Пещера "Тройната утроба"

Triple Womb Cave

Useful Information

Location:	15 km east of Momchilgrad near the village Tatul. (41.543519, 25.548614)
Open:	no restrictions. [2023]
Fee:	free. [2023]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Triple Womb Cave, Tel: +359-.
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History

Description

Пещера "Тройната утроба" (Peshtera "Troĭnata utroba", Triple Womb Cave) is a cave which is considered to have a fertility aspect due to its form like a female vulva. There is another cave nearby which actually looks like a vulva from outside, while this one actually looks like a crack between two blocks of rock from the outside. This cave formed by the dissolution of the rock by water flowing down a vertical crack, and so the lenticular passages inside actually resemble a vulva, not a womb, inside. And as the passage splits into three inside, three arms which actually have the mentioned shape, hence the name. The cave is natural, some pages who state that the walls were shaped by a human look like a womb are obviously wrong.

The reason why the fertility aspect is emphasized so much is probably the Thrakian ruins on the next hill about 300 m to the southwest. This site is chiseled into the rock summit forming different rectangular plateaus, like a sort of asymmetric pyramid. It is named Татул (Tatul) after the nearby village or Тракийско светилище (Thracian surface tomb) and also called the Sanctuary of Orpheus. Archaeologists believe that this building was dedicated to Orpheus, but local legends even say that he is buried there. This place is considered to be one of the most significant megalithic structure in the Rhodope Mountains. It was first used either as a settlement or as a temple by the ancients in the Stone and Copper Age since approximately 4,800 to 4000 BC. 30 clay altars from the 19th and 18th centuries BC were excavated. An Iron Age idol from between 1200 BC and 550 BC was also found. The Thracians modified it during the 5th - 4th centuries BC and the stone wall which surrounds the hill was built in the 4th and 1st centuries BC. Some structures date from the 2nd to 3rd centuries AD, but with the Christianization of the Rhodopes in the late 4th to early 5th centuries the temple was abandoned. Instead, a defensive tower was constructed on the site and the site became the private estate of a local ruler.

So how is the megalithic site connected to the cave? Numerous sources say so, not a single one explains. We have no idea as there are no visible traces in the cave. Probably the people at the temple frequented the cave, its actually only 5 minutes walk away, but it seems they mostly ignored it.

The cave is very small, has a horizontal floor and is very easy to visit. A torch may be useful but is not necessary, the cave is so tiny, the light from the entrance is sufficient. If you are here to see the archaeological site, its definitely worth the 5 minutes walk.