Bauten und Konstruktionstechniken in der frühneolithischen Siedlung von Kovačevo (SW-Bulgarien)

Abstract

Buildings and Construction Techniques at Early Neolithic Kovačevo (SW-Bulgaria): Although the discovery of burnt clay fragments at the Early Neolithic settlement of Kovačevo demonstrates the existence of houses or parts of houses, which were destroyed by fire, the respective villages were spared large-scale fire disasters. This involves consequences for the preservation of the structural remains, the more so as we are concerned with buildings constructed mainly from unburnt clay. Despite this restriction, it is possible to show evidence, in a field measuring 30 meters by 40 in the main excavation area, of more than forty Early Neolithic buildings frequently overlapping each other. They suggest great architectural variety as concerns the form and dimension of ground plans, construction materials, technical knowledge and functionally determined conceptions.