Papers by Denitsa Sandeva
Be-Ja, 2024
This article presents the preliminary results of several consecutive studies conducted in the per... more This article presents the preliminary results of several consecutive studies conducted in the period 2021–2024. The area
of the Ludogorsko Plateau is characterised by one of the highest concentrations of Late Bronze Age finds discovered in
present-day Bulgaria. Unfortunately, more than 100 years after the first discoveries, no large-scale studies focusing on the
period of the 2nd millenium BC have been carried out. The fieldwork strategy included combination of various research
methods – from remote and non-destructive methods (LiDAR, geophysics, field surveys) to conventional archaeological
excavations (trenches and long-term excavations over a larger area) for the sites selected for these studies.
The archaeological site in the locality of Yurtluka near the village of Kamenovo was registered during the first campaign
(2021). Its identification as promising for future more detailed fieldwork led to the successive implementation of large-scale
geomagnetic surveys and the first regular excavations in 2023.
The results presented are diverse and allow analyses and interpretations of various research questions relating to the settlement environment, the internal organisation of the site, the characteristics of the pottery assemblage and the main groups of
artefacts. Initial hypotheses about chronology, possible supra-regional contacts and interactions in this part of the Ludogorsko Plateau during the Late Bronze Age are also put forward.
ТЕРЕННИ ИЗДИРВАНИЯ ПО ТРАСЕТО НА АВТОМАГИСТРАЛА „РУСЕ – ВЕЛИКО ТЪРНОВО“, ОБЩИНИ РУСЕ, ИВАНОВО, ДВЕ МОГИЛИ, БОРОВО, ЦЕНОВО, ОБЛ. РУСЕ, ЕКИП 1, 2020
Field survey in November and December 2019 on the highway route “Ruse–Veliko Tarnovo” was execute... more Field survey in November and December 2019 on the highway route “Ruse–Veliko Tarnovo” was executed ac cording to a contract between Road Infrastructure Agency and NAIM–BAS. The highway’s length is 133.24 km on an area of 12.58 km2 with width between 40 and 500 m (fig. 1). It runs through nine municipalities (fig. 2). The highway route was divided between three teams. The northernmost part surveyed by team 1 has a length of 61.7 km and S–SW direction. It crosses the riverbeds of two large rivers – from E to W they are Rusenski Lom river and Yantra river. An area of 6.8 km2 was surveyed, and 1.7 km2 was with low visibility. Twenty-two archaeological sites are registered (fig. 3). Eleven of them were already regis tered in the information system “Archaeological Map of Bulgaria”. Thirteen scatters (probably settlement sites), one tell and eight burial mounds are registered. Thirteen of the sites (11 settlements and two burial mounds) are on the highway route. Settlement sites with Nos 1000 (EIA and LIA), 1001 (LIA, prehistory(?), BA(?), 1004 (LIA) and 1005 (LBA–EIA) are registered in the lands of Marten village and Ruse town. Site No 1008 dates back to LIA (2nd–1st c. BC), and it is reg istered in the land of Trastenik village (fig. 4). Site No 1009 dates back to LIA (4th–3rd c. BC), and it is registered in the land of Obretenik village. An amphora handle with a stamp from Thasos island is found on the site (last ¼ of 4th–the first ¼ of 3rd c. BC). Four settlement sites (from the Chalcolithic period to the Bulgarian Revival) and three burial mounds are regis tered in the lands of Tsenovo and Beltsov villages (fig. 5). Pottery fragments dated back to the Roman period (2nd–3rd c.) are found only on site No 1016 in the land of Tsenovo village. The flint assemblages do not have a dominant type of raw material used.
Теренни издирвания по трасето на АМ „Хемус“, участък I на територията на общини Ябланица и Луковит, 2020
The field survey was carried out in November 2019 according to a contract between NAIM–BAS and th... more The field survey was carried out in November 2019 according to a contract between NAIM–BAS and the Road Infrastructure Agency. Its implementation was necessitated by the change of the route in this part of the highway. Section 1 has a length of 15.26 km (fig. 1). It starts from Boaza, from the connection with the already built part of the highway, and goes to the crossing with road ІІІ–307 Lukovit–Ugarchin (km 87+800 to km 103+060), including also Boaza and Dermantsi road junctions.
During the survey it was found that intensive construction activities were carried out from km 87+800 to km 92+500. It was found that large parts of archaeological sites, already registered in 2015, were destroyed during construction – the sites in Poleto locality near Brestnitsa village, sites Nos 4 and 5 (fig. 2). During the search, the mound necropolis in Mechovo locality near the village of Dermantsi was re-registered (fig. 3).
Спасителни археологически проучвания на обект от втората половина на II хил. пр. Хр. и римската епоха в землище на с. Герман, Столична община, 2021
The archaeological site was recorded in the end of January 2020 during archaeological monitoring ... more The archaeological site was recorded in the end of January 2020 during archaeological monitoring of Sofia ring road construction work. The monitoring team used machine trenches to check for presence/absence of archaeological artefacts. Between km 36+850 and km 36+900, at a depth of 0.70 – 1 m below the current surface they found а layer with stones, pottery fragments, pieces of burned daub, and small pieces of charcoal. Archaeological excavations were conducted from the end of May and the end of June 2020. The site is located at the northern foot of Lozenska Mountain, on the right bank of Iskar River, with a slight slope of the modern terrain from SE to NW (fig. 1). The area dimensions were: width of 20 m (N – S) and length of 50 m (W – E).
The following stratigraphy was recorded:
- Plough zone (humus) indistinguishable from the rest of the soil containing single small wheel thrown pottery fragments;
- In the eastern part, at a depth of about 0.40 – 0.50 m from the surface, a layer of small stones and gravel, mixed with Roman pottery fragments (fig. 4);
- In the central part, at a depth of about 0.80 m from the surface, two features with small amount of hand-made pottery fragments, dated to the second half of the 2nd mill. BC, larger pieces of burned daub and individual pieces of charcoal (1437 – 1286 cal BC at 95.4 percent probability);
- In the western part, at a depth of 0.70 – 1 m from the surface, a layer of well-rounded stones (gravels and boulders), located with their long axis across the mountain base and in a relatively sandy binder; among them was a high concentration of artefacts dated in second half of the 2nd mill. BC, pieces of burned daub, animal bones in very poor condition (figs. 2, 3);
- Sterile yellow layer.
Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology, 2021
The paper presents newly obtained field and laboratory data for flint raw materials and artefacts... more The paper presents newly obtained field and laboratory data for flint raw materials and artefacts from northwestern Bulgaria. The field survey and associated analytical work were carried out in 2020 with the following purposes: i) identifying flint raw material outcrops in the region; ii) collecting suitable raw material samples from discovered outcrops and flint artefacts from newly excavated archaeological sites; iii) integrated laboratory analyses of the samples (micropetrography and geochemistry); iv) recording and updating information about archaeological sites in the "Archaeological Map of Bulgaria" information system in the Montana and Vidin regions; and v) GIS-based reconstruction (least-cost path models) of possible raw material procurement systems, based on similarities between samples from different archaeological sites and flint outcrops. The micro-petrography and trace elements, determined by LA-ICP-MS suggest that only a few specimens among the analysed artefacts from NW Bulgaria show similarities to the local raw materials. The artefacts sampled as macroscopically similar to the Balkan flint (BF) from the recently discovered Neolithic sites in NW Bulgaria show affinity with previously studied samples of BF from the Pleven-Nikopol region, where two main clusters of BF sources were identified and recorded in 2011. Additionally, GIS-determined pathways of flint distribution are suggested in the context of raw material procurement strategy and acquisition.
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Papers by Denitsa Sandeva
of the Ludogorsko Plateau is characterised by one of the highest concentrations of Late Bronze Age finds discovered in
present-day Bulgaria. Unfortunately, more than 100 years after the first discoveries, no large-scale studies focusing on the
period of the 2nd millenium BC have been carried out. The fieldwork strategy included combination of various research
methods – from remote and non-destructive methods (LiDAR, geophysics, field surveys) to conventional archaeological
excavations (trenches and long-term excavations over a larger area) for the sites selected for these studies.
