6,500-Year-Old Skeleton Discovered in Chalcolithic Settlement with Pottery Workshop near Bulgaria’s Suvorovo
The Suvorovo Chalcolithic Settlement in Northeast Bulgaria dates back to the height of Chalcolithic civilization of Southeast Europe, i.e. the 5th millenium BC. Photo: TV grab from BNT
The 6,500-year-old skeleton who inhabited what was a Chalcolithic (Aeneolithic, Copper Age) settlement with a pottery workshop have been discovered by archaeologists near the town of Suvorovo in Northeast Bulgaria.
Ceramic vessels and decorations have also been found by the researchers excavating the Chalcolithic site located some 35 kilometers (22 miles) northwest of the Black Sea city of Varna.
The prehistoric buildings studied by the team from the Varna Museum of Archaeology were destroyed in a fire in the Chalcolithic period.
They have found evidence that one of the buildings in question was used as a workshop for the production of ceramic vessels.
The prehistoric settlement near Suvorovo was discovered back in 1983 during the construction of a road between Suvorovo and the town of Drandar.
Back then, the archaeologists found there two homes from the Chalcolithic period during the original rescue digs.
After a long pause, the excavations at the Suvorovo Chalcolithic settlement were resumed in 2011.
“We are now starting, home by home, to move in the western and northern direction so we can reach the fortification system that fenced off the settlement on is northern side,” explains lead archaeologist Assist. Prof. Vladimir Slavchev from the Varna Museum of Archaeology, as cited by BNT.
“This entire site is extremely interesting. The prehistoric homes are very well preserved which is very intriguing,” says Georgi Ivanov, a student of archaeometry (archaeological science), at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
He is the only volunteer in the archaeological team, and participates in the digs for the first time. The university student is stunned by the Early Chalcolithic ceramics already discovered near Suvorovo which he wants to explore.
For the second consecutive year, the excavations of the Chalcolithic settlement near Suvorovo have been funded by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Culture.
The 2018 excavations of the Suvorovo Chalcolithic Settlement in Northeast Bulgaria. Photos: TV grabs from BNT
In 2019, the archaeological excavations are supposed to expose the northern part of the settlement from the 5th millennium BC.
Not unlike during the 2018 digs, back in 2011, when the research of the prehistoric settlement in Suvorovo were resumed, the archaeologists also discovered there a 6,500-year-old skeleton in one of the charred Chalcolithic homes from the 5th millennium BC.
The Chalcolithic settlement in Bulgaria’s Suvorovo was part of the rather advanced Chalcolithic civilization of Southeast Europe.
The Suvorovo settlement lies very close to the Provadiya – Solnitsata (“The Salt Pit”) Settlement Mound, near Provadiya and Varna in Northeast Bulgaria which is presently being excavated and appears to have been the oldest town in Europe and the oldest salt mining center in Europe.
It is also very close to the Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis near Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast where the world’s oldest gold treasure, the Varna Gold Treasure, has been discovered.
Other emblematic settlements in Bulgaria from the advanced Chalcolithic civilization of the Balkans from the 5th millennium BC include
The Karanovo Settlement Mound near Karanovo and Nova Zagora in Southern Bulgaria which has the biggest archaeological layers from the Chalcolithic;
The Dyadovo Settlement Mound near Dyadovo and Nova Zagora;
The Azmashka Settlement Mound (Azmashka Mogila) near Stara Zagora, also in Southern Bulgaria;
The Yunatsite Settlement Mound near Pazardzhik in Southern Bulgaria;
The prehistoric settlements in Telish (Telish – Redutite) and in Sadovets in Pleven District in Central North and in Northwest Bulgaria.
The settlement of Ohoden near Vratsa in Northwest Bulgaria;
The Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis might have signified the center of the world of this unified Chalcolithic civilization which was divided in regional centers.
***
Also check out:
****************************************************************************
Support ArchaeologyinBulgaria.com on Patreon
or
Make One-time Donation via Paypal!
Your contribution for free journalism is appreciated!
****************************************************************************
