Durankulak Excavations Site - Bulgarian Troy

Views on BG | June 10, 2004, Thursday // 00:00

By Ivelina Puhaleva
Editor at Novinite.com

The studies of settlements from the Neolith and Eneolith in Bulgarian lands started in the end of the 19 century.

The first tells along the Black sea coast appeared during the early Eneolith epoch when the culture Sava was formed there.

It was considerably influenced by the cultures Mariza and Polyaniza. It was registered in the tells of Sava, Zonevo, Golyamo Delchevo, Kableshkovo, etc.

Typical of this culture is the ornament consisting of groups of parallel incised lines incrusted with white paint, forming angular motives. This type of decoration was accepted by the representatives of the culture Hamandjia - phases III and IV which developed during the early Eneolith.

The culture of Varna marks one of the peaks in the ancient history.

The necropolis discovered in the town of Varna is known to scientists worldwide containing a lot of gold objects and copper tools. It is also remarkable for the complex funeral rites including sexual differentiation in body laying (male - straight on their back, female - in right hoker) and numerous symbolic funerals of different types.

The rich contents of grave N 43 (a male) reflects the existence of a well expressed social differentiation.

The most important from a scientific point of view, is the necropolis at the village of Durankulak, which existed for more than 800 years, starting from the beginning of the culture Hamandjia until the end of Varna culture. Over 1200 funerals have been studied there.

The gradual development of funeral rites to the level known from the Varna necropolis is clearly seen there. The numerous gold and copper objects in the two necropoli, the decorations from Spondylus and Dentatum witness for the active commercial relations with distant regions.

Impressive are the 0.60-0.80 m long flint plates found in some of the graves. The high level of economic, technological and cultural development is well expressed in the tell of Durankulak where monumental stone living-house architecture has been established. Some of the buildings are two-stored and exceed 150 sq. m.

The stone architecture was founded in the last stage of the culture Hamanjia, and besides Durankulak it was established in the village of Suvorovo.

Most of the sea-coast settlements of the Varna culture have not been studied sufficiently because they remained under the contemporary sea-level (on the bottom of Varna lake, in the bays of Sozopol, Kiten, the river Ropotamo).

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