Bulgarian archaeology

The identification of deviant burials as those of ‘vampires’ is a feature of excavated skeletons from sites across Eastern, Central and Southern Europe as well as the Balkans. Based on a close reading of historic and folkloric sources researchers have sought to match features of excavated sites with narrative descriptions drawn from vampire legend and myth. This study critically reviews the recent claims based on sites in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Poland and Slovakia. Whilst it is found that there was a widespread belief in vampires across Europe, it is argued that it is difficult to make absolute claims for ‘vampire’ burials on archaeological grounds as in most cases there are alternate and equally compelling interpretations of the data.

KEYWORDS
ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, SIXTEENTH CENTURY, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, VAMPIRE, DEVIANT BURIAL, PLAGUE, BLACK DEATH, FOLKLORE, PAGAN, BURIAL, WITCH, BALKANS, EASTERN EUROPE, CENTRAL EUROPE, SOUTHERN EUROPE, BULGARIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, POLAND, GREECE, ITALY, SLOVAKIA, LESBOS, VENICE, APOTROPAIC, VAMPIRIDZHIJA, PERPERIKON, SOZOPOL, PROSTEJOV, CELAKOVICE, DRAWSKO, GLIWICI, SOUTHWELL, KILTEASHEEN, LAZZARETTO NUOVO, NACHTZEHRER, KAMIEN POMORSKI

In this paper we treat changes in weaponry and armament, which occurred in the Aegean and Levantine regions between the late 14th and the early 12th century BC. We aim at reconstructing these changes in a sequence as fine-phased as possible and try to identify the regions in which they originated. As a case study we use a sword of Naue II type found at Ugarit. As it has no clearly stratified context, we try to fix its chronology on one hand by reference to the overall stratigraphy of the site, and on the other by discussing better datable archaeological evidence from the Aegean and Cyprus. Swords of the Naue II group belong to new weapon types introduced to the eastern Mediterranean a few decades before the breakdown of many palace states around 1200 BC. There are different reasons that lead us to believe that these new weapon types arrived together with their users and producers from the central Mediterranean and cannot be seen as a result of goods exchange.

