Ropotamo and Sozopol: Submerged prehistoric settlements on the Western Black Sea Coast considering the 4th Millennia B.C.

Abstract

The 4th millennium BC was a period of great changes in the Balkan peninsula. At its beginning is the end of the Late Chalcolithic cultures and at its end is the emergence of the first Early Bronze age site. The reasons for this and the nature of the period have spurred numerous discussions among scientists. This thesis addresses a particular type of archaeological site, the submerged prehistoric settlements on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and how they can contribute to the discussion. To achieve this, the chronological framework and regional scale are set, followed by a literature review on the theories surrounding the 4th millennium BC. There the oversight in the submerged sites on the topic is established. That has led to a deep analysis of the already published data from previous underwater excavations on prehistoric settlements in the region of study. The results of which have established the need for new studies with a revised methodology.
The sites at the Bay of the Ropotamo River and the harbour of Sozopol were selected as the most suitable candidates to implement a novel approach in the excavations of submerged prehistoric settlements. The core of it is based on digital photogrammetry for millimetric resolution in the documentation that gives the foundation for an accurate correlation between the archaeological and interdisciplinary studies of the sites.
The results of this thesis have given answers to long-lasting disputes about the character of the submerged settlements. Accompanied by a reconstruction of their paleoenvironment, structure, chronology, function and eventual fate. Furthermore, it has rebuked an enduring theory on the fluctuation of the Black Sea during the 4th millennium BC and has given valuable insights regarding the question of continuity and discontinuity in the said period.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Pavel Yordanov Georgiev: orcid.org/0000-0003-2744-2055

ORCID for Fraser Sturt: orcid.org/0000-0002-3010-990X

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