The Project and the Course General Information

Project type: Field school & archaeological excavation. Suitable for both beginner and advanced students as well as those interested in archaeology and history of the eastern Mediterranean and Europe during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. Site: Prehistoric tell next to the village of Yunatsite, Southern Bulgaria. The excavation started: 1939; The field school started: 2013 Period(s) of occupation: Final Neolithic / Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, Iron Age, Antiquity and Middle Ages. Project venue: the district town of Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. Major field school topics/activities: Archaeology of Neolithic and Chalcolithic Europe; Excavations of the Final Neolithic/ Chalcolithic (4900 – 4100 BCE) strata of Tell Yunatsite; Prehistoric warfare and ceramics; Archaeological field techniques and methods for excavation and documentation, processing of finds and samples; Excursions to significant heritage sites in Bulgaria. BHF partners in this project: Tell Yunatsite Excavation Team from the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Pazardzhik Regional Museum of History; and New Bulgarian University (Bulgaria). Dig co-directors: Associate Prof. Yavor Boyadzhiev (PhD in Archaeology), National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Asst. Prof. Kamen Boyadzhiev (PhD in Archaeology), National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Application deadline: Until the places are filled or 1 June 2020

Field school sessions available: Session 1: 11 July - 25 July 2020

Session 2: 25 July - 8 August 2020

Session 3: 11 July - 8 August 2020 Minimum length of stay: Two weeks Minimum age: 18 (16, if the participant is accompanied by an adult family member) Number of field school places available: Maximum 12 Project language: English Academic credits available: Up to 9 ECTS credits are available through the New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria. Experience required: None for applicants for Session 1 and/or 3. However, applicants for Session 2 are expected to have at least two weeks of archaeological field experience prior to their participation in this session. Special requirements: Participation in the project is not recommended for individuals with solar allergies or other special illnesses that might be exacerbated during the intensive outdoor activities. The average summer temperatures in the area are 25-35° C (77-95° F). Participants should bring clothes and toiletries suitable for hot and sunny weather but should also prepare for possible rainy, windy and chilly days. Participants are also expected to prepare for the dig by reading at minimum the BHFS handbook that will be sent by e-mail before the beginning of the project. Participants will use the tools and equipment available at the site and are not expected to bring any additional equipment. WATCH STUDENT TESTIMONIALS!

The Site and the Excavation Project

During the 7th and 6th millennia BCE, the Balkan Peninsula was a gateway through which farming, animal husbandry and Neolithization spread from Anatolia and the Near East to Europe. This new population gradually settled down and got familiar with the surrounding region, suitable agricultural areas, raw sources and so on. In the 6th millennium BCE their economy, social organization, trade and cultural contacts evolved, to reach their peak in the 5th millennium BCE. In the beginning of the 5th millennium the earliest metallurgy in European and global prehistory (the processing of copper and soon after, gold) appeared in the Balkans. Thus, this period is known as Copper age, Chalcolithic, Eneolithic or Final Neolithic. The continuative inhabitance of the same suitable places during these millennia led to the formation of a settlement phenomenon, characteristic of the Near Eastern and Balkan prehistory – the multilayered tell-sites. Tell Yunatsite is located near the modern village of Yunatsite in Southern Bulgaria. It is among the biggest tells in Europe with a diameter of approximately 110 m/360 ft and height of 12 m/39 ft above the modern surface. Tell Yunatsite was first excavated in 1939 by the Bulgarian archaeologist Vasil Mikov. In 1976, regular excavations were restarted and have continued on an annual basis. Subsequently, research at Tell Yunatsite has grown into an important research program under the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. At times, Greek and Soviet archaeologists have joined the research at the site and today this is an international research effort directed by Bulgarian scholars. The field school will be held for seventh year and is a joint cooperation between Balkan Heritage Foundation (BHF), the Regional Museum of History in Pazardzhik, the Tell Yunatsite Excavation Team from the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Institute for Field Research. To date, approximately one third of the tell has been excavated. This work yielded rich collections of archaeological materials, and the sterile soil has not yet been reached. There is a medieval cemetery at the top of the tell, followed by a Roman period level, two Iron Age levels, another dated to the Early Bronze Age, and finally a Chalcolithic/Final Neolithic level. It is unknown if the cultural history of the tell begins in the Chalcolithic/Final Neolithic period or whether older Neolithic occupation layers exist.