Auf der Balkanhalbinsel hat der Fluss Strymon immer die Rolle eines wichtigen Verbindungsgliedes zwischen der Ägäis und Mitteleuropa gespielt. Über seinen Bereich und den Fluss Iskar war in der Urgeschichte die Donau erreichbar und über diese auch Mitteleuropa. Im 7.–6.
Jahrtausend v. Chr. war das der wichtigste Weg über welchen, mit Zwischenstationen, der Ackerbau und die Viehzucht nach Mitteleuropa gelangt sind. Die Urgeschichte des Strymonbereiches blieb aber leider lange Zeit kaum erforscht. Erst in den letzten Jahrzehnten des 20 Jh. fanden hier mehrere großflächige Ausgrabungen statt, so dass sich diese Lücke zu schließen begann. Diese Ausgrabungen warfen neues, oft unerwartetes Licht in die südosteuropäische Urgeschichte, in die sozialen Struktur und in die Glaubenswelt des prähistorischen Menschen. An erster Stelle sei hier die Grabung in Krainici bei Kjustendil erwähnt, wo die Anfänge der Neolithisierung Europas belegt sind. Es geht um der Zeit des s.g. Monochromen Neolithikums. Die Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen weiterer neolithischer Lokalitäten wie Kovatschevo, Bălgarčevo, Separeva banja, Gălăbnik, Pernik, u.a. warfen Licht in die komplizierte neolithische Problematik. Die Stratigraphie des neolithischen Tells Gălăbnik – des einzigen Tells im Bereich des Mittleren Strymons – ist maßgebend für die Entwicklung im Zentralbalkan im VI Jahrtausend. Die umfangreiche spätneolithische Siedlung Promachon-Topolnica, am Strymonufer am Fuß des Kirkini- Berges, ist in den Jahren 1983–2003 beiderseitig der griechisch – bulgarischen Grenze erforscht worden. Ein einmaliges, zweistöckiges Souterrainheiligtum, gewidmet der Mutter Erde und ihrem Gatten – dem Stier ist dort festgestellt worden. Das Heiligtum ist 4 Meter in der Erde eingetieft und über 12 × 12 m groß – eine Erscheinung, ohne Gegenstücke auf europäischem Boden. Die frühsten, bislang bekannten Kupferschmelzanlagen sind ebenfalls in Promachon-Topolnica festgestellt worden, was die Anfänge der Metallurgie etwa um etwa 300 Jahre zurück im ausgehenden Spätneolithikum datiert. In dieser Frühzeit ist gediegenes Kupfer verarbeitet worden. Es stammt aus den unweit liegenden Erzlagerstätten, wo gediegenes Kupfer immer noch aufzufinden ist. Die Ausgrabungen in Slatino bei Kjustendil in Bulgarien, sowie auf Krioneri, bei Amphipolis und Dikili tasch bei Filipi in Griechenland brachten zahlreiche neue Kenntnisse über die Frühkupferzeit (um 4750–4600 v. Chr.) auf der Balkanhalbinsel. Namentlich das zum ersten Mal zugänglich gemachte Galepsos-Fundgut aus Krioneri bringt wichtige neue Aspekte, da es verdeutlicht woher die bekannten Galepsos-Importe im Beriech des Mittleren Strymons stammen. Das ganze frühkupferzeitliche Siedlungssystem des Strymonbereiches geht um 4600 v. Chr. In Folge der ökologischen Katastrophe des Klimaoptimums unter, gefolgt von einer über 1000 Jahre
andauernden Kulturzäsur. Eine interessante Lokalität am oberen Strymon stellt die Festung Krakra bei Pernik dar, wo spätkupferzeitliche Schichten und solche der frühen Bronzezeit die mittelalterliche Befestigung unterlagern. Funde der Baden-Boleráz-Cernavoda III Kultur und solche der Vučedol/Sitagri V Kulturvariante sind auch aus dem Bereich des Strymon-Nebenflusses Blatna bei Radomir bekannt (3400–3200 und 2400–2200 v. Chr.). Die Spätbronzezeit (um 1300–1100 BC) ist durch die Ergebnisse mehreren Ausgrabungen am Mittleren und Unteren Strymon erfasst. Darunter sind diese von Kamenska čuka, Krăsto und Marikostinivo bei Petrič in Bulgarien so wie jene des Gräberfeldes Fea Petra bei Sidirokastro im Nordgriechenland hervorzuheben. In Fea Petra sind enge Beziehungen zwischen der späten Mykenischen Welt und dem Norden der Balkanhalbinsel belegt, was auf das Vorhandensein in der Nordägäis einer Kontaktzone zwischen den beiden Kulturbereichen hindeutet. Aus der Spätbronzezeit ist auch ein interessantes Signalsystem nördlich des Kresna-Passes
festgestellt worden, bestehend aus einer Reihe Türme, errichtet auf dominanten Erhöhungen mit
Blickkontakt untereinander. Von großer Bedeutung für die Rekonstruktion des realen historischen Bildes ist die gewonnene Erkenntnis, dass gewaltige Zäsuren in der prähistorischen Entwicklung des Strymonbereiches vorliegen. Diese sind nun als objektive historische, paläoklimatisch bedingte, Gegebenheiten zu berücksichtigen. In Folge der neusten Forschungsaktivitäten zeichnet sich heute ein klares Bild der Urgeschichte des Strymonbereichs ab, welches gut mit den benachbarten Gebieten korrellierbar ist. Die genannten Forschungsergebnisse sind am Strymon Symposium vorgetragen worden und werden mit dieser Veröffentlichung der Symposiumsbeiträge einem breiten Publikum zugänglich gemacht. Die beteiligten Museen von Pernik, Kjustendil und Blagoevgrad (Bulgarien) und Seres, Filipi, Drama und Amphipolis (Griechenland) ermöglichten den Symposiumteilnehmer einen ad autopsiam Zugang zu den wichtigsten prähistorischen Funden, was von großer Bedeutung für die zukünftige prähistorische Forschung ist. Allen Mitarbeiter dieser Museen, die mit dieser komplizierten
Aufgabe beauftragt waren, gebührt der herzlichste Dank aller Symposiumsteilnehmer. Ferner sind wir dem Valentin Debochichki, Direktor des Museums von Kjustendil und der Leitung der merikanischen Universität in Blagoevgrad für die glänzende Organisation der Sitzungen, die den glatten Verlauf des Symposiums gesichert hat, zu großem Dank verpflichtet. Ferner sei folgenden Damen und Herren für ihren Einsatz für das Symposium und der Druckvorbereitung dieses Bandes aufs herzlichste gedankt: Dr. Chaido Koukouli-Chryssanthaki, Dr. Ioanis Aslanis, Dr. Magdalene Valla, Dr. Dimitra Malamidou, Dr. Biserka Gaydarska, Dr. Kalin Dimitrov, Mg. Veselin Draganov, Mg. Peter Zi darov, Assist. Ivailo Lozanov and Vessela Gertcheva. Zuletzt – aber doch an erster Stelle – sind wir der Gerda Henkel Stiftung für die Kostenübernahme für den Verlauf des Symposiums und für die Unterstützung für den Druck dieses Bandes zu tiefstem Dank verpflichtet. Ohne dieser Unterstützung währen die wichtigen prähistorischen Entdeckungen des Strymonbereiches noch lange Zeit Geheimnis ihrer Ausgräber geblieben.

