Papers of BAS

Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences

Vol. 11, 2024, No. 2

Neolithic ritual pits near Miladinovtsi, region of Targovishte

Vassil Nikolov, Galina Samichkova

Abstract. The archaeological site lies in the eastern part of the Danube Valley, between the cities of Targovishte and Razgrad. The investigated area provides evidence of habitation and the use of the place spanning four historical periods. This article focuses on dug-out ritual features from the end of the Early Neolithic or the beginning of the Late Neolithic. In addition, it includes results from the anthropological study of a Neolithic skeleton, as well as registered AMS dates.

Considerable attention has been directed toward a Neolithic ritual pit with a skeleton that belonged to a man aged about 40 years. What is new is that the skeleton was found inside a ritual pit in an extramural context, specifically a pit sanctuary. The skeletal remains were unearthed among burnt pieces of construction daub. Numerous sherds of crushed pottery are available in the fill of the pit. The pit was examined in the context of similar features from the Northern Balkan Neolithic dated to the middle of the 6th millennium BC.

Keywords: Neolithic, pit sanctuary, ritual pits, grave, ceramic assemblage