Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology | Българско е-Списание за Археология
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Наблюдения върху характеристиките, хронологията и обема на раннобронзови аскоси от Юнаците и Огняново, Пазарджишко: Observations on the characteristics, chronology, and volume of the Early Bronze Age askoi from Yunatsite and Ognyanovo settlement mounds, district of Pazardzhik
No full textThe present research concerns 26 complete and restored askoi found during archaeological excavations at the settlement mounds near the modern villages of Yunatsite and Ognyanovo (Maltepe), district of Pazardzhik. The aim of this study is to present some new and additional data on the characteristics, stratigraphic positions and chronology of the vessels. The methodology used includes a detailed catalogue and comparison with the known Early Bronze Age finds from the Bulgarian lands and the neighbouring territories. Although the artifacts of this category of vessels from the mentioned sites have already been considered in the literature, their reassessment gives new data on their characteristics. This allows their comparison with similar vessels from neighbouring territories. An attempt has been made to create an internal typological scheme for the settlement mound of Yunatsite
Pазказът на костните останки: два скелета от вкопано жилище № 10, ранносредновековен комплекс Брестница–Полето, Северозападна България: The bone remains testimony: two skeletons in a dugout dwelling 10 from the Early Medieval complex Brestnitsa–Poleto, northwestern Bulgaria
No full textThe skeletal remains of two individuals were discovered in a dugout dwelling (# 10) during rescue excavations of the early medieval metallurgical centre “Brestnitsa–Poleto”, northwestern Bulgaria. While these are not the only skeletons discovered on the site, this find is of note because, unlike other burials excavated nearby, it doe s not represent a regular Christian burial Instead the remains were found on the floor of a housing structure. The radiocarbon dating of the bones indicates they were from the first decade / half of the 9th century. The current paper examines the process of discovering and documenting the skeletal remains in situ. It offers a reconstruction of the situation of the bodies at the time of their death – their positions and location, as well as a possible cause of death. The consequent laboratory analysis presents a detailed report of the individual characteristics of each skeleton starting with age, sex and stature estimation, and a thorough examination of pathological marks and changes, as well as dental and craniometrical indexes where the condition of the bones allowed a reconstruction
Thracian silver jewellery from the 4th c. BC: investigations on objects from the collection of the Roman–Germanic Central Museum, Leibniz Research Institute for Archaeology
Full text linkIn 2021, eight Thracian silver objects came to my attention during a research stay at the Roman-Germanic Central Museum, Leibniz Research Institute for Archaeology (RGCM) Mainz, Germany, which have been ignored by the scientific community so far. The presented silver convolute, which forms part of the collection of the RGCM, consist of two bracelets, three fibulae and three hemispherical fragments. As the archaeological context is missing, the objects had been analysed and placed in a chronological and geographical context with other objects of this kind. It was established that the three fibulae belong to the Bukyovtsi Type. The bracelets have strong similarities with pieces from several hoards in north-western and central Bulgaria, for example from Vladinya (Lovech region) or Granitovo (Belogradchik region). Due to the stylistic features of the objects, they can be dated to the second half of the 4th century BC
Проект „Никополис ад Иструм – геофизика extra muros“. Резултати от проучването през 2021 г.: Project “Nicopolis ad Istrum – Geophysics extra muros“, Season 2021
No full textThe general aim of the project is to enhance our knowledge of Nicopolis ad Istrum city plan outside of the fortification wall. At present the immediate surroundings of the Roman civitas are under meadows. Thus geophysical survey is one of the most extensive ways to investigate the extramural urban planning.
The total area covered by geomagnetic survey in 2021 is 9.09 ha (101 quadrants of the square grid), while the resistivity survey was conducted over 1.11 ha. The surveyed areas are on the two banks of the Nikyupsko dere Creek, to the northwest and to the north of the Roman city.
Not all of the registered anomalies are clear for interpretation due to the character of the building materials used in Antiquity, the search and extraction of spolia, and the depth of the structures.
