Tuesday, May 28, 2019

SOFIA, BULGARIA—Archaeology in Bulgaria reports that a dwelling dating to the Late Bronze Age was discovered in northwest Bulgaria during investigation of the proposed route of a natural gas pipeline stretching from Russia, through Turkey and Bulgaria, and into Central Europe. The structure had wattle-and-daub walls fashioned from vertical wooden poles woven with sticks and plastered with clay. “What’s interesting is that [one of] the clay walls collapsed right on top of the [household] inventory that was inside the dwelling, and we are finding [the artifacts] right where they stood over 3,000 years ago,” said archaeologist Andrey Aladzhov of Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology. The artifacts include pottery made by the Orsoya-Baley Culture, he added, which links the site to settlements found near the Danube River and the Mediterranean Sea. Radiocarbon dating of bone fragments in a burial urn found near the home could help archaeologists date the site. To read about another recent discovery in Bulgaria, go to “Mirror, Mirror.”