The archaeological field school takes place at the Tell Yunatsite lowest excavated layer, which corresponds to the time of Europe’s first prehistoric civilization in the 5th millennium BCE. The intense study of these very first complex societies in Europe began 40 years ago with the excavation of the Varna Copper Age necropolis. That excavation was the first to demonstrate the rise of social complexity in the region. It is during this time that metal processing became widespread and it is the earliest dates for such transformative technological innovation. Data suggest that it is the world’s earliest mass production of both copper and gold (the world’s oldest gold treasure was found in the Varna Copper age necropolis), the first urban settlements in Europe, distinct social and political stratification, and pictograms and characters interpreted by some scholars as the world's oldest script (as on the Gradeshnitsa tablet, for instance). The area of this civilization stretches from Anatolia across the Balkans to the Carpathian basin and the steppes of Eastern Europe. It collapsed around the end of the 5th millennium BCE under the pressure of drastic social and demographic changes, which were presumably caused mainly by climate change but were exacerbated by foreign invasions. Recent excavations at Tell Yunatsite indicate that the Chalcolithic/Final Neolithic period settlement covered an area far larger than the tell itself and consisted of uptown (acropolis?) and a downtown district. The uptown section was surrounded by a five meter wide clay wall and a broad and deep ditch. Buildings in this part were placed closed to each other, creating an almost unbroken urban fabric. The Chalcolithic/Final Neolithic settlement experienced a violent event at ca. 4,200-4,100 BCE. Evidence suggests deliberate destruction by outsiders. Many skeletons of children, elderly men, and women were found scattered on floors, suggesting a massive massacre. Those who survived returned and resettled at the Tell, but soon even they left. At that point, Tell Yunatsite and the area around it were abandoned for more than 1,000 years. During this time, a sterile layer accumulated over the last Chalcolithic/Final Neolithic layer. Excavations in the last years shed new light on the stratigraphy and development of the Chalcolithic/Final Neolithic, and brought new interesting discoveries. Among them are a golden bead and a golden amulet, which are among the earliest golden artifacts in the world.

The Field School

The aim of the project is to provide participants with a theoretical background on the development of Neolithic cultures in Southeastern Europe with a focus on Final Neolithic/Chalcolithic, Europe’s first civilization, and with practical experience in excavating a complex prehistoric tell-site. This field school provides a unique glimpse into the rise and fall of arguably the earliest European civilization. In 2020, field school students will take part in further excavation of the burned Final Neolithic/Chalcolithic layer buildings. Faculty and students will work together and explore why and how did one of the earliest proto urban centers in Europe emerge in the beginning of the 5th millennium BCE, and what are the reasons that caused its collapse 800 years later. There are three field school sessions (two consecutive two-week sessions and one four-week session) available. Each of them covers the following three modules: 1.fieldwork including excavation of the Final Neolithic/Chalcolithic layers and structures, which includes practicing basic excavation techniques as well as screening, sifting and flotation; the development of archaeological field documentation by maintaining a field journal on a daily basis, filling context sheets and labels, drawing an elevation plan/ a ground plan/ a cross-section, 3D positioning of finds, taking coordinates with a dumpy level, as well as taking photographs at the site; 2) lectures, workshops and field training in prehistoric (with emphasize on Neolithic, Chacolithic, prehistoric warfare and ceramics), and field archaeology, finds processing and documentation and 3) excursions to the Pazardzhik Regional Museum of History; the ancient town of Plovdiv including the Archaeological Museum, Old Town Quarter and major Roman monuments; and Stara Zagora including the Regional Museum of History, Roman monuments and the Museum of Europe's best-preserved Neolithic (5600 BCE) dwellings, as well as the optional tour of Sofia, Bulgaria. Session 1 is an excellent opportunity for beginners. Session 2 is ideal for participants with some (at least two weeks) field experience to develop more skills and competences regarding the field work as well as finds and samples processing; and to attend workshops on 3D intra-site modelling and documentation/GIS spatial analysis in archaeology. Each two-week session includes 10 working days, 1 day for orientation and introduction; 1 day for the excursion; and 1 day-off plus arrival & departure days. Session 3 is a well designed combination of Session 1 and Session 2 with 20 working days, 2 excursion days; 4 days-off (one of them with an optional excursion) plus arrival & departure day. Students who are required to prepare field reports and presentations for their universities can receive additional instruction and assistance. All participants will receive: Project handbook (in PDF version by e-mail)

Balkan Heritage Field School Certificate specifying the fieldwork hours, educational modules, and sites visited

T-shirt.

The Program

The two-week Sessions 1 and 2 provide a minimum of 90 hours and the four-week Session 3 provides a minimum of 180 hours of fieldwork, workshops/lab work, lectures/instructions and guided tours as follows: SESSIONS 1, 2 and 3: Lectures/ Instructions Rise and Fall of Europe's Earliest Civilization in the Fifth Millennium BCE

Tell Yunatsite: Environment, History and Excavations

Basic Field Methods and Practices for Excavation and Documentation at Tell Yunatsite

Hygiene, Health, and Safety at the Site Field Work Use of Excavation Tools

Practice of Basic Working Techniques

Identification of Archaeological Contexts

Creation of Field Documentation - Field Journal, Context Sheets and Labels, Ground Plans and Cross-sections, Photographs, etc.

Identification and Sorting of Archaeological Finds Workshops How to Use a Dumpy Level

How to Draw a Ground-plan/elevation-plan/cross-section (Using Scale)

Photography for Archaeologists

Finds Processing and Flotation of Soil Samples SESSIONS 1 and 3: Lectures/ Instructions Emergence of Early Farming in the Near East and Europe: Causes and Consequence

Warfare in Prehistory

From the Field to Storage: Review of Basic Methods for Uncovering, "First Aid", Consolidation in Situ, Cleaning, Sorting, Labeling, Documenting and Storing Ceramic Artifacts

Understanding Pottery - part 1 and 2