Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology | Българско е-Списание за Археология
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Всички пътища водят към Рим (конференция на Европейската aсоциация на aрхеолозите): All roads lead to Rome (Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists)
No full textThe transition from the Pre-Pottery to the early Pottery Neolithic period at the site of Uğurlu on the Island of Gökçeada, NE Aegean
Full text linkUğurlu, on the island of Gökçeada (Türkiye), is among the most important sites in the Aegean when considering the transition from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the early Pottery Neolithic. To date, the emergence of pottery in the Aegean has been described based on only a few sites, and except for Uğurlu, transition layers have not been adequately studied. The relatively small Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement at Uğurlu is about one metre thick and has been divided into seven layers. There is a continuous transition to the pottery layer, around 6600 cal BC. Although pottery production, which emerged without trial and error, indicates pre-existing knowledge, the first pottery was entirely of local production. This paper examines the similarities and differences in material culture between the Pre-Pottery and later Pottery Neolithic layers of Uğurlu
Newly discovered Late Bronze Age settlement in the vicinity of Kamenovo, Kubrat municipality, northeastern Bulgariа: preliminary results
Full text linkThis article presents the preliminary results of several consecutive studies conducted in the period 2021–2024. The area of the Ludogorsko Plateau is characterised by one of the highest concentrations of Late Bronze Age finds discovered in present-day Bulgaria. Unfortunately, more than 100 years after the first discoveries, no large-scale studies focusing on the period of the 2nd millenium BC have been carried out. The fieldwork strategy included combination of various research methods – from remote and non-destructive methods (LiDAR, geophysics, field surveys) to conventional archaeological excavations (trenches and long-term excavations over a larger area) for the sites selected for these studies.
The archaeological site in the locality of Yurtluka near the village of Kamenovo was registered during the first campaign (2021). Its identification as promising for future more detailed fieldwork led to the successive implementation of large-scale geomagnetic surveys and the first regular excavations in 2023.
The results presented are diverse and allow analyses and interpretations of various research questions relating to the settlement environment, the internal organisation of the site, the characteristics of the pottery assemblage and the main groups of artefacts. Initial hypotheses about chronology, possible supra-regional contacts and interactions in this part of the Ludogorsko Plateau during the Late Bronze Age are also put forward
Discriminating between flint outcrops in central north Bulgaria: archaeological implications
Full text linkThis paper focuses on newly identified raw material outcrops in central north Bulgaria, in an area only partially surveyed in our previous fieldwork. A new series of 10 raw material and 15 archaeological samples were collected and subjected to an analytical procedure combining macro- and micropetrography with geochemical analysis using LA-ICP-MS. Cognitive insights complete our general research agenda vis-à-vis the supply and use of flint raw materials in pre- and protohistory in Bulgaria. One is to try to distinguish between raw materials from two partially overlapping Late Cretaceous formations – Mezdra and Rumyantsevo – containing macroscopically similar flint concretions. Another lies in the drastic shift in raw material preferences (ergo, procurement system) between large-scale newly excavated BA/EIA assemblages and their ‘Chalcolithic predecessors’ and thus raises the question of what the key factors in such a transformation were; the third relates to the opportunity to reliably discriminate between the outcrops and the artefacts/assemblages affiliated to them. The results of our archaeometric study shed light on the formulated query and highlight the potential of using our large corpus of data in future regional and supraregional scientific collaborations
Non-invasive investigation of Roman Period rural settlements along the Middle course of the Tundzha river, Yambol district, Bulgaria
Full text linkSeveral Roman period surface scatters and a settlement located in the Yambol District, along the Tundzha River, have been investigated within the last few years. Surface surveys and geophysical prospection were combined with a thorough material evaluation, to allow a description of the possible dimensions and character of several sites, all likely located in the territory of ancient Kabyle. The investigation focused on several single features located in the Tundzha Municipality, such as the extensive settlement near Kozarevo village and a smaller installation, perhaps a villa, near the Roman settlement at Kabyle. Several scatters, already detected by the Tundzha Regional Archaeological Project, were re-surveyed in Elhovo Municipality, between the Dereorman and Gerenska rivers. The territory along the two rivers seems to have been densely populated during the 2nd–4th c. AD, with about 11 scatters dated to the Roman period, likely representing small rural settlements, distributed in regular intervals along the two rivers. One of the settlements on the Dereorman River, Yurta-Stroyno, surveyed and excavated in 2014–2016, provided a comparative base for the rest of the area.Evaluating the gathered data, the territory of Kabyle seems to have been quite self-sufficient during the Roman period. The rural settlements provide evidence of raw material processing, production of everyday items, as well as a preference for the locally available products, such as household pottery, limiting the number of pottery imports to a minimum
