Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology | Българско е-Списание за Археология
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Международна конференция „Трите страни на една история: Балканите, степите и пустата, или триъгълната матрица на края на неолитните култури“ 26–29 февруари 2024, Букурещ, Румъния: International conference “Three sides of every story: the Balkans, the Steppe and the Puszta, the triangular matrix of the Neolithic collapse” 26th–29th February 2024, Bucharest, Romania
No full textArchaeozoological material from the Late Antique fortified settlement near the modern-day town of Dimovo, northwestern Bulgaria
Full text linkIn 2022–2023, a complete rescue archaeological excavation was carried out at the Late Antique fortified settlement (the late 4th–6th c. AD) discovered in 2021 near the modern-day town of Dimovo (Vidin Region, NW Bulgaria). A total of 14,045 fragments of animal remains representing 50 taxa were identified from these two field seasons. Along with animal husbandry, hunting still had a significant place. Some wild mammals (such as wild boar, Еuropean hare, red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, aurochs, and European bison) were hunted for food, while others (such as red fox, wild cat, grey wolf, brown bear, and beaver) were hunted for their fur. Livestock breeding (cattle, sheep, goat, horse, donkey and pig) was the basic source of meat, transportation, or harnessing for agriculture. Interestingly, numerous remains of Greek/Hermann’s tortoises have been found, which hints that this species’ meat was also used for food. A large set of bone and antler finds bears traces of different stages of processing, indicating that some animals were used as a source of raw material for the production of crafted items. Wild birds, albeit in significantly smaller amounts, were represented by the great bustard, mute swan, graylag goose, lesser white-fronted goose, grey partridge, grey heron, common woodpigeon, common buzzard, white-tailed sea-eagle, rook, and the disappeared black grouse. The wild faunal diversity around the settlement was much richer than it is today. About 1/10 of the established animal composition are species that have disappeared in the last millennium from the modern fauna of Bulgaria – Eurasian black grouse, great bustard, aurochs, wisent and Eurasian beaver
Образователни програми за деца и ученици на Националния археологически институт с музей при Българска академия на науките: Educational programs for children and pupils of the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
No full textWorld Neolithic Congress 2024 (Şanliurfa, Türkiye) and Bulgarian prehistory in context
Full text linkOttoman gunpowder artillery in Bulgaria: archaeological and textual evidence
Full text linkThe paper examines specific artifacts – stone balls of various sizes – that constitute significant material remnants of Ottoman military history in Bulgaria. While historical records confirm the existence of Ottoman gunpowder artillery in the region, archaeological research has contributed little to its study. This is largely due to the misdating and misinterpretation of these stone balls.Through careful analysis of publicly available archaeological data and historical sources, this study presents a new perspective on using gunpowder artillery and stone projectiles in Ottoman Bulgaria. It contends that most of these artefacts were integral to the Ottoman military arsenal, challenging previous assumptions that limited them to medieval ammunition.The study provides compelling evidence for the existence of Ottoman-era stone projectiles at several sites, including Cherven, Shumen, Nikopol, Silistra, Kaliakra, and Svishtov. This evidence is corroborated by historical records, which underscore the undeniable presence of Ottoman artillery in the region, particularly in the areas between the Danube and the Balkan Mountains, which remained a vulnerable frontier zone in contrast to the land south of the mountains.Crucially, this research underscores the need for more precise archaeological documentation, comprehensive artefact descriptions, thorough contextual information, and multidisciplinary research to understand the complex history of these stone projectiles fully
Булевтерионът на Serdica – за пореден (вероятно не последен) път: The bouleuterion of Serdica – for yet another (probably not the last) time
No full textThe bouleuterion is the main edifice in the complex of any ancient city square (agora/forum). The bouleuterion of Serdica is the only studied and definitely identified edifice in the complex of the local central square. Its chronology and characteristics have been debated by various researchers. The construction of its known edifice can be attributed to the last quarter of the 2nd c. AD. It was erected on top of an earlier building, probably with the same purpose. The known edifice was substantially reconstructed at the end of the 3rd c. AD. Its use as a bouleuterion has ended in the period between the end of the 4th and the middle of the 5th c. AD The poorly preserved remains and the extreme circumstances of their study in the 1950s are the reasons why almost all basic questions about their characterization today can be answered in the form of probabilities, as hypotheses. Although hypothetical, our analysis should be based on the facts and documentation available in the primary publication, following an objective, but also correct attitude towards them
Bulgarian-Italian scientific and cultural collaboration through the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Full text linkNew data for the Early Bronze Age Balkans-Anatolian interrelations: the axes from the Edirne Museum (Turkiye)
Full text linkMetal shaft-hole axes were an important status tool for the Balkan Bronze Age societies. These axes are spread over a wide geographical area and are divided into many different subclasses. One of these subclasses is the Veselinovo group.Several bronze axes were donated to the Edirne Museum in 2020, five of which were of Veselinovo I type. It was recorded that these axes were found in a field near the Uzunköprü district of Edirne province.The geographical area where this type of axe is most frequently found is northern Greece, Thrace, the Carpathians, the steppe and forest-steppe regions of Ukraine, the Caucasus and Anatolia. These artefacts provide important information about the distribution routes of similar axes that spread in these regions in the Bronze Age.Two axes with similar form have been recorded in Anatolia. One comes from northeastern Anatolia, close to the Caucasus Region, and the other is from inner western Anatolia. It is known that western Anatolia was in contact with the cultures of the Thracian region during the Bronze Age. The bronze axes in the Edirne Museum shed new light on this communication network. There is a very strong possibility that the Vesselinovo I type axes from central western Anatolia were brought to the region from Thrace. It is noteworthy that the Uzunköprü-Keşan valley line in Eastern Thrace was decisive in the transport of this axe type from Thrace to Anatolia
Българската нумизматична наука и предизвикателствата на дигиталната епоха: Bulgarian numismatics and the challenges of the digital age
No full textFrom data collection to analysis: Designing a relational database for archaeological research in the eastern Rhodope region
Full text linkThis paper aims to demonstrate the potential of relational databases for archaeological purposes in storing, organizing, managing, querying, and analysis of various types of data. This results in exploration of the long-term settlement history of a regional landscape. The organization and analysis of spatial and non-spatial archaeological datasets pose significant challenges for archaeologists, particularly when it comes to integrating data from multiple sources, representing spatial relationships among data elements, and accommodating multiple scales of analysis. In recent years, advances in database technologies have enabled archaeologists to organize these datasets more effectively through the application of relational databases. This study focuses on the design of a relational database for the eastern Rhodope region in Bulgaria, with the further goal of investigating settlement patterns through the identification, mapping, and analysis of archaeological sites and their spatial relationships. The aim of this research is to explore how archaeologists can enhance their analysis of complex datasets by adopting relational database design, which enables effective organization and integration of data from various sources