Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology | Българско е-Списание за Археология
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Exploring digital horizons: Bulgarian contributions to the Annual conference of Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA 2025 in Athens, Greece)
Full text linkContribution to the study of spinning bowls: examples from Early Iron Age Thrace
Full text linkThe identification of a specific group of ceramic and stone vessels with a handle on the interior, known in the literature as spinning bowls, has become possible due to the detailed Egyptian wall paintings and wooden models presenting different stages of textile production. These vessels were used for spinning, plying, or perhaps both, and were discovered in various regions and periods from the beginning of the 5th millennium BC until the Roman period. The article presents five ceramic bowls with a single interior handle discovered in inland Thrace and dated to the Early Iron Age, thus complementing the chronological and spatial distribution of this class of artefacts. The vessels were used for spinning flax or other plant-based material and were part of the small-scale, domestic textile production in Early Iron Age Thrace. The limited number of recorded examples, as well as their current absence in the preceding Bronze Age and the following Late Iron Age, is discussed. Like many other everyday items, after their primary use, the spinning bowls in Thrace acquired some symbolic meaning and were deposited at ritual sites
Ancient mining from southwest Bulgaria (based on data from Archaeological information system “Archaeological Map of Bulgaria”)
Full text linkThe subject of this paper is a review of the archaeological sites associated with ancient ore mining and metallurgy, located in Southwest Bulgaria. The information for this type of sites is drawn mainly from the data recorded in the Archaeological information system “Archaeological Map of Bulgaria” (AIS AKB), as well as from academic publications on the topic. The region under study includes archaeological sites located on the territory of three administrative districts in Bulgaria – Pernik, Kyustendil and Blagoevgrad.The vast majority of sites associated with ore mining are found in the Kraishte region, situated in today’s Pernik and Kyustendil districts and partly in Republic of Serbia and Republic of North Macedonia. The presence of gold, lead, copper, silver and iron deposits was appreciated already in ancient times, and their exploitation became a major livelihood for the local population. Most numerous are the sites dated to Antiquity, followed by sites from the Middle Ages, but the extraction of precious metals along some rivers may be dated to the Bronze Age as well. There are only a few sites where traces of both mining and metallurgical production are found. The places where slag is registered comprise mainly settlements and the materials discovered are rather from the manufacture of metal items than metal extraction
The 26th Annual Meeting and Heritage Management Symposium of the European Archaeological Council in 2025 (Gdańsk, Poland) and the launch of Guidelines for the Use of Airborne Laser Scanning (Lidar) in Archaeology (EAC Guidance 10)
Full text linkA coin hoard from the village of Popovo, southeastern Bulgaria
Full text linkThe subject of this study is a hoard of Roman imperial coins currently kept in the numismatic collection of the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia. It was discovered in 1939 in the area of Popovo village, Elhovo municipality, southeastern Bulgaria. The coins had been deposited in a pot. Traces of Thracian and Roman settlements and mounds are known in this area, located in the urban territory of Hadrianopolis. The hoard is in a very good state of preservation and consists of 237 denarii from 1st–2nd c. AD, spanning a time frame from Tiberius to Trajan. The terminus post quem of the hoard is a denarius minted between the autumn of AD 116 and August AD 117. The find from Popovo comes to be one of the few coin hoards in Thrace from the 2nd c. discovered to the south of the Balkan Range. A detailed catalogue of 237 coins is presented
Проблемът с „махайрата“ от Софрониево: The so-called makhaira from the village of Sofronievo
