The band of megalithic sites
The megalithic site of Ivan Vazovo is located in the Middle Mountain band of megalithic sites that is located South of the Central Balkan mountain range and North of Plovdiv.
The surrounding sites
Ivan Vazovo is surrounded by many megalithic sites, many of which have not yet been visited and added to the inventory. Some are already inventorised:
Elevation
The megaliths of Ivan Vazovo are located at 300m elevation. They are positioned in a narrow band between 200m and 330m altitude. The bottom of the hillside does not host any megaliths as if it was not accessible at the time when they were built as if they were under water.
Erosion
The erosion patterns are similar to what we see at other megalithic sites in the Middle Mountain. There is water erosion and several standing stones have been tipped over.
Layout of the megalithic site
The megalithic site of Ivan Vazovo are laid out in an arc pattern on the South facing flank of a hill.
Specific rock formations
There are many clusters of stone.
Alignment
All the megaliths are facing South. They are not perfectly aligned to exact cardinal points.
Levels
The megaliths are laid out on several levels across the arc shaped hill.
The size of stones
There are 2 distinct sizes of megaliths. The larger ones underneath act as bases or plinths for the relatively smaller stones that are standing on top.
The shape of the stones
The stones are rounded as if they had been shaped when the granite was still soft and malleable.
Periods of construction
Like at most other megalithic sites in the Middle Mountain the stones of Ivan Vazovo talk to us about 2 distinctive periods of megalith building. The earlier period of the larger less well-finished stones can be associated with the Lemurian epoch.
The relatively smaller standing megaliths that are better finished and positioned on top of the larger ones can be associated with the Atlantean epoch.
Skewer holes
We have found several holes in the granite stones. They do not match similar ones found at the pyramids of Stryama and Bania nearby.
The first set of holes are wider and made vertically seem to be made in the XXth century as if samples of the granite had been taken.
The other set of holes form a line of indents in large rounded megaliths. The grooves are shallow and rectangular. They seem to be a prank made in modern times to make the megalith look like a spaceship. Not all that shines is gold!
Type of stone
The stone composition of the megaliths of Ivana Vazovo is the same as other sites nearby in the Middle Mountain. It is a yellow granite composite.
Lines of quartz blocks in the granite
There are lines of quartz blocks like the ones found at Rozovets, Bania and Stryama.
Grid lines of quartz underground
We did not see any grid lines of quartz blocks in the base of the site like in Pesnopoy, Bania and Stryama. But it is very likely that they exist as it is a common feature at the megalithic sites of the Middle Mountain.
