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Пещи за изпичане на битова керамика от Дръстър (Kilns for Firing Everyday Pottery from Drustur) – Studia Archaeologica Universitatis Serdicensis, Supplementum IV. Stephanos Archaeologicos in honorem Professoris Ludmili Getov, 2005, 10-20. (co-author Stefka Angelova)
Remains of a potter's kiln were unearthed in a Late Chalcolithic burnt down layer at the settlement mound of Kozareva Mogila near the town of Kableshkovo, Pomorie municipality, along with numerous items related to the manufacture of pottery: more than three hundred vases found in situ, clay loomweights, lumps of clay prepared for shaping, graphite, pieces of red ochre, and stones for polishing the surface of the vessels. Therefore, it could be concluded that all these remains belonged to a workshop that was destroyed by fire in the process of manufacturing pottery. Considerable part of that layer, including part of the kiln, has been disturbed by later structures dug in the terrain. The kiln’s fuel chamber was dug into the ground and there were one or two firing chambers above it, enclosed in a double wall and separated from the fuel chamber with massive clay wall. This is the fist kiln of this type ever discovered. Its shape has parallels in kilns discovered in settlements of Cucuteni-Tripol’e culture; however, they have a perforated wall between the fuel chamber and the firing chamber/chambers. In the proposed reconstruction, the openings of the fuel and firing chambers are set in the lateral walls of the jacket, for which there is no direct evidence. Having in mind that the kiln was used for baking of vases painted with graphite, which burns when exposed to air at temperatures of about 400oC, and that the vases were initially black, i.e. they were baked in low oxygen environment, it could be assumed that the openings were covered with slabs and plastered with clay. They were broken open after finishing the backing process. The heating of the vases was achieved through the floor of the kiln and its hollow walls that led the hot gases from the fuel chamber to the vent. An experimental downsized model of the kiln was built. On the grounds of the presented evidence of the ceramic workshop, other similar finds, and the general characteristics of the Late Chalcolithic pottery in the settlements and the necropoleis, some observations are offered on the organization of the manufacture of pottery in Late Chalcolithic times. The appearance in that period of pottery kilns that were built inside the fortified part of the settlements and produced quantities that surpassed by far the needs of the given settlement, as well as the quality of the vases in the necropoleis and the evidence of imported ceramics reveal the gradual transformation of pottery into article of trade. This process was a result of changes in the organisation of the economy, prompted by the developments in mining, working, and trading of metals.
Comprehensive listing and description with illustrations of every archaeological investigation which took place in 2009 in Bulgaria (in BULGARIAN). Presented by period and area.
Annual report by lead investigators of every archaeological excavation that took place in Bulgaria during 2015 according to period. Abstracts of each site in English.
From 2011 to 2013 nearby the town of Suvorovo during the study of prehistoric settlement a medieval dwelling was fully revealed. It was semi-dug in the ancient terrain at a depth of 0.20-0.30 m. The dwelling has been destroyed by a fire. Its floor was covered with rammed grey clay. The length of the walls in a north-south line is 3.40 m, in a eastwest line – 3.20 m. The deviation from the north-south line of the dwelling’s orientation is 37°. The entrance was on the west side, where a step descending from the ancient surface was cleared. At the front of the western facade the remains of drainage ditches with a length of about 1.40 m width of 20–25 cm were found. The plinth of the north wall, of which two rows have survived, was made of large stones without mortar. Northern, eastern and southern walls were lined at least at the surface of the floor with horizontal boards. The carrier horizontal of the roof has been worn by three supporting pillars with a diameter of about 15 cm, arranged in a line northeast-southwest through the middle of the dwelling. The coating was made of organic materials. In the middle of the dwelling a pit with a diameter of 0.80 m and a depth of 0.23 m from the floor was excavated. It was filled with loose soil of tan color, and not any archaeological materials were found in the filler. In the southeastern corner of the dwelling a rectangular oven was excavated. Its mouth was from the south-west side. The size of the oven was 0.95 (NE-SW) x 0.65 m (NW-SE). It was fully preserved, built of limestone. The total height of the oven was 0.45 m. There was 18 cm thick layer of white ash on its floor. On the floor of the dwelling were found fragments of five pots, part of glass bracelet of dark blue color with oval cross-section, two fragments of iron knives and a piece of iron object. In the filling the fragments of at least four vessels were found. In compliance with the parallels of the found pottery, the dwelling refers to the second half of the 10th century. But in the fallow many fragments of earlier and later medieval vessels were found. Probably the settlement here existed at least from the second half of the 9th century by the early 11th century AD.
