New radiocarbon dates for the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age at Drama, southeast Bulgaria

Abstract

I discuss here radiocarbon dates from the sites of Drama–Merdzhumekya and Drama–Kayryaka that were obtained after 2011. The 14C dates from Merdzhumekya were measured on charred plant remains from cultural deposits in the structures 006A and 041, which were dated in the final publication to the Early Chalcolithic (Karanovo V). In the case of structure 006A, the radiocarbon ages correspond to the expectations. The sample from structure 041 however, obviously comes from a much later feature dating to the second millennium BC. A connection between it and the nearby Bronze Age enclosure 009 cannot be ruled out. Particularly important are the dates from enclosure 009 itself. They are earlier than expected and fall in the first half of the third millennium BC, corresponding to the Early Bronze Age 2 period (EBA 2) or even earlier. That contradicts the typo-chronological approach to the pottery found in the ditch fill and affects all previous interpretations on chronology and cultural connections related to the enclosure. However, the dating results fit well into the emerging broader picture of the Bronze Age enclosures in Thrace. In contrast to previous interpretations, the Merdzhumekya enclosure was probably used and maintained for a long period of time. The Bronze Age grave 27 at Kayryaka can be dated to the very end of the third millennium BC, i.e., the transition from the EBA 3 period to the Middle Bronze Age (MBA). This result narrows previous estimates based on ceramic typology.