The article presents the principles for classification of Neolithic anthropomorphic sculpture in Bulgaria (SE Europe). As historiography, here are the views of Bulgarian authors on this issue. For the examples used unpublished anthropomorphic figurines Northeastern Bulgaria (from Samovodene, Kachitsa, Hotnitsa-Orlovka, etc.) and there are many citations to previous publications (Usoe, Hamangia culture, etc.). Here is presented a hierarchical structure in which typological tures to handle complex of prehistoric anthropomorphic figurines. Presented a hierarchical structure serves as the basis for the study of prehistoric anthropomorphic sculpture in Bulgaria, and numerical codes presented here are based on statistical processing.At the beginning of the article briefly outlines and chronological framework of the earliest (monochrome) in the Balkans Neolithic (6500-6000 cal. BC).

The first summarizing work in historiography on the history of the Western Turkic khanate - State of VI-VIII centuries on the territory of modern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Eurasia. Book of international team of authors for the first time brought together data from numerous written, visual, archaeological sources on the history of the Western Turks, that created a state on the territory of Central Asia and Eastern Europe and established a vast empire from the Altai to the Balkans. Atlas is well illustrated, and provides a variety of detailed maps, equipped with signposts, addressed to a wide audience - from academic researchers to students.

The present paper focuses on a so-called ribbed mount type dated to the 10 th–11th  centuries, the interpretation of which is attempted starting from a relatively recent find in Bulgaria (Iatrus/Krivina). The available evidence clearly indicates that this type was most frequently used and
certainly manufactured as well in Bulgaria, but there are numerous parallels dated betweenthe middle third of the 10th and first half of the 11th  century both in the Carpathian Basin, on the Balkans, and sporadically also in the steppe region and in North Europe as well. Different hypotheses concerning the origins of the ribbed mount type are also discussed.

In this chapter, the book is presented on the development of Neolithic cultures in Bulgaria. This is the period between 6400 and 4800 years cal BC. In chapter four the Neolithic cultures from Bulgaria are presented. Their areas cover certain geographical niches. In western Bulgaria the Early Neolithic is presented by the West Bulgarian Painted Ceramics culture, and the Late Neolithic by the Kourilo culture which is the western variant of the Vinča culture. In Thrace, the Early Neolithic Karanovo culture is replaced by the Late Neolithic Kalojanovets culture. In the Rhodopes mountains, the local variant Rakitovo of the Karanovo I culture (Rakitovo) is a representative of the Early Neolithic. In Central-Northern and North-Eastern Bulgaria, the Early Neolithic culture Ovcharovo (EBN-B) turns into the Late Neolithic Hotnitsa culture. In the Kamchija area the Early Neolithic culture Tsonevo develops into the Late Neolithic culture Oussoe. In Dobrougea and along the Black sea coast there is no Early Neolithic predecessor of the Hamangia culture.

Mail armour is made of many interlinking metal rings. It has been a popular type of defensive gear through the centuries, and this popularity has in part been due to mail armour’s flexibility. However, this very flexibility today hinders its conservation, interpretation and display. Mail pieces retrieved from archaeological contexts are often in such poor state of preservation that their original shape is unrecognizable. This poses a challenge not only for conserving these artefacts, but also for understanding them. This paper describes a conservation technique for flexible mail that involves restoring preserved rings to their original position and filling in the remaining gaps with dummy rings. In addition to stabilizing the mesh of mail, this measure also aids the artefact’s interpretation. The advantages of using this method with archaeological specimens are presented by means of a case-study concerning the remains of a Roman mail coat found near Novae, Bulgaria. The case-study shows that the choice of conservation technique greatly influences the amount of information that researchers can obtain from this material.

"Die späteisenzeitliche Padea-Panagjurski Kolonii-(PPK)-Gruppe im südlichen Rumänien und nördlichen Bulga rien wird hauptsächlich über Gräber mit eiserner Waffen- und Reitausstattung definiert. Hier wird eine derartige Ausstattung im RGZM Mainz aus der Stufe Lt D1 vorge stellt; sie besteht aus einem keltisch anmutenden Schwert in seiner Eisenscheide, einem runden Schild buckel und einer großen Lanzenspitze, einem gebogenen Messer mit Scheide, einer Gürtelschließe sowie einer »thrakischen« Hebelstangentrense und einem Sporenpaar. Das Fundgut trägt im Wesentlichen einen lokalen Charak ter, auch das Schwert gehört einem Typ an, der besonders im Osten verbreitet ist. Die Gräber der PPK-Gruppe zeichnen sich durch ein hohes Maß an Einheitlichkeit aus – sie repräsentieren eine weitgehend homogene Schicht von Reiter -
kriegern, aus der nur die Gräber von Cugir und Porţilor de Fier durch Goldschmuck hervortreten. Verbin -dungen mit der Latènekultur ergeben sich vor allem über die Schwerter; häufig handelt es sich jedoch um Exemplare, deren Typen eindeutig ihren Verbreitungs schwer punkt östlich der bekannten keltischen Oppida haben – wenngleich sie von der Latènekultur klar beeinflusst sind. Hingegen wirken die runden Schild -
buckel, die »thrakischen« Hebelstangentrensen und die rechteckigen Gürtelschließen aus dem Bereich der südlichen Karpathen und der unteren Donau in die Zone der Oppida hinein.