Dissertations, vol. 15
Ceramic kilns in the territory of modern Bulgaria from the 1st to the 6th century AD (Пещи за керамика в днешните български земи през I – VI век) /In Bulgarian with extensive summary in English/2019 •
This is a revised and supplemented edition of a dissertation, defended in 2015 at the Department of Archaeology of the Historical Faculty in Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. The two-chambered updraught kiln is the most widespread and identifiable variant among the ceramic firing installations throughout the Mediterranean in Antiquity. Its popularity owes to its fine technical properties, as well as the long-established traditions in the manufacture of clay-made artefacts. The present dissertation explores the development and distribution of the two-chambered ceramic kilns in the territory of modern Bulgaria during the 1st – 6th century. For that purpose, published and unpublished data for ceramic kilns is studied, from the time of their appearance in Thrace in the course of the Late Iron Age until the end of Late Antiquity. The catalogue comprises detailed information for 289 kilns dated to the Roman and Late Antique periods. The acquired data base provides ground for the identification of the construction techniques and materials used in the erection of these structures, and to distinguish those of the former which appeared in today’s Bulgarian lands after the Roman conquest. The developed typology for the two-chambered kilns under discussion is based on the floor plan of the combustion chamber and the type of support for the perforated floor. The last chapter of the dissertation is dedicated to the archaeologically attested production centres and workshops from the 1st – 6th century and includes an attempt for the clarification of the chronological limits of their operation, together with a proposition for a periodisation scheme of ceramic production in the considered time period. Between the second half of the 1st and the beginning of the 7th century the two-chambered kilns were the most frequently used ceramic firing structures in today’s Bulgarian territory. The number of studied kilns from this chronological period is significantly larger in comparison to those from the previous and the next one – respectively the Late Iron Age and the Middle Ages. This fact could be explained with the considerable demand for fine and coarse wheel-made pottery during the Roman and the Late Antique periods, together with the large-scale urbanisation and fortification activities carried out in that time, which required a great amount of ceramic building material. The two-chambered updraught kilns were the optimal – and sometimes the only – variant for the firing of both types of goods. The influences on the development and organisation of ceramic production in the 1st – 6th century owed to the infiltration of new population, the urbanisation projects carried out by central authorities, and, in general, to the incorporation of this craft in the Empire’s economy. Being intrinsic part of it, the manufacture of ceramic goods also experienced the negative effects of the multiple military conflicts in the studied time period, some of which may serve as chronological limits for certain phases of its development.
