Bronze Age graves unearthed in NW Bulgaria

A total of 10 graves from the necropolis of a Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age settlement located near the town of Baley, Vidin District, in Northwest Bulgaria, have been discovered and explored during the 2015 excavations of the site.

The 2015 excavations of the necropolis of the settlement of the “Culture of the
 Encrusted Ceramics of the Lower Danube” took place in mid-October 2015 
[Credit: Monitor Daily]

The Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age settlement near Baley was first found in 1970, and was excavated for 18 consecutive years. Its necropolis was discovered only in 2010, 40 years later, by accident.

Every year since then, archaeologists from the National Institute and Museum of Archaeology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Vidin Regional Museum of History excavate new sections of the necropolis discovering new graves.

White encrusted ceramic urn from the Late Bronze Age settlement near Baley 
in Northwest Bulgaria [Credit: SeverozapazenaBG]

With the completion of the 2015 digs, which took place in the middle of October 2015, a total of 20% of the territory of the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age necropolis have been excavated.

Over 40 ceramic vessels have been found in the latest digs, including a couple of dozens of urns, all of which are more than 3,000 years old.

White encrusted ceramic bowl from the Late Bronze Age settlement near Baley 
in Northwest Bulgaria [Credit: SeverozapazenaBG]

One of the most interesting artifacts found recently is a 25 cm ceramic statuette with engraved decoration.

The newly discovered artifacts from the Baley necropolis, which dates back to 1,600-1,100 BC, are from three distinct chronological stages of the Bronze Age culture.

The culture that the settlement belonged to is known as “The Culture of the Encrusted Ceramics (of the Lower Danube)” because of the large number of ceramic artifacts found there which are encrusted with ornamental motifs made with white paste. The decorative paste was produced by mixing crushed animal bones with resin.

Source: Archaeology in Bulgaria [October 29, 2015]