Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters

14C-Chronology of Middle and Late Neolithic settlements in the Eastern Balkans

Lennart Brandtstätter

The research on absolute-chronological questions in south-eastern Europe has made significant progress in recent years.  Important papers have been published that highlight the beginning of LBK longhouses and ceramics, the absolute chronology of Vinča – Belo Brdo and the associated ceramics, as well as earliest phases of Pietrele – Măgura Gorgana. Most of the prominent sites appear to start in the 53rd century calBC according to stratigraphically modelled 14C-data. This presentation will focus on the Middle and Late Neolithic settlements and tells along the lower Danube and its tributaries. Recent excavations demonstrate the great archaeological potential of this region, but radiocarbon samples are still quite rare. In the near future we aim to explore the potential of sites such as Samovodene, Hotnitsa and Varbitsa. This presentation will sum up the available data, model them with stratigraphic information, and propose some first hypotheses for the absolute-chronological development of the Middle (and Late) Neolithic in the Eastern Balkan.