2018 •
Compliers and editors: Valeri Grigorov, Petar Dimitrov, Metodi Zlatkov, Evgeniya Komatarova-Balinova The volume is in memory of Assoc. Prof. Irina Shtereva. Her scientific activity is related to the discovery of the fortress Tuida (Sliven) and the excavations of Pernik fortress, the Palaces of Pliska and Veliki Preslav, the Great Basilica of Pliska. Irina Shtereva was one of the best experts in mediaeval pottery. The volume comprises 24 scientific articles, predominantly focused on studies of medieval archaeological monuments. Several major themes are well-embodied: towns and settlements, pottery, minor sculpture, necropoleis. Some discussive articles, as well as theoretical and interdisciplinary papers are also included in the book. Съставители и редактори: Валери Григоров, Петър Димитров, Методи Златков, Евгения Коматарова-Балинова Томът е в памет на доц. д-р Ирина Щерева. Научната ѝ дейност се свързва с откриването на крепостта Туида (Сливен), с разкопки на Пернишката крепост, на Дворцовите комплекси в Плиска и Велики Преслав и с разкопките на Голямата базилика в Плиска. Ирина Щерева е сред най-добрите познавачи на средновековната керамика. Сборникът съдържа 24 научни статии, свързани предимно с изследвания на средновековни археологически паметници. Обособяват се няколко големи теми: градове и селища, керамика, малка пластика, некрополи. В сборника са включени също така дискусионни статии, теоретични разработки и интердисциплинарни изследвания. Published: 2018-03-26
2017 •
The authors examine one large two-chambered kiln with rectangular plan, discovered on the south side of St. Atanas bay. On the basis of many parallels of similar structures from nowadays Bulgaria and Romania the kiln was dated to the 6th c. AD. This date has been supported by the Late Antique pottery and other materials discovered around it, principally by the seven bronze coins of late 4th – middle of 6th centuries AD. A very important find near the kiln is a fragmented but unique table plate made of ceramic with incised inscription in Greek: “Кυριε βοηθει του δουλων...” = “God help to your slave...” The main purpose of the kiln was firing of building ceramics – bricks and roof tiles of two types: tegulae and imbrices. It has been calculated that a single charge of its production has been between 1350 and 1800 bricks and/or roof tiles. The produced ceramics was used mainly for the needs of the port town located at Cape St. Atanas.
Executive Summary of Doctoral Dissertation / Автореферат на дисертация
Ceramic Kilns in the Territory of Bulgaria from the 1st to the 6th c. (Пещи за керамика в днешните български земи през I - VI век) /In Bulgarian/2015 •
Bulletin of the National Archaeological Institute, XLI
В. Динчев (съст. & ред.). In honorem professoris Георги Кузманов (= ИНАИ, ХLІ). София, 2013.2013 •
Collegium Historicum, vol. 2
A Pottery kiln from Cabyle (Пещ за керамика от Кабиле) /In Bulgarian/2012 •
Stojcho Bonev, Stela Doncheva
Stojcho Bonev, Stela Doncheva. Medieval production center of metal art near Novosel, Shumen municipality2011 •
Pliska-Preslav vol. 13
The Alleged Proto-Bulgarian Dike in Balchik (in Bulgarian with an English summary)2018 •
THE THRACIAN CITY. CITY PLANNING FORTIFICATION SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE.
THE THRACIAN CITY. CITY PLANNING FORTIFICATION SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE. Sboryanovo.VOLUME III, 2015,2015 •
Известия на Националния археологически институт
Хореум от Римската епоха в землището на с. Георги Добрево, община Любимец [Roman Age Horreum in the Area of George Dobrevo Village, Lyubimets Municipality]2012 •
Плиска - Преслав
CERAMICS FROM THE DWELLINGS IN THE SMALL WOODEN FORTIFICATION – TRENCH XXI (Pre-release)2018 •
Studia in Honorem Iliae Iliev
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RATIARIA SEMPER FLOREAT, т. I, "Рациария и нейната територия", 284-330
Технологични характеристики на битовата керамика от ранноримска войнишко жилище и късноантични пластове от CONBUSTICA (COMBUSTICA) при с. Кладоруб, община ДимовоMEDIEVAL NOMAD NECROPOLIS FROM PLOVDIV (11TH–13TH C.)
MEDIEVAL NOMAD NECROPOLIS FROM PLOVDIV (11TH–13TH C.)Сборник в памет на академик Д. П. Димитров
Kерамичен производствен комплекс от VI в. от Дуросторум [Sixth Century Pottery Manufacturing Complex in Durostorum]2013 •
Археологически открития и разкопки през 2011 г.
Спасителни археологически разкопки на ул. „Козлодуй“ № 3а и 3б, гр. Пловдив2012 •