Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology | Българско е-Списание за Археология
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Подводна археология и история в Несебър (1960–2020 г.): Underwater archaeology and history in Nesebar (1960–2020)
No full textThe article offers a short overview of the underwater research in Bulgaria with special emphasis on investigations carried out in the Nesebar aquatory. The research has started in the late 1950s. A special attention is paid to the first Bulgarian diver-archaeologist – L. Ognenova.The underwater investigations in Nesebar proved particularly instructive for both – the long-term transformation of the settlement from late prehistory to modern days and the coastal preservation. They were also an invaluable contribution to the listing of Nesebar in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage since 6.12.1983
Anthropomorphic figurines from burial contexts in Varna, Kodjadermen–Gumelniţa–Karanovo VI and Krivodol–Sălcuţa–Bubani cultures
Full text linkThis study examines the use of anthropomorphic figurines in burial practices of the Late Eneolithic Varna, KGKVI and KSB cultures. It contains the presentation and analysis of data on their deposition in necropolises, which show that they occurred rarely, but these cases are an indication of the existence of diverse burial practices utilizing them. Possible interpretations of their symbolic significance and function in the burial rite are offered. In the necropolises of KGKVI and KSB these cases are found to be an exception, whereas in the Varna culture we observe a peculiar burial rite in which the vaulted bone figurines represented a part of the standard set of grave goods, but only for a certain category of burials. The clay figurines have different functions in the burial rites of the three cultures
Първа международна конференция „Български нумизматични четения”, 10-12 ноември 2020, София, България: First International Conference “Bulgarian Numismatic Readings”, 10th-12th November 2020, Sofia, Bulgaria
No full text„Невидими“ занаяти в древна Тракия: дървообработка и изделия от дърво: “Invisible” crafts in ancient Thrace: woodworking and manufacture of wooden objects
No full textThis study of the widespread utilisation of timber in Thrace is based on a broad range of evidence such as ancient written testimonies, representations on pieces of art, palaeobotanical data, as well as carpenters’ tools and worked wood remains discovered in various archaeological contexts. The majority of relevant sources dates to the second half of the 1st millennium BC. A close examination of the available evidence indicates that the most popular wooden objects either were manufactured at home or were products of highly and less so qualified craftsmen. The cultural contacts of ancient Thrace with the Aegean, Anatolia and the Mediterranean world changed the consumption patterns of the local communities. Consequently, imported wooden commodities were introduced to the life of the Thracian elites, while highly skilled carpenters established themselves in regional workshops
Demetrius, Dux Philippi: a Macedonian commander of Philip II in Thrace (according to the inscribed sling bullets)
Full text linkThe purpose of this communication is to briefly discuss the role of a little-known military commander of Philip II’s army in the context of the Macedonian expansion in Thrace. Demetrius is mentioned as Philip’s admiral during the siege of Byzantium in 340 BC by Dionysius of Byzantium (Anaplus of the Bosporus 65). The lead sling bullets published here, bearing the name Demetrius and originating from the villages of Zhelad, Shumen district, the regions of Pavlikeni and Razgrad-Omurtag, as well as from Selymbria (modern Silivri), strongly confirm his participation in the campaigns of Philip II not only in the Propontis region, but also in the West Black sea coast and in Northeastern Thrace. Thus Demetrius would become the second Macedonian commander, together with the well-known Hipponikos, who are securely attested in a combination of historical, epigraphic and archaeological data. Future discoveries of sling bullets with Demetrius’ name could also serve as a reliable benchmark for identifying other historically unknown Macedonian commanders who took part in Philip II’s military campaigns
Early Neolithic settlement Ilindentsi in the Middle Struma valley, south–western Bulgaria: spatial organization and pottery
Full text linkThe article offers new data on the Neolithisation process in the Struma valley and the Central Balkans based on recent research at the Early Neolithic settlement Ilindentsi in southwestern Bulgaria. The settlement was inhabited during the second half of the Early Neolithic. The stratigraphic analysis points to at least two main periods, which belong respectively to the Early Neolithic (Ilindentsi I) and the Middle Neolithic (Ilindentsi II). The entire ceramic assemblage shows a very smooth transition from the Early to the Middle Neolithic with two transitional stages of the final Early Neolithic – Ilindentsi FEN I and Ilindentsi FEN II.The results of this multidisciplinary study show the complexity of the processes related to the Neolithisation of this part of southeast Europe and the diversity of factors influencing the foundation and development of Ilindentsi, as well as its place in the network of early Neolithic settlements in the Balkans
Supply of imported fineware along the Central road in Roman Thrace
Full text linkThis contribution explores the archaeological evidence for the supply of imported fineware along the Central road (Via Diagonalis) in the province of Thrace during the Principate. Finds from twelve sites situated in close proximity to its route have been examined. According to the available data, the import of ceramic goods started around the time of the road’s construction during the reign of Emperor Nero, at the latest. Italian and South Gaulish sigillata along with thin-walled pottery were among the earliest documented imports in Serdica, together with products of Western Asia Minor and/or the Pontic region. Later on, products of Pergamene (Eastern sigillata C), Pontic and probably also Moesian workshops were attested.Philippopolis, and sites studied from its territory, were supplied with fine wares, originating from Western Asia Minor (ESC, Eastern sigillata B) and the Pontic region (Pontic sigillata) since the second-third quarter of the 1st century AD. During the 2nd and the first half of the 3rd century the majority of ceramic goods came from the Pergamon region, supplemented with occasional imports of ESB, Cnidian relief wares, etc.The sites from the territories of Augusta Traiana and Hadrianopolis, as well as Hadrianopolis itself, were supplied during the 2nd and 3rd century with fine wares mainly from the region of Pergamon. A small number of finds of Eastern sigillata A and B, Pontic sigillata and African red slip ware shows alternative extra-provincial sources of goods.The evidence from the transport containers indicate that the bulk of amphora-borne commodities came from similar to the abovementioned provenances, so it could be suggested that at least some of the imported ceramic artefacts could have been transported as side products of wine, olive oil and other agricultural stocks
Adaptation of taiga migrants among local forest-steppe population in the western part of Western Siberia
Full text linkNatural and climatic changes at the end of the 2nd – beginning of the 1st millennium BC, called “environmental stress”, caused a severe crisis in the economic systems of the Late Bronze societies living in the tundra-taiga and the forest-steppe zones of Western Siberia. The tundra-taiga areas were flooded and quickly swamped as a result of humidification and a drop in temperature, thus becoming unsuitable for human habitation. A mass migration of the taiga population has began to the south along the major rivers – the Ob, Irtysh, Tobol, and Ishim. The migrants occupied the sub-taiga and northern forest-steppe regions and brought their traditions of house-building, burial rites, pottery and tool-making technologies. They also continued to practice their traditional predatory economy oriented towards activities such as hunting and fishing in the territories inhabited by local Late Bronze populations. However, the economy, based on appropriation, proved to be non-viable in the conditions of the forest-steppe zone, where the economy was oriented towards cattle-breeding, resulting in the assimilation of the northern migrants. This assimilation of alien groups among the local forest-steppe population took around 200 years (7th to 6th centuries BC). As a result, several new cultures evolved in Western Siberia by the middle of the 1st millennium BC