Светилището на Зевс и Хера (Στοβουστορηνοι ?) при Радомир : Тhe sanctuary of Zeus and Hera (Στοβουστορηνοι ?) near the town of Radomir
No full textThe article presents a critical approach to the archaeological complex at Arbanas quarter in the town of Radomir. Its excavator identified the site as important production and trade centre that was built near a sanctuary of Zeus and Hera. After its destruction ca. middle of 3rd c. AD, at the beginning of the 4th c. AD a walled Early Christian martyrial complex was built on the place with two single-apse buildings, subsequently transformed into a monastery. The thorough analysis of the available archaeological information allows to propose a different function of the site. According to it, a sanctuary of Zeus and Hera was established sometimes in the second half of the 1st c. AD. After its demolition by the raids of the Costobocs (170s AD) or the Goths (the middle of the 3rd c. AD) the sanctuary was rebuilt with walled temenos and two apse temples placed in a peristyle courtyard. Two votive altars reused as building material in the nearby villa at Bela voda quarter of Pernik most probably originate from the sanctuary in question. Both are dedicated to Zeus Στοβουστορηνος what was probably the local name under which the two deities were worshipped in the sanctuary at Arbanas
International Conference “Researches of Ancient Thrace between traditionality and modernity: theoretical aspects and scientific methodology”, 11th–13th April 2024, Sofia, Bulgaria
Full text linkСтарините в прохода Траянови врата в пътеписите от XVI–XIX век: Antiquities around the Trajan’s Gate Pass in travelogues from the 16th to the 19th century
No full textThe present article offers an analysis of the information presented in travel literature from the period between the 16th and 19th c., with a particular focus on the ruins located around Trajan’s Gate Pass. The descriptions of foreign travellers and the sketches, engravings and plans they left behind constitute the sole source of information about the ancient gate, which was destroyed in 1835, as well as about part of the fortifications connected to it, of which no remains have been preserved either. Although the earliest reference to the gate dates back to the 13th c., the first eyewitness account of the monument only dates from the first half of the 16th c. At that time, the appellation “Trajan’s Gate” had yet to be coined. The objective of this publication is to analyse the information provided about the antiquities themselves, as well as the attitudes of educated Western travellers who passed through the gate. The travelogues that have survived to the present day were written by individuals with a humanistic education and an interest in antiquity. Additionally, they were conversant with the works of ancient authors and the information they had left about the Balkans. Consequently, the ruins around Trajan’s Gate Pass are not overlooked. The article traces the evolution of the perception of the remains of the gate, its association with the name of the Roman emperor Trajan, its rise to fame and the expectations of travellers, who were subsequently disappointed. The stages in the reception of the ruins correspond to the development of interest in ancient monuments in general and those within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire in particular
Издирване на археологически обекти в област Ямбол Рeцензия на книга: Тодор Вълчев. Издирване на археологически обекти в област Ямбол. Вести на Ямболския музей, година X, брой 10. Ямбол: „Я“ – Yambol, 2023. ISBN 978-954-615-199-5: Field survey of archaeological sites in Yambol district Book review: Todor Valchev. Field survey of archaeological sites in Yambol district. Bulletin of Regional Historical Museum in Yambol, year 10, vol. 10. Yambol: “Я” – Yambol, 2023. ISBN 978-954-615-199-5
No full textМода, традиции и великолепие в облеклото на жените, изобразени в тракийските гробници : Fashion, traditions and splendour in the garment of women represented in Thracian tombs
No full textThe present article offers analysis of the garments of women represented in the burial chambers of the Thracian tombs at Kazanlak (280–265 BC) and Sveshtari (the end of the first/beginning of the second quarter of the 3rd c. BC). The accompanying accessories, makeup, hair dresses and shoes are also discussed. The women are dressed in a Greek fashion. Some of their garments have specific features and deliver complex, non-verbal messages, while manifesting a social status, identity, rank and personal qualities. Unquestionably, the depicted garments do not represent the usual, for that time in Thrace, clothing, but confirm the observations that the attire of the local elite follows completely the fashionable Hellenistic trends. The established diagnostic features of the garments point to the narratives of the discussed painted scenes: wedding motifs in Kazanlak tomb and a public event with religious and mythological connotations in Sveshtari