Investigations into the equipment of a Late Iron Age cavalryman from the southern Caucasus or the Balkans
The Late Iron Age Padea-Panagjurski Kolonii group of southern Romania and northern Bulgaria is mainly defined by its graves with iron weapons and cavalry equipment. Such equipment in the RGZM Mainz from the period La Tène D1 is presented here. It consists of a Celtic-looking sword in its iron sheath, a round shield-boss and a large lance-head, a curved knife with sheath, a belt-clasp, as well as a »Thracian« curb bit and a pair of spurs. The objects seem mainly to be local in origin, even the sword belongs to a type particularly widespread in the East. The graves of the PPK group display a high degree of uniformity; they represent a generally homogeneous class of cavalrymen from which only the graves of Cugir and Porţilor de Fier stand out as a result of their gold jewelry. Connections with the La Tène culture are shown especially by the swords; often, though, these are specimens whose types have the focus of their distribution east of the known Celtic oppida, even though they are clearly influenced by the La Tène culture. By contrast,
the round shield-bosses, the »Thracian« curb bits and the rectangular belt-clasps infiltrate from the region of the southern Caucasus and the lower Danube into the zone of the oppida."

Съдържание
Камен Станев, Бележки за поселищната система между северната периферия на Родопите и р. Марица в края на XII – XIV в. .....7
Димо Чешмеджиев, Гробът на патриарх Евтимий в Бачковския манастир ......42
Иван Дуков, Няколко специфични погребални практики от средновековната епоха в Асеновград и региона в светлината на теренни археологически проучвания 2005 – 2013 г. ......62
Григор Бойков, Неосъществените градове в района на Асеновград през османския период: Поповица/Ислямлъ и Конуш Хисаръ .......75
Христо Христозов, Демографско и урбанистично развитие на Асеновград през XV – XVII в. (Истанимака, Анбелианош и Бей кьой) ......105
Дамян Борисов, Войнуците в Истанимака (Асеновград) през XVI в. .....157
Видин Сукарев, Османски документи от фондовете на Регионален исторически музей – Пловдив за Станимака и региона ......195
Мина Христемова, Две лица на властта в Асеновград през XIX в. – местно самоуправление и Михалаки Гюмюшгердан ......206
Никола Филипов, Конвенцията за размяна на малцинствата и отражението ѝ в Станимака ......221
Владимир Балчев, Асеновградският край в старите географски карти от 1450 г. до края на XIX в. .......235
Росен Малчев, Историко-географската област Източен Рупчос в контекста на културното пространство на Бачковския манастир ......249
Константин Рангочев, Сакралната топонимия в Източен Рупчос I .....267
Светла Москова, Малки открития за късното средновековно изкуство в Асеновград .....279

Документално приложение
Документ № 1. Откъс от типика на Бачковския манастир ....300
Документ № 2. Фрагмент от т. нар. „История на кръстоносците” ......300
Документ № 3. Фрагмент от „История на похода на император Фридрих І”.....301
Документ № 4. Откъси от „Превземането на Константинопол” .....301
Документ № 5. Откъс от „Житие на Стефан Лазаревич”.......302
Документ № 6. Фрагмент от проверовъчен (йоклама) регистър ......304
Документ № 7. Фрагмент от подробен (муфассал) регистър ......306
Документ № 8. Фрагмент от съкратен (иджмал) регистър .......310
Документ № 9. Фрагмент от подробен (муфассал) регистър .......312
Документ № 10. Фрагмент от войнушки регистър .....318
Документ № 11. Фрагмент от подробен регистър на джелепкешани .....320
Документ № 12. Фрагмент от подробен (муфассал) регистър .....322
Документ № 13. Откъс от пътеписа на Евлия Челеби ......328
Документ № 14. Заповед за строеж на църква в Станимака .......329
Документ № 15. Заповед за построения мост в Станимака .....330
Документ № 16. Заповед за поправка на църква в Станимака ....330
Документ № 17. Откъс от дневника на Пол Люка .....331
Документ № 18. Фрагмент от т. нар. Хилендарска кондика ......332
Използвани съкращения .......333

Location: London UCL

More Info: 18 papers on topics regarding the Neolithization process in the Balkans

Publisher: Centralgrafica, Trieste

Publication Date: Jul 30, 2007

Publication Name: Società per la Preistoria e Protostoria della Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Quaderno 12. Trieste.

