The excavations of Associate Prof. Dr. Stefan Alexandrov and Associate Prof. Dr. Anelia Bozhkova from the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum at the Bulgarian Acamey of Sciences were part of the so-called rescue archaeology events in 2016 which were given a start in the end of 2015.

The archaeologists worked in South-East Bulgaria along the route of a future transit gas pipeline connection with Turkey. A big team, headed by the two experts managed to research through a large area with cult facilities from the Neolithic or end-Neolithic period – around the 7^th millennium up to the 4^th c. BC. This classification covers several sub-periods – Late Neolith, a transition period to the Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age and the Classical Thracian period. The scientists are really happy with the results and intend to publish those in a monograph, hoping to cope with the task this year.

‘This is rescue archaeology, not sites planned for research in advance,’ Associate Prof. Alexandrov points out and adds:

‘We see a major share of the artifacts discovered as a gift from heaven. That was a necropolis from the so-called transition period to the Bronze Age or the beginning of the 4^th millennium BC. This period is very poorly researched in Bulgaria. Its history might be related to the appearance of the Proto-Indo-Bulgarians in the Balkans and across South-East Europe as a whole. We researched six tomb complexes. The good thing is that at the same time we are working under a project of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany, alongside world famous geneticists who are trying to locate the first Indo-Europeans via DNA analysis.’

The samples have been sent to Max Planck and are being studied right now while our archaeologists are expecting the results of the surveys. Hoping that it might turn out that the people from the village of Malenovo, Yambol region, were among the first Indo-Europeans. These things cannot be proven for the moment even though the scientists so much wish for that.

Which were the more interesting among the artifacts discovered?

‘We can’t boast of some super and breathtaking findings. At the same time we are happy with the fact that these are thousands of objects, mostly common to museum visitors. Those mainly confirm our experience and the one of our colleagues who work with the other periods, regarding their views on the development of the material culture of Thracian people. Otherwise, we didn’t find anything with - how can I say it - some superb museum value of objects, placed behind the showcase and causing wows. Archaeology however researches through the past also based on these thousands of objects which will see no showcase. At the same time Bulgarian archaeologists do find unique things – those can be seen at the annual Bulgarian Archaeology exhibition in February at the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum at the BAS,’ Associate Prof. Stefan Alexandrov says in conclusion.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev