V. Nikolov & K. Bacvarov (eds).

Salz und Gold: die Rolle des Salzes im prhistorischen Europa / Salt and Gold: The Role of Salt in Prehistoric Europe. Provadia-Veliko Tarnovo, 2012, 109-118.

The late Chalcolithic at Provadia-Solnitsata in the context of the West Black Sea Coast
Petar Leshtakov

The West Black Sea region, where the prehistoric site of Provadia-Solnitsata is located, is one of the well researched areas of the Balkans. In the latter half of the twentieth century, a large number of late Chalcolithic tell sites and cemeteries have been excavated here (fig. 1). Our current knowledge of the material culture, subsistence economy, and ritual practices of the prehistoric communities that occupied these settlements, is a good database, which makes it possible to consider the saltmaking center of Provadia-Solnitsata in a wider interregional context, and to follow the influence of salt production over the social relations. The immediate proximity of a community with complex social organization as evidenced by the Chalcolithic Varna cemetery (Nikolov 1991; Renfrew 1986; Slavchev 2010) increases the significance of the site at Provadia for the study of the social and economic relations during the latter half of the fifth millennium BC ( 2010). The results from the six seasons of excavation in the area of Provadia-Solnitsata ( 2008; . 2009; . 2010, . 2011) are significantly scarcer for the late Chalcolithic than for the earlier periods. Remains from that time have been revealed in both main parts of the saltmaking center, the tell settlement and the Chalcolithic saltmaking site, and thus far give a chance only for a partial reconstruction of the exploitation of the salt deposit by the prehistoric population.

Fig. 1. Map showing the sites mentioned in the text: 1 - Tell Durankulak; 2 - Varna cemetery; 3 - prehistoric site of Suvorovo; 4 - saltmaking center of Provadia-Solnitsata; 5 - Tell Golyamo Delchevo; 6 - Tell Ovcharovo

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Fig. 2. Tell Provadia-Solnitsata. General view of the Northwestern area after the end of 2010 excavation (photo Peter Leshtakov)

Fig. 3. Tell Provadia-Solnitsata. Burial 3 in the Northwestern area, view from the southeast (photo Peter Leshtakov)

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Tell Provadia-Solnitsata The erection of a Thracian tumulus on the prehistoric tell badly disturbed the layer dating to the latter half of the fifth millennium BC and even destroyed completely some parts of it. The archaeological excavation showed that before the erection of the tumulus, a huge pit had been dug in the middle of the prehistoric settlement; it probably contains the burial structure, which was then covered with a fifteenmeter barrow. The building material, stone and earth, which was needed for these activities, was taken from the uppermost Chalcolithic layer of the tell, and that almost completely destroyed it. And yet some of the excavated areas have yielded evidence of occupation in that time. These are mostly dug-in features pits and ditches which didnt suffer later disturbances. One such pit has been revealed in the Southeastern area, in front of the eastern entrance of the fortification. It was filled with stones and a huge amount of broken pottery, mostly sherds from thick-walled brine evaporation tubs ( . 2009, 100-103). This fact demonstrates that salt production partially was done within the enclosed territory and namely the separation of the final product from the tubs. The fine ware from this feature ( . 2009, 101-103, . 40) dates it to the early phase of the late Copper Age, which has been well attested at the Chalcolithic saltmaking site. The presence of late Chalcolithic pottery in the defensive ditches that enclosed the settlement (, 2008, . 4-5) proves that they were still in use during that time, which was necessitated by the need to protect the produced salt. It was probably in the latter half of the fifth millennium BC that part of the middle Chalcolithic ditch was cleaned up ( 2010, 13). Preliminary data is available for the digging of a new defensive ditch in the later phases of this period. The pottery that has been found in its fill doesnt come from stratified units, but it gives additional information about the late Chalcolithic occupation of the tell settlement. The analysis of these sherds (, 2008, . 4-5) and their parallels in ceramic assemblages from sites in the West Black Sea region suggests that they date to the second and/or the third phase of the late Copper Age. Certain elements of the shapes and decorative patterns are common for the Varna culture. However, strong influence from the Kodzhadermen-Gumelnia-Karanovo VI complex has been recognized as well. Material from the latter half of the fifth millennium BC has been identified during the excavation of two step trenches in the western part of the tell settlement in 2007. It seemed to suggest that there are remains of at least several successive settlements in this underresearched area of the site that date to the late Chalcolithic. The results of the excavation in 2010 have fully confirmed this expectation. It became clear that the ancient disturbances in this part of the prehistoric site are insignificant and the late Chalcolithic layer is well preserved. Preliminary observations show that it is over five meters thick ( . 2011, 72-73) and contains the remains of a series of long-inhabited buildings featuring multiple repairs of their floor levels as well as several late Copper Age settlements that were destroyed by powerful fires (fig. 2). The presence of a huge amount of rocks from destroyed late Chalcolithic structures suggests that the settlements from that period also had stone walls and stone residential buildings similarly to the earlier, middle Chalcolithic ones at Provadia-Solnitsata and other contemporaneous sites on the West Black Sea coast (Boyadzhiev 2004; 2004; , 1991). In the periphery of the tell, the lower late Chalcolithic levels yielded a NW/SE oriented skeleton of an adult female (age at death between 25 and 30 years)1 ( . 2011, 73). The deceased was buried in an odd position: lying prone, with legs tightly bent in the knees and with ankles probably tied to the pelvis (fig. 3 1). No grave goods have been found beside a round shell bead (fig. 3 2) located between the right side of the pelvis and the ribs. The unusual body position and the location of the grave suggest its irregularity and are arguments in favor of its interpretation as a sacrifice. The excavation of these late Chalcolithic layers will give important insights into the life around the salt springs in the latter half of the fifth millennium BC, and will be the main goal of the next archaeological seasons at Provadia-Solnitsata.
1

The preliminary analysis of human bone material from the prehistoric salt production center of ProvadiaSolnitsata has been made by Dr Kathleen McSweeney of the University of Edinburgh. I take this chance to thank her for her kind permission for me to use the results of her assessments.

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Fig. 4. The Chalcolithic saltmaking site, 2009 season: view from the tell (photo Peter Leshtakov)

The Chalcolithic saltmaking site It was in the middle Chalcolithic that an extensive salt production site emerged a hundred and fifty meters to the northeast of the tell settlement. It covers an area of more than hundred ares (fig. 4) and encompasses features with various functions and dating that are directly or circumstantially related to the vital production of salt. The site existed through the later phase of the Chalcolithic as well, which is evidenced by the excavation of the pit installation for brine evaporation (Nikolov 2010, 494ff). Its fill contained a huge amount of thick-walled sherds, which has been interpreted as the remains of brine evaporation tubs. Their technological and typological uniformity as well as the lack of any decoration, however, dont help much for the features dating. Only a small amount of fine ware sherds has been revealed from the pit (figs. 5 and 6), that is technologically similar to the material found at the tell site ( 2010, . 2-3). The analysis of this ware demonstrated that some of the ceramic shapes are similar to the pottery from the middle Chalcolithic layer at the tell site. However, other vessels have sharper carinations and more biconic forms, which shows a definite style tendency (figs. 5 5-6, 8-9, 11; 6 2-4). Parallels of the latter category have been identified not in the corresponding stratigraphic units but in a negative feature at the tell site and in the corresponding stratigraphic units at neighboring sites dating to the early phase of the late Copper Age, e.g. at Ovcharovo ( . 1983, . 61, 63, 67, 70-71). Pottery decoration is the second explicit chronological reference point and it completely proves these observations. The stamped decoration diagnostic for this period is almost lacking in the assemblage. The few stamped sherds that have been found are accidental and their presence could be explained by the fact that the installation for brine evaporation disturbed earlier features. Patterns similar to the stamped decoration have been identified; they, however, were executed through wide and shallow incisions (fig. 6 6). Parallel horizontal channeling appears (fig. 5 2-4, 6-9, 11) sometimes in a

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Fig. 5. Thin-walled pottery from the late Chalcolithic pit installation for brine evaporation at the saltmaking site

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Fig. 6. Thin-walled pottery from the late Chalcolithic pit installation for brine evaporation at the saltmaking site

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Fig. 7. The Chalcolithic saltmaking site: 1 - pit 1 (photo Margarita Lyuncheva); 2-4 - pottery from pit 1 (photo Peter Leshtakov)

combination with graphite painting2 (fig. 6 7) as well as negative graphite painting (fig. 6 5, 8), both decorative techniques being common for the early phase of the Kodzhadermen-Gumelnia-Karanovo VI complex. Beside the saltmaking related features, the Chalcolithic production site yielded several burials and ritual pits that date to the late Copper Age. Two complete pots have been revealed in pit 1, which dates to the latter half of the fifth millennium BC and is situated in the southeastern part of the excavated area of the Chalcolithic production site (fig. 7 2-3). Both sharply carinated bowls find close parallels in the late Chalcolithic pottery assemblages of horizons IX-XI of Tell Golyamo Delchevo ( . 1975, . 57 32; 66 2) and horizons XI-XIII of Tell Ovcharovo ( . 1983, . 86 5, 9; 87 8), and generally could be referred to the second phase and the beginning of the third phase of the late Chalcolithic. They were intentionally deposited in the pit with their bottoms up, and the fill below them has yielded a large amount of sherds of brine evaporation tubs and burnt daubs ( 2010, 61). This pit almost completely destroyed an earlier one, which contained the articulated bones of human legs and a ceramic bowl. Judging by the position of the bones, the deceased an adult female (age at death between 20 and 30 years) was buried in a crouched position on the right side with her head to the west ( 2010, 62). Another pit has been found in the northern part of the excavated area. Pit 3 has an elliptical outline and is rather big. Its opening was packed with middle- and large size quarried rocks (fig 8 1). Its fill yielded human bones, most probably of an adult female (fig. 8 2), a copper axe of the Plonik type with some remains of wood in the shaft hole (fig. 8 3), and a piece, which is probably metal slag
2

The graphite decoration is badly damaged and the patterns can only rarely be reconstructed due to the secondary firing of almost all sherds found in the fill of the installation for brine evaporation.

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Fig. 8. The Chalcolithic saltmaking site: 1 - pit 3; 2 - human bones from pit 3; 3 - possible slag from pit 3; 4 copper axe of the Plonik type from pit 3 (photo Peter Leshtakov)

(fig. 8 4)3. The copper axe is rather small which suggests that it was made especially for the burial. The parallels of this type of copper tools date to the late Chalcolithic ( 2008, 37), the latest being an axe from burial 1 at the Varna I cemetery that date to the third phase of this period (Ivanov, Avramova 2000, 27). In 2010, another burial has been found close to the pit installation for brine evaporation and to pit 3. The deceased adult male was buried in a crouched position on the left with his head to SW/NE (fig. 9 1). A stone hammer-axe (fig. 9 2) was revealed in the grave ( . 2011, 71). The presence of such ritual pits and burials is clear evidence that the whole area of the production site was not used simultaneously; certain non-functioning or deserted facilities were used for ritual practices and/or as a separate burial ground. Conclusion The consideration of the excavation results from Provadia-Solnitsata shows a long-term occupation of the region around the salt springs covering almost the whole latter half of the fifth millennium BC. Based on the preliminary results of the pottery analysis, it seems that during the early phase of the late Copper Age, the area of the salt deposit was probably in the periphery of the Kodzhadermen-GumelniaKaranovo VI complex, and the influence of the Black Sea coastal zone was slight. The material from the later phases has even more uncertain stratigraphic position and is still insufficiently analyzed. However,
3

The possible piece of slag has not yet been analyzed and was assessed only macroscopically. It is very important to confirm this guess and to clarify the slags origins. The excavation at Provadia-Solnitsata has not yet yielded other evidence of local metallurgy producing copper tools and items of prestige for the needs of high status people at the saltmaking center. Evidence of the existence of such metallurgical center, although tentative, come from the area of the Varna lakes. Circumstantial evidence are the copper artifacts, which are typical only for the Varna I cemetery ( 1997, 18).

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at least for the time being, an increased number of elements common for the coastal zone have been identified. One likely reason for this change of the direction of contacts of the communities that occupied the salt deposit area could be the consolidation of the late Chalcolithic Varna culture and its possible expansion to the inland Lower Danube aimed at trade and/or reclaiming new raw material sources. However, because of the lack of excavated stratified contexts from the latter half of the fifth millennium BC, these speculations can be proved only by new excavation in the future. It is not yet clear how did the salt springs exploitation and the occupation of the area finished. No evidence of the final phase of the late Copper Age and the transition to the Bronze Age is available, which mirrors the picture of the Fig. 9. The Chalcolithic saltmaking site: 1 - burial 2 (photo Vassil simultaneous processes going Nikolov); 2 - stone axe from burial 2 (photo Peter Leshtakov) on in the neighboring territories. The cataclysms that occurred in the northern part of the Balkans in the end of the fifth millennium BC probably caused a change of the settlement patterns. Whether the saltmaking stopped in the Bronze Age is however a question, which could be approached only after large-scale surveys and excavations in the region around the salt springs.

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