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Underwater archaeological excavations in the sea bay at the mouth of Ropotamo river

Underwater archaeological excavations in the sea bay at the mouth of Ropotamo river
Underwater archaeological excavations in the sea bay at the mouth of Ropotamo river
In 2019, the third season of renewed underwater archaeological excavations took place in the bay between Cape St. Dimitar (Skombolito) and the mouth of Ropotamo River (fig. 1). The work was conducted in two stages (June – early July and September – October) with a total of 49 working days. The study had the following main research goals and objectives: - To excavate the EBA layer over the entire technologically possible area of T2–T3. - To make a stratigraphic trench below the EBA layer in order to determine whether there is earlier occupation or other anthropogenic activity at the site. - To excavate a new area closer to the shore in order to search for the “central part” of the EBA settlement. The main results of the 2019 season can be summarized as follows: 1. The work in T1 and T2–T3 was completed (fig. 2). The underwater landscape has been restored, with metal frames and trench sacks removed. 2. The exploration of a new trench (T4) began (fig. 3), confirming the general observations from previous seasons of the stratigraphic sequence of Ropotamo site – a port accumulation from the historical periods over settlement remains from the EBA (figs 4–5). 3. The quantity and character of the finds and structures discovered in T4 unambiguously indicate that the EBA settlement center lies towards the shore at the base of the shallow waters to the SW of Scombolito Cape (fig. 6). 4. In T2–T3, the hypothesis for the existence of a Chalcolithic settlement below that of the EBA was rejected. 5. It was found that the EBA settlement (at least in the section T2–T3) was built on land and was only later flooded when sea level rose (fig. 2). 6. The detailed stratigraphic observations demonstrated that at the end of the 4th mill. BC in the area of Ropotamo the sea level was -5.80 m below the modern one.
1313-0889
743-746
Dimitrov, Kalin
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Draganov, Vesselin
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Prahov, Nayden
2a7b57fa-bd82-476d-b2ba-0eb1eb6a1830
Adams, Jonathan
184a058c-d4b1-44fc-9bff-cadee3882bc8
Rönnby, Johan
45df3354-e9ad-48d7-8eca-e1e3a6c85e4e
Georgiev, Pavel
020aab7f-5160-4dc2-9dec-0ddaaad06d21
Garbov, Dragomir
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Pacheco Ruiz, Rodrigo
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Pedrotti, Felix
fdf5db67-2529-4152-afbe-2801fed48cd1
Georgieva, Zdravka
1a047a8b-7916-452b-81fb-2f06cfa4a2b8
Dimitrov, Kalin
0c97cdd1-66ba-4094-b038-2f6fbf215c54
Draganov, Vesselin
5aa5b9ba-9b09-44d9-8d23-525d3f989bed
Prahov, Nayden
2a7b57fa-bd82-476d-b2ba-0eb1eb6a1830
Adams, Jonathan
184a058c-d4b1-44fc-9bff-cadee3882bc8
Rönnby, Johan
45df3354-e9ad-48d7-8eca-e1e3a6c85e4e
Georgiev, Pavel
020aab7f-5160-4dc2-9dec-0ddaaad06d21
Garbov, Dragomir
f9eb487f-9ec1-4f3e-a4d4-e3bda165ce30
Pacheco Ruiz, Rodrigo
5966635c-eca5-4852-8f73-3b5b00e3b7ec
Pedrotti, Felix
fdf5db67-2529-4152-afbe-2801fed48cd1
Georgieva, Zdravka
1a047a8b-7916-452b-81fb-2f06cfa4a2b8

Dimitrov, Kalin, Draganov, Vesselin, Prahov, Nayden, Adams, Jonathan, Rönnby, Johan, Georgiev, Pavel, Garbov, Dragomir, Pacheco Ruiz, Rodrigo, Pedrotti, Felix and Georgieva, Zdravka (2019) Underwater archaeological excavations in the sea bay at the mouth of Ropotamo river. Archaeological Discoveries and Excavations, 2018, 743-746.

Record type: Article

Abstract

In 2019, the third season of renewed underwater archaeological excavations took place in the bay between Cape St. Dimitar (Skombolito) and the mouth of Ropotamo River (fig. 1). The work was conducted in two stages (June – early July and September – October) with a total of 49 working days. The study had the following main research goals and objectives: - To excavate the EBA layer over the entire technologically possible area of T2–T3. - To make a stratigraphic trench below the EBA layer in order to determine whether there is earlier occupation or other anthropogenic activity at the site. - To excavate a new area closer to the shore in order to search for the “central part” of the EBA settlement. The main results of the 2019 season can be summarized as follows: 1. The work in T1 and T2–T3 was completed (fig. 2). The underwater landscape has been restored, with metal frames and trench sacks removed. 2. The exploration of a new trench (T4) began (fig. 3), confirming the general observations from previous seasons of the stratigraphic sequence of Ropotamo site – a port accumulation from the historical periods over settlement remains from the EBA (figs 4–5). 3. The quantity and character of the finds and structures discovered in T4 unambiguously indicate that the EBA settlement center lies towards the shore at the base of the shallow waters to the SW of Scombolito Cape (fig. 6). 4. In T2–T3, the hypothesis for the existence of a Chalcolithic settlement below that of the EBA was rejected. 5. It was found that the EBA settlement (at least in the section T2–T3) was built on land and was only later flooded when sea level rose (fig. 2). 6. The detailed stratigraphic observations demonstrated that at the end of the 4th mill. BC in the area of Ropotamo the sea level was -5.80 m below the modern one.

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More information

Published date: 20 May 2019

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 471263
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/471263
ISSN: 1313-0889
PURE UUID: b407fb60-e365-462e-b03e-6e4edeff63fd
ORCID for Pavel Georgiev: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2744-2055
ORCID for Felix Pedrotti: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4466-3300
ORCID for Zdravka Georgieva: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5842-5085

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Date deposited: 01 Nov 2022 17:44
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:01

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Contributors

Author: Kalin Dimitrov
Author: Vesselin Draganov
Author: Nayden Prahov
Author: Jonathan Adams
Author: Johan Rönnby
Author: Pavel Georgiev ORCID iD
Author: Dragomir Garbov
Author: Felix Pedrotti ORCID iD

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