Secrets of the Mountains

Bettany Hughes continues her journey exploring the cultural wonders of Bulgaria. In the lost Greek settlement of Heraclea Sintica, uncovered by archaeologists in 2007, Bettany surveys the remarkably preserved remains of shops and an ancient sanctuary for the Goddess Nemesis, and she joins the excavations of the town's ancient drains.

In the Pomak village of Ribnovo, she witnesses traditional Muslim bridal face-painting, which can be traced back to Bronze Age Greece. In the Rila Mountains she encounters sacred sites spanning millennia, as well as the Buzludzha Monument, a controversial Communist-era relic representing a painful chapter in Bulgaria's more recent history.