ICUB invites you to the the 38th edition of the ArchaeoSciences seminar, within which Dr. Petar Zidarov, from the University of Tübingen, will present an exceptional archaeological discovery from Bulgaria

The Research Institute of the University of Bucharest (ICUB) invites you to the 38th edition of the ArchaeoSciences seminar. This edition’s guest speaker is Dr. Petar Zidarov from the University of Tübingen, who will deliver the lecture “Sinagovtsi on Vidbol and its importance for the study of the contacts along the Middle and the Lower Danube during the Early Neolithic period.”

The seminar will take place on April 3, 2025, at 14:00 (EET), at the Rectorate of the University of Bucharest, in the Administrative Council Room (90 Panduri Street, Bucharest, 1st floor).

This edition focuses on an exceptional archaeological discovery from Bulgaria. A recent construction project at Sinagovtsi, located on the Vidbol River—a southern tributary of the Danube near Vidin—revealed a Neolithic site containing a large pit (about 18 square meters in surface area) and a row of three skeletons: an adult male, a female, and a child, all found roughly three meters below the present-day surface. The two adults were interred inside the pit while the child was buried outside it. Each individual was buried in a different position: one supine, the other in crouched positions on their right and left sides. The skeletons were covered with animal bones, flint and obsidian tools and flakes, and broken ceramic shards associated with the developed Starčevo style. The synchronicity of the pit fill and the burials is confirmed by direct radiocarbon dating of both human and animal bones.

Given the limited number of Early Neolithic excavated sites in northwestern Bulgaria, the Sinagovtsi discovery holds significant potential for multi-proxy analyses. These aim to correlate burial practices with ancient DNA (aDNA) data, dietary information derived from faunal analysis and stable isotope analysis on human and animal bones, as well as the mineralogical and geochemical provenance of the lithic materials. A brief review of recent developments in Early Neolithic studies in northwestern Bulgaria and surrounding regions will frame the importance of these findings.

Dr. Petar Zidarov is an associate researcher at the University of Tübingen and an independent archaeologist, working as a freelancer for the past four years in collaboration with the National Institute of