The archaeological site in the locality of Yurtluka near the village of Kamenovo was registered during the first campaign
(2021). Its identification as promising for future more detailed fieldwork led to the successive implementation of large-scale
geomagnetic surveys and the first regular excavations in 2023.
The results presented are diverse and allow analyses and interpretations of various research questions relating to the settlement environment, the internal organisation of the site, the characteristics of the pottery assemblage and the main groups of
artefacts. Initial hypotheses about chronology, possible supra-regional contacts and interactions in this part of the Ludogorsko Plateau during the Late Bronze Age are also put forward.
During the survey it was found that intensive construction activities were carried out from km 87+800 to km 92+500. It was found that large parts of archaeological sites, already registered in 2015, were destroyed during construction – the sites in Poleto locality near Brestnitsa village, sites Nos 4 and 5 (fig. 2). During the search, the mound necropolis in Mechovo locality near the village of Dermantsi was re-registered (fig. 3).
The following stratigraphy was recorded:
- Plough zone (humus) indistinguishable from the rest of the soil containing single small wheel thrown pottery fragments;
- In the eastern part, at a depth of about 0.40 – 0.50 m from the surface, a layer of small stones and gravel, mixed with Roman pottery fragments (fig. 4);
- In the central part, at a depth of about 0.80 m from the surface, two features with small amount of hand-made pottery fragments, dated to the second half of the 2nd mill. BC, larger pieces of burned daub and individual pieces of charcoal (1437 – 1286 cal BC at 95.4 percent probability);
- In the western part, at a depth of 0.70 – 1 m from the surface, a layer of well-rounded stones (gravels and boulders), located with their long axis across the mountain base and in a relatively sandy binder; among them was a high concentration of artefacts dated in second half of the 2nd mill. BC, pieces of burned daub, animal bones in very poor condition (figs. 2, 3);
- Sterile yellow layer.
of the Ludogorsko Plateau is characterised by one of the highest concentrations of Late Bronze Age finds discovered in
present-day Bulgaria. Unfortunately, more than 100 years after the first discoveries, no large-scale studies focusing on the
period of the 2nd millenium BC have been carried out. The fieldwork strategy included combination of various research
methods – from remote and non-destructive methods (LiDAR, geophysics, field surveys) to conventional archaeological
excavations (trenches and long-term excavations over a larger area) for the sites selected for these studies.
The archaeological site in the locality of Yurtluka near the village of Kamenovo was registered during the first campaign
(2021). Its identification as promising for future more detailed fieldwork led to the successive implementation of large-scale
geomagnetic surveys and the first regular excavations in 2023.
The results presented are diverse and allow analyses and interpretations of various research questions relating to the settlement environment, the internal organisation of the site, the characteristics of the pottery assemblage and the main groups of
artefacts. Initial hypotheses about chronology, possible supra-regional contacts and interactions in this part of the Ludogorsko Plateau during the Late Bronze Age are also put forward.
During the survey it was found that intensive construction activities were carried out from km 87+800 to km 92+500. It was found that large parts of archaeological sites, already registered in 2015, were destroyed during construction – the sites in Poleto locality near Brestnitsa village, sites Nos 4 and 5 (fig. 2). During the search, the mound necropolis in Mechovo locality near the village of Dermantsi was re-registered (fig. 3).
The following stratigraphy was recorded:
- Plough zone (humus) indistinguishable from the rest of the soil containing single small wheel thrown pottery fragments;
- In the eastern part, at a depth of about 0.40 – 0.50 m from the surface, a layer of small stones and gravel, mixed with Roman pottery fragments (fig. 4);
- In the central part, at a depth of about 0.80 m from the surface, two features with small amount of hand-made pottery fragments, dated to the second half of the 2nd mill. BC, larger pieces of burned daub and individual pieces of charcoal (1437 – 1286 cal BC at 95.4 percent probability);
- In the western part, at a depth of 0.70 – 1 m from the surface, a layer of well-rounded stones (gravels and boulders), located with their long axis across the mountain base and in a relatively sandy binder; among them was a high concentration of artefacts dated in second half of the 2nd mill. BC, pieces of burned daub, animal bones in very poor condition (figs. 2, 3);
- Sterile yellow layer.