Conference End Date: Jun 22, 2005

Conference Start Date: Jun 20, 2005

Когда в 2000 г мы представляли 1-й том "Степей" в качестве сборника статей, ставя задачи на перспективу, то надежды на развитие серии связывали и с выходом монографий. Это осуществилось в 5 томе. Произошло данное знаковое событие благодаря интенсивной исследовательской деятельности киевского археолога А.В.Комара. Исследователь взял на себя инициативу по полноценному введению в научный оборот целого ряда давно раскопанных погребений раннесредневековых кочевников степной полосы Северного Причерноморья. Но основные его усилия в последние пять лет были сосредоточены на подготовке критического исследования по переосмыслению знаменитого перещепинского комплекса. Благодаря системному подходу и, главное, внушительному объему этот труд с полным правом можно считать монографическим. Это, в свою очередь, означает, что мы имеем в рамках нашего издания (сборника по определению) -монографию.

– In the following paper, we present the main results of our now completed studies of the Varna I cemetery, based on the excavations undertaken by Ivan Ivanov in the years 1972–1991. The richness of the assemblages is singular in Old World prehistory. To tackle the question of its internal , chronological development, we applied correspondence analysis (CA) to a newly created database that includes the inventories of all presently known graves, symbolic burials and find deposits. The rank order of the seriated inventories was used to establish a CA-based 14 Cage model for wiggle matching. In combination with topographic observations and social network analysis (SNA), our studies provide a new understanding both of the chronological and spatial distribution of the graves and burial goods, as well as new insights into the social structure, gender roles, individual relationships and ritual practices of the Chalcolithic community.

Книгата е опит за цялостно представяне на историята на средновековното манастирско селение, познато под името Света гора Сливенска. На базата на исторически извори, теренни изследвания и на аналогии с вече известното за другите Свети гори в България през Средновековието се засягат важни въпроси за съдбата на манастирската общност – териториален обхват, датировка и т.н. Това второ издание на книгата включва резултатите от нови изследвания, направени в последно време, потвърждаващи и допълващи авторовите тези.

Typology and Chronology of the Neolithic Altars in the Balkans. Crucial for the present article is the following assessment:
Protostarčevo, as defined by D. Srejović (Donja Branjevina, Gura Baciului, Grivac Groups), is not a genetic and
culture-chronological part of the Protostarčevo Culture in its primary zone in the central Balkans, as according to the present
authors it is later and represents already an early phase of the Starčevo-Criş Culture on the territory along the Danube.
The proper early Neolithic there is evidenced only through monochrome pottery from settlements Padina B, Lepenski Vir
a Donja Branjevina III . The basis of the present study are the stratigraphicaly and culturally fixed altars in from tell settlement
of Gălăbnik, located on the upper Struma inhabited subsequently by the Gălăbnik Group, Starčevo Culture and in
the Middle Neolithic. For the Gălăbnik Group triangular-shaped altars with hemispherical container decorated by rows
of embossed triangles of type A were characteristic. During the Starčevo Culture settlement phase they were replaced by
triangular-shaped altars with triangular container, decorated with incisions of type B. Less numerous were square-shaped
altars of type D and altars with cylindrical or bowl-shaped container of type F. The Middle Neolithic altars were likewise
triangular-shaped but with various types of engraved ornament of type C. In contrast, the Starčevo-Criş Culture altars, on
the territory along the Danube, had always had four legs and a bowl-shaped container of the types I – K, on square or round
platform. Intercultural comparison demonstrates that the altars, just like pottery, were associated with culturally defined
entities according to shapes and decoration on vessels. The groups of the southern Balkans (Kovačevo, Velušina-Porodin,
Podgorie), preferred square-shaped altars of type M. The triangular-shaped altars were common in the upper Struma
and most of Bulgaria, and four-legged altars being an exclusive type in Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary. Absence
of authentic archaeological contexts makes it difficult to interpret their function. Altars first appeared in the Balkans in
the cultures with white-painted pottery (Hoca Çeşme II and the Gălăbnik Group). Due to the absence of the Balkan-type
altars in Anatolia, an eastern origin cannot be suggested. They did not penetrate to the Europe with the spread of Neolithic
way of life, but should be considered as an independent invention by the local Balkan groups successfully establishing
permanent settlements with developed economic and social structure in the southeastern Europe.
Key words: Balkans, Bulgaria, tell Gălăbnik, altars, typology, chronology, Neolithic, Protostarčevo Culture, Starčevo-
Criş-Culture.

https://books.google.bg/books?id=KU15Pj5uvRwC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

The Prehistoric Bronze (PBF) finds are a research and editorial project of the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz, in the Department of Prehistory and Early History of the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main and at the Department of Prehistory and Early History Archaeology Department of History of the Westphalian University of Münster under the auspices of UNESCO sub-organization "on Internationale des Sciences et Préhistoriques Protohistoriques (UISPP)"

Short text
The variety of shapes as well as the large number of jewelry made of precious metal and copper shows the great importance that metal had in the jewelry area in the copper age of Southeast Europe. It is the most complete study of copper-age jewelry in Southeast Europe to date.
"... this volume is very welcome because it enables a quick overview of the jewelry forms of the Copper Age in Bulgaria and once again emphasizes the importance of the copper-age cultural phenomena in Southeast Europe, which should also be considered from a Central and Western European perspective ..."