No full textThe sword from the village of Sofronievo, Vratsa region, has long been accepted as the earliest representative of the makhaira type swords in Thrace. However, a re-examination of this weapon reveals significant discrepancies with its initial interpretation. Analysis of archival data and direct observation of the artifact show that the “handle” is actually a type III3B cross-shaped axe (according to Wesse’s typology), which was incorrectly identified as the handle of the blade found in the same complex. This interpretation was probably suggested because the working edge of the axe is also damaged, as can be seen in the photograph in the original publication. For this reason, the axe was later attached (welded) to the blade of the sword during the subsequent restoration. Furthermore, the discrepancies between the original publication of the weapon and its current condition indicate that the interventions made were not adequately documented. A comparative analysis with similar artefacts suggests that the blade is more like the swords of the Basarabi type. These observations require a reassessment of the find and its place in the classification of Thracian offensive weapons. The incorrect interpretation of the sword from Sofronievo highlights the importance of critical rethinking of previously published materials and their significance for refining the typology and chronology of Iron Age weapons in Thrac
Investigating the Early Bronze Age II settlement at Hacılar Büyük Höyük (Burdur, Türkiye)
Full text linkAfter the EBA I period came to an end at Hacılar Büyük Höyük around 2800 BC, the EBA II period can be easily followed in the excavations carried out at Kuruçay and Bademağacı Höyük, and in the neighbouring regions to the south, west, north and east of the Burdur – Antalya Region. Architectural remains from this period at Hacılar Büyük Höyük were uncovered in Trenches AB and C. Although the structures were badly damaged due to their proximity to the surface, the pottery and other finds that were obtained provide very interesting insights. The pottery uncovered so far includes a very diverse repertoire of forms that can be divided into five ware groups. In the same period, numerous fired clay finds such as schematic figurines that are slightly different from each other, stamp seals, schematic figurine-seals, numerical tablets and labels have been uncovered. In addition to these, metal finds such as an iron dagger with a wooden handle and traces of cotton weaving on it, and a gold earplug provide valuable information and insights into the unique cultural, social and economic dimensions of the settlement. All these finds show that Hacılar Büyük Höyük was a dominant centre in the EBA II period, as it was during EBA I
Revisiting the history of the Ostrusha Tomb: new data from pottery deposits
Full text linkThe Ostrusha tomb is remarkable for its monolithic chamber with hybrid Achaemenid-Greek architecture and a painted ceiling. It was planned and built as a free-standing tomb but was later incorporated into a larger structure. The history of its construction and use remains unsettled, as valuable information was lost in hasty excavation. This paper presents the first comprehensive study of the pottery collected during the excavation and attempts to reconstruct its archaeological context based on surviving descriptions and photographs. Contrary to previous suggestions, the ceramic material does not come from the interior of the tomb or from a ritual pyre. It was originally deposited at different locations in the area of the mound. The relationship of these deposits to the tomb, if any, cannot be reconstructed. The fragmented vessels do not provide firm chronological limits for the different building phases of the monument. However, the majority of the pottery belongs to the third quarter of the 4th c. BC, and it is very likely that these vessels were deposited in connection to a burial. This suggests that the initial structure of the tomb, the monolithic chamber, was completed by ca 325 BC. The activity in the area of the tomb continued until soon after ca 300 BC. The extension of the tomb, with its additional chambers, appears to have been abandoned and buried under the mound before it was completed
Marmora Thracica. Recent advances in marble studies from the international project “Fingerprinting white marbles: quarries and cities of Roman Thrace (1st–3rd c. AD)”
Full text linkStamp from the Late Chalcolithic period of İkiztepe settlement on the Black Sea coast (Samsun, Türkiye)
Full text linkLocated in the coastal zone of the Central Black Sea (near the city of Samsun), the settlement of İkiztepe represents one of the longest-running archaeological excavations providing data on the prehistoric periods of the region. Excavations conducted between 2021 and 2025 on Tepe I, the largest mound of the site, have revealed contexts dated to the Early Bronze Age I (3100–2900 BC) and the Late Chalcolithic period (3947–3326 BC). Research indicates that weaving activities were organised in a systematic manner at Tepe I from the earliest phases of the Late Chalcolithic onward. Within this context, a stamp uncovered in Level 8 of the Late Chalcolithic deposits constitutes the focus of this study. Discovered in association with weaving-related activities, this object represents the only known example from both İkiztepe and the Central Black Sea Region. The find demonstrates that the stamp tradition, widely attested across a broad geographic area since the Neolithic, was also present in the Black Sea basin. It provides significant evidence regarding İkiztepe’s cultural interaction networks and regional connections