Devnja. The stone formations can be combined into individual groups:
- Diklitasch group,
- Banowo Group (near the village of the same name),
- Slantschewo Group (near the village of the same name),
- Strashimirovo Group,
- Beloslaw Group,
- Kanarata,
- Karierata,
- Kuwanlaka,
- Stanzijata.
The Diklitasch group (Bulgarian Дикили Таш; name borrowed from Turkish) is the largest, most impressive and best preserved formation. Here over 300 stone pillars are arranged on a long narrow strip (approximately 850 by 120 m). The motorway runs through the northern part of this group. Another 50 stone pillars stand a little further south in a smaller group.
The Straschimirowo Group is located south of the Diklitasch Group and consists of four rows that run in a north-south direction. Here most of the columns have a noticeable thickening in the middle.
The stone pillars
This stone formation is a rare natural phenomenon. There are stone columns 5 to 7 m high (some to 10 m high) and a thickness of 30 cm to 3 m, with very different cross-sections. Some pillars are broken in two or more pieces. Individually or in groups, they stand upright in the landscape, as if a tremendous force had deliberately rammed them into the sand. Hence the name Pobitite kamani (with an article; or Pobiti kamani - without a specific article), which can be translated as "The stones that have been rammed in" or "The stones that have been hammered in". Because of the similarity with a petrified forest, the term is also sometimes Steinwald (Engl. Stone forest ) used not to be confused with the Stone Forest, a karst landscape in the autonomous district of Shilin in China.
The pillars do not have a solid base. They are hollow and filled with sand. In addition to the visible pillars, there are other pillars that are hidden in the ground. These hidden pillars are arranged in the underground on three floors. Only in the case of the Karierata column group are these floors exposed, so that a total of four layers of columns are visible there, which extend over a total of 25 m. Each layer stands on its own base layer of limestone, which probably all have the same mechanism of formation.
The lower floors of the Karierata group were partly exposed by human hands, probably in connection with the mining of building sand. This sand pit is no longer used.
The stone pillars were a sacred place in ancient times. They were first documented in 1829. In order to preserve this natural phenomenon, it was declared a protected area in 1937 (“national natural attraction”). Many stone pillars are reminiscent of animals or people and were given corresponding names:
- "The stone guard",
- "The camel",
- "The throne",
- "The stone forest",
- "The lion",
- "The waterfall".
origin
There are various hypotheses about the origin of the formations that formed under the sea floor 50 million years ago in the Lower Eocene . On the one hand, an organic origin is assumed and the formation is attributed to deposits of corals and algae. On the other hand, a mineral origin is assumed, with weathering having formed prismatic rock formations, similar to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. The formation of sand-lime deposits is also believed to be the cause.
These formations were exposed by erosion and tectonic uplift.
Coordinates: 43 ° 13 ′ 35 ″ N , 27 ° 42 ′ 24 ″ E