Potential pottery kilns and workshops have been registered along the creek. Extramural continuations of streets, or cardines and decumani cut off by the fortification wall (built circa 175 AD) from the initial urban planning, are visible in the geophysics results. Building foundations have also been registered. In addition to the Western aqueduct, information from previous field surveys suggests two more northwestern aqueducts that supplied the city with water. Some of the registered anomalies could be identified with one of those structures
Находки от района на Вършец в контекста на прехода от желязна към римска епоха в Северна България (III в.пр.Хр. – началото на II в.сл.Хр.) : Finds from Varshets in the light of the transition from the Late Iron Age to the Roman period in northern Bulgaria (3rd century BC – beginning of 2nd century AD)
No full textThe museum collection in Varshets shelters several artefacts, which are the focus of the current paper. The selection of items under examination comprises artefacts, datable to the Late Iron Age (3rd–1st century BC/ LT C-D) or to the Roman period (1st– early 2nd century AD). The materials kept in the Varshets museum collection are divided into two major groups related to the local culture and the Early Roman Empire. The native objects are almost entirely typical for the so-called Padea–Spahii group. Most certainly, they came from a destroyed necropolis which consisted of at least three graves. The Early Roman group can safely be linked to the Imperial army of 1st century AD. The appearance of such finds near the mountain can be explained by control of the mountain passes or exploitation of the rich silver deposits. However, the lack of information concerning the exact findspots of the items discussed here makes all interpretations a risky endeavor
Булевтерионът на Сердика: The bouleuterion of Serdica
No full textThe article offers a critical overview of the discussion concerning the chronological periods of the bouleuterion in Serdica. The building has been studied several times by different scholars, each proposing their own view on the architectural changes and chronology of the council house. A thorough analysis of the published archaeological data suggests five chronological periods in the history of the bouleuterion in Serdica. The first building has small dimensions and probably mud-brick walls and wooden benches along the walls. It is built most probably in the second third of the 2nd century AD and destroyed in AD 170 during the Costoboc’s raids. The next building is rebuilt over the foundations of the earlier one in the end of the 2nd – beginning of the 3rd century AD. The new bouleuterion has more solid walls and probably a stone-mason cavea inside. The third building could be dated to the end of the 3rd century AD. It is larger, with thick walls in opus mixtum. The seats inside are supported by cavea built in opus mixtum. The fourth period takes place during the initial decades of the 4th century AD. The need of more places for the increased number of councilors resulted in a new elaborate construction of the cavea. The last period should be placed after the beginning of the 5th century AD. The cavea is partly or entirely demolished and the building is remodeled with new architectural additions. At that time the bouleuterion most probably had already lost its original function and is used for different purposes
Към въпроса за развитието на Сердика през римската и късноримската епохи: On the question of the development of Serdica during the Roman and the Late Roman period
No full textThe study offers a new reading of the fortifications’ development and urban planning of the town of Serdica, made possible as a result of many years of archaeological research in the city and the accumulation of voluminous archaeological and historical material. The accepted hypotheses are summarized and analysed and an attempt is made to place them in the context of the Roman Empire development, the provinces of which Serdica belongs in different historical periods. The stages of contraction and expantion of the built-up urban area and the connection with the fortification structures are traced
Отново за колективната находка от керамични съдове от халколитния некропол при Кошарна, Русенска област: Revisiting the hoard of ceramic vessels from the Chalcolithic cemetery of Kosharna (Rousse district)
No full textТhe archaeological complex in Kosharna is located at 3 km to the southwest of the eponymous village in the areas Kajnanak dere and Koru Gjoldjuk. It consists of 2 tell-settlements and adjoining cemetery dated to the second half of Chalcolithic period. A clay feature was found within a hoard of ceramic vessels in the Chalcolithic cemetery. The situation was interpreted by the excavator and current author as a ceramic structure – depot for ceramic vessels, which have been used during the burial ceremonies. The hoard is related to the Late Copper Age and the Gumelnitsa culture. The current paper is a response to the article by Stilyan Ivanov offering reinterpretation of the feature with the hoard as a kiln for single firing of ceramics. The analysis focuses on four field observations and conclusions – the location, secondary burning, the presence of the vessels and the remains of a clay structure. The discovered feature is still without analogue in Balkan prehistory
Минералого-петрографско изследване на керамика от проучвания край с. Дъбене, Карловско: Mineralogical and petrographic study of the pottery from Dubene site, Кarlovo municipality
No full textThe analyzed pottery artefacts derive from vessels from ritual structures and from urns from a necropolis located near the village of Dubene, Karlovo Minicipality. The ritual structures are dated to the Early Bronze Age (EBA) III, while the cemetery is dated to the EBA II.All pottery artefacts are studied by optical (petrographic) and XRD analyses. The obtained data indicate that the most of the samples have similar mineralogy. The observed rock and mineral inclusions suggest local origin of the raw material, taking into account the composition of the rocks in the surroundings of the Dubene site. Some differences in terms of technology have been found.Based on the mineral composition and the XRD study, the firing temperature of the pottery is above 550°C.The analyzed white encrustation proved to be apatite, made most probably of bone matter
Anthropomorphic figurines and miniature beads from the Early Neolithic settlement of Ilindentsi, southwest Bulgaria
Full text linkThe paper presents two types of small artefacts: anthropomorphic figurines and miniature beads, all of which were acquired during the excavations of the Early Neolithic settlement at Ilindentsi during 2011–2018. The anthropomorphic clay figurines are arranged in three groups: Group 1 – figurines with enlarged hips and buttocks (steatopygia); Group 2 – prism/parallelepiped shaped figurines and Group 3 – figurines with plastic projections on the head (buns or horns). One partially preserved marble figurine was also found. All of these objects show an interesting spatial distribution while being concentrated in two distant houses. All figurines confirm a general trend in the development of these objects in the central Balkans and northern Greece but also emphasise the supraregional contacts with the Pannonian Plain. Miniature beads are very characterisic of the Early Neolithic settlement at Ilindentsi. Forty-one beads have been found, most of them within the boundaries of house № 2. Thirty-six beads were made of clay and only five beads from other raw materials: shell, rock and mother-of-pearl. The collection of miniature clay beads from Ilindnetsi is unique, with no parallels from other contemporary sites in the Balkans. In terms of importance it places Ilindentsi right after emblematic Anatolian sites such as Çatalhöyük and Çukuriçi. The clay beads from Ilindentsi pose a number of questions about their place and role in the so-called Neolithic package; their function, social dimension and last but not least their expression of people’s specialized skills