Ancient History
The Rhodopes are considered one of the cradles of European civilization. It is estimated that primitive people settled the region around 65,000 to 60,000 BC. The oldest evidence of human presence in the Rhodopes, flint instruments, was discovered in Borino by an archeological excavation near the current Orpheus Chalet. During fall and winter, eneolithic people lived in the caves of the region. Experts have discovered hearths from this time period dating from 4000 to 3000 BC in Yagodina Cave and idyllic figures connected with the cult to the Woman-Mother and the Sun Cult in Haramiska Cave near the Devil�s Throat Cave.
Two-thousand years ago in the surrounding areas of Borino lived the Thracian tribe of Bessi. From these tribes have been discovered Thracian burial mounds on the Turlata Peak, located near Borino, and many shrines scattered throughout the area. The Shrine of Dionysius in the Rhodopes and the musical culture of the Thracians are connected with the name of the mythological Rhodope singer Orpheus, who fascinated the wind and wild beasts with the sounds of his lira. He is the creator of the philosophical study Orphism. There exists a hypothesis, that on the Videnitsa Peak was located the famous Shrine of Dionysius � visited by Gaius Octavius and Alexander the Great.
As the Thracian civilization started to fade Roman rule entered the Rhodopes. Near Borino pieces of roads and the bridge Kemera can still be seen from this time. Near Borino ran the direct road from Philipopolis (Plovdiv) to Nikopolis ad Nestum (Gotse Delchev) and Macedonia.
Creation of Bulgaria
During the 6th century the Slavs began to settle the Balkan Peninsula. Following the Slavs, Proto-Bulgarians arrived in the 7th century. These two new tribes, together with the Thracians created the state of Bulgaria in 681 AD. From the Proto-Bulgarians they took the name for the new state, from the Slavs they took the language � Slavic,