Das ausgehende 5. Jt. v. Chr. hat wie keine andere Periode in der frühen Vorgeschichte des Balkans gewagte Theorien, Spekulationen und sich in Axiome verwandelnde Modelle erzeugt. Mit der Erweiterung der archäologischen Datenbasis und der Erschließung neuer Informationen aus Nachbarwissenschaften wie der Archäobiologie und Archäometrie wird die seit den 1980er Jahren geführte Diskussion über eine "Übergangszeit" vom Chalkolithikum zur Frühen Bronzezeit im östlichen Balkan zunehmend unüberschaubarer. Eine zusammenfassende Untersuchung zu dieser Problematik existiert bislang nicht. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Versuch unternommen, archäologische Fakten von Interpretation (oder Fiktion) zu trennen und die bisherigen Modelle im Lichte der aktuellen Erkenntnisse auf den Prüfstand zu stellen. Dabei wird den offenen Fragen und den mutmaßlichen Forschungslücken besondere Beachtung geschenkt.

The paper which is dedicated to Marion Lichardus-Itten deals with stamps, also known as stamp seals or pintaderas, from the Bulgarian Chalcolithic. Stamps have long had the attention of many researchers since they appear from the earliest Neolithic of Anatolia onwards to the Central European Iron Age in various shapes and with various motifs. South-east European stamps were presented in the form a catalogue along with some thoughts on their origin and development by J. Makkay, and there are numerous papers on the topic dealing with different aspects and proposing various typological classifications and interpretations. In this paper a classification is built up by analyzing the handle, the shape of the face and the decoration on the face itself. Handles are fairly uniform in the Chalcolithic, mostly conical and rarely perforated. Usually the face is round or roundish. Other shapes such as rectangles are scarce. Some stamps from Drama – "Merdzhumekja" have to be mentioned especially since they display a variant that can be found only there: round faces with grooved edges that give the pieces a "sun"-like appearance. Parallels for these finds are known only from Austria and Hungary up to today. Faces bear various decorations which can be ascribed to basic geometric figures such as concentric circles, spirals, S-shaped spirals, impressions and crosses. Exceptions are few though they do occur; we might mention chevrons, bosses and meanders. Establishing chronological relations is rather difficult since the context of many stamps is unknown. The chronological frame in this paper spans the Bulgarian Chalcolithic with the Maritsa culture and the Kodžadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI cultural complex. The Chalcolithic stamps from Bulgaria find good analogies also in the Precucuteni III/Cucuteni A1-2 cultures and in Stoicani-Aldeni. Comparing the Chalcolithic stamps to those from the Neolithic, many parallels could be noted concerning the shape of the handle, the shape of the face and also decorations although some forms and motifs are chronologically relevant. Interestingly enough, there seems to be a hiatus in the use of stamps during the late Neolithic though the reasons for this gap are unclear. The use of the stamps is difficult to assess. Obviously they functioned as stamps, to print motifs on some sort of surface. Most likely it would have been an organic surface since actual imprints on artefacts have not been found. Skin, leather, bread, butter, cheese or cloth are a possibility. The motifs themselves appear on other artefacts such as pottery but also on specific small finds such as anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, clay plaques, house models and others. Unfortunately, the context of the finds is often unclear. The stamps from Drama were found in houses and a storage pit, all of which contained seemingly ordinary rubbish but also small finds that can be placed in a cultic sphere. Their use is still unknown, though their decoration seems to allegorize some sort of communication, whether sacred or profane.

Since the second half of the 12 th and until the middle of 15 th century the crossbow is the main projectile weapon in greater part of Western and Central Europe 1. Notwithstanding the domineering of the composite bow in Eastern Europe and the Middle East the crossbow is also a popular weapon here, especially in wars at sea and fortress besieging. This can be observed not only in regions with Western European influence like the Baltics and Northwest Russia 2 but also where recognition of this weapon was slower, as Byzantiu m during the 14 th century 3. In fact the crossbow is a weapon used for a long time in the Arab world 4 , very typical for Maghreb. However, only recently there has been paid attention to the role of the crossbow in the Second Bu lgarian Empire. The data from the archeological research showed that during the 14 th century its importance is far greater than it was previously suspected 5. It is a newly found artifact related to this weapon – a bone plate from a crossbow stock (Figs. 1, 2) – that is the subject of this study. It is not only a certain dated evidence for the usage of cross-bow in med ieval Bu lgaria, but it is the first monument of that type originating there. Fig. 1: Bone crossbow plate from Trapezitsa, photo D. Rabovyanov. The plate was found during the archeological research conducted in 2011 in the Southern Section of Trapezitsa – the second stronghold of the medieval Bulgarian capital Tarnovgrad, in Veliko Tarnovo. It was found in a waste pit and its stratigraphic position and the 20 coins found in it show beyond a doubt that its filling up was done in the '50s of the 14 th century. That also renders certainty to the dating of the period when the object went out of circulat ion. The plate was made fro m longitudinally sectioned tubular ru minant bone (Fig. 1). The spongy substance within was almost removed. The plate is polished on the inner and the outer, but there is no trace of other processing on the outer side which can change the natural bone curving profile. The obtained form is that of a very prolonged trapeziu m whose wider side base is formed as a profile triangular projection and the opposite narrower side is evenly cut. In sideview it resembles sliced ellipse with flat base and prominent round back (Fig. 2). In the flat base and along the whole plate, through material removal, is formed semi-cylindrical groove with length of 9,8 cm, width 1 cm and depth 0,4 cm. The flat edges surrounding the groove are wide 0,7 – 0,8 cm, but the right one gets narrower until it reaches 0,5 cm which renders some asymmetry. 4,1 cm away fro m the flat cut plate base on

This study presents the earliest fortification systems of prehistoric settlements in northern and north central Bulgaria during the Eneolithic (5th century BC).. The study is based on the results of archaeological surveys tell Golyamo Delchevo (Varna) Ovcharovo, Poliantsa and Targovishte (Targovishte), etc. Radingrad settlement. The results of these studies provide valuable information that sheds light on the structure of settlements in the Eneolithic societies heavens and how to protect them.

This paper discusses why large areas of the central and northern Balkans lack evidence of Mesolithic settlement and what implications this holds for future research into the Neolithization of the region. A marked shift in site distribution patterns between Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic is interpreted as a response to changing environmental conditions and resource availability. It is suggested that some important questions of the pattern, processes and timing of the transition to farming across the Balkan Peninsula may only be answered through new archaeological surveys of the Lower Danube valley and exploration of submerged landscapes along the Black Sea, Aegean and Adriatic coasts.

This is an introductory summary report presents the discussion organized by the department to the Prehistory Archaeological Institute and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Is a discussion on Status of studies of so-called transition period in Bulgaria.

Con su libro Karuo el secreto ibero, Enrique Cabrejas o Enric Cabrejas nos relata de modo llano su experiencia personal con lo extraordinario de un descubrimiento. El 21 de Abril de 2012 consiguió lo que parecía imposible: Descifrar la escritura ibérica. El hallazgo más relevante de la cultura universal en nuestro país de los últimos tiempos, sin lugar a dudas. Un hito en la historia de la escritura sin precedentes. Desde este mismo instante la obra Karuo de Enrique Cabrejas lo convierte en un referente destacado a nivel mundial en historia y lingüística. Los innumerables datos, explicaciones, pruebas y significados que nos reporta nunca conocidos antes, son una referencia obligada para todos aquellos que quieran comprender la historia, la lengua antigua e incluso también la moderna de nuestro país o para quienes en el futuro deseen estudiarla e investigarla en profundidad, más si cabe desde el mundo académico.

Economic measurement tools allow a quantification of social differences not only for modern societies, but also for prehistoric communities. The use of Gini indices and Lorenz curves for the much discussed Chalcolithic cemetery of Durankulak (Bulgaria) indicates an average increase in material items from 5000 cal BC onwards and a tendency of these items to be distributed somewhat more equally. Towards the end of the Chalcolithic sequence, however, strongly growing inequality was associated with lower average welfare. The steep increase in social inequality might be one of the main reasons for the collapse of Chalcolithic societies around 4100 cal BC in Durankulak, but also in other South East European regions.

ARTICLES
Flyorov V. S.
The Tsymlyansk complex of Khazar time
on the Lower Don  4
Tokarenko S.F., Rebrov A.Yu.
Manufacturing technology of building ceramics in Khazar khaganate. Reconstruction experience 40
Rastoropov A.V.
Issues of early ethnic history of the Hungarians-Magyars 70
Khristova M.
Ceramics from bi-ritual burials grounds on the Lower Danube and issues of its chronology 91
Ponomarenko E.V., Ponomarenko D.S. Stashenkov D.A., Kochkina A.F.
Approaches to the reconstruction of dynamic of the territory occupation
according to the soil signs 126
Semykin Yu.A.
Raw material sources for iron metallurgy in Prehistory and Middle
Ages in the Volga-Sviyaga interfluve area 161
Vinnichek V.A., Kireeva K.M.
Results of the archeological investigations of
settlement Zarechenskoe 1 in 2013 – 2014  179
Massalitina G.A., Boldin I.V.
Chronicle Kozelsk. Issues and stages of archaeological investigation  198
Kuz’minykh S.V., Smirnov A.S.
Archaeology in the North-Eastern Archaeological and Ethnographic Institute 214
CRONICLE
Sitdikov A.G., Shakirov Z.G., Karimov I.R.
On the main results of scientific activities in 2014 by the Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences 241
Soloviev B.S.
To Valery Valentinovich Nikitin’s 75th anniversary 260
Karimov I.R. To А.М.
Gubaydullin’s jubilee 265
Izmailov I.L.
To the memory of Mikhail Viktorovich Gorelik (1946-2015) 271
List of abbreviations  281
Rules for authors 284
СОДЕРЖАНИЕ
Статьи
Флёров В.С.
Цимлянский комплекс хазарского времени на Нижнем Дону 4
Токаренко С.Ф., Ребров А.Ю.
Технология изготовления строительной керамики в Хазарском каганате 40
Расторопов А.В.
Вопросы ранней этнической истории венгров-мадьяр 70
Христова М.
Керамика из биритуальных могильников Нижнего Дуная и вопросы ее хронологии 91
Пономаренко Е.В., Пономаренко Д.С., Сташенков Д.А., Кочкина А.Ф.
Подходы к реконструкции динамики заселения территории по почвенным признакам 126
Семыкин Ю.А.
Сырьевые источники металлургии железа древности и средневековья в Волго-Свияжском междуречье 161
Винничек В.А., Киреева К.М.
Итоги археологических исследований Зареченского 1 селища в 2013 – 2014 гг. 179
Массалитина Г.А., Болдин И.В.
Летописный Козельск. Проблемы и этапы археологического исследования 198
Кузьминых С.В., Смирнов А.С.
Археология в Северо-Восточном археологическом и этнографическом институте 214
Хроника
Ситдиков А.Г., Шакиров З.Г., Каримов И.Р.
Об основных итогах научной деятельности Института археологии им. А.Х. Халикова
Академии наук Татарстана в 2014 году  241
Соловьев Б.С. В
алерию Валентиновичу Никитину − 75 лет  260
Каримов И.Р.
К юбилею А.М. Губайдуллина  265
Измайлов И.Л.
Памяти Михаила Викторовича Горелика (1946–2015) 271
Список сокращений  281
Правила для авторов  284

Today, ‘the sacred’ is one of the most widely-used terms in archaeological discussions of religion. However, although the word ‘sacred’ is an adjective, it often appears as ‘The Sacred’, and in this way, is found masquerading as a noun. I use this grammatical distinction to demonstrate how the notion of sacrality is currently flawed, but nonetheless, can be transformed into a useful cross-cultural, and therefore archaeological term if rehabilitated. My argument rests on the idea that ‘the sacred’ can be more usefully viewed as: the quality of being set aside, marked off, or forbidden, rather than some holy essence of spiritual power. This revised meaning is well suited to archaeology because features like boundaries, walls, ditches and other forms of physical barriers/borders are visible in the material record. Although it is a simple idea, it is also a powerful one because social relations are both represented by and reproduced in spatial relations (Moore 1996: ix). That is, acts of defining a space using exclusion and inclusion are also strategies of social construction. I use the example of Thracian tumuli to show that by applying a sociological notion of sacrality to understanding them, it can be suggested that the main purpose of these sites may not have been to house the dead, but they were rather a generic form of marking off an area or feature as sacred, that is, set-apart or forbidden. Thus, this paper suggests how a re-modelled idea of sacrality can throw new light on the significance of ritual sites.

The Kozarnika cave located in the North-West of Bulgaria
contains 21 geological layers which contain upwards
archaeological complexes of Lower Palaeolithic (layers 13 -
11a), Middle Palaeolithic (layers 10b - 9a), Early Upper
Palaeolithic (layer 6/7), a sequence of an original bladelets
industry with backed pieces which we called Kozarnikian
(layers 5c - 3a) and finally Lower Neolithic, Late Eneolithic,
Late Bronze Age, Middle Age and Ottoman period. The base
of the Lower Palaeolithic sequence is dated by the
microfauna and the macrofauna between 0.8 and 1.4 My
(layers 13 - 11c) and its top between 0.4 and 0.6 My (layer
11a). The preliminary study of the paleomagnetism shows the
existence of an instability of the magnetic vector in the layer
11c what could translate the starter of polarity change
(towards 0.78 My?).

The Funeral Rites of the Bulgarians of
the late 6th – early 7th centuries (burials of
the Sukhanovo type)
This article analyzes the funeral rites of a small group of nomad burials of the
Sukhanovo type from the East European steppes. Secondary burial mounds with skeleton
are traditionally orientated to the North.
The body is in a fetal position with head turned to the left. Pots and sheep bones
are usually placed on the right side of the head. The later burials also contain horse bones
(sculls and thigh bones), placed on the left side of the body or on top of it. The found
grave gifts are scarce: belt buckles, beads, knives.
These funeral rites share some similarities with the burials of the Likhachevka
type, typical for the Kutrigur and Ogur tribes. The chronology as well as the cultural and
political context of the nomad burials of the Sukhanovo type allows us to identify this
group of nomads as Utigurs. The similarities between the funeral rites of the different
Bulgarian tribes: Kutrigur, Utigur, Ogur and Unnogundur, lead to the conclusion that the
rituals of the Sukhanovo type must have been common tribal tradition of the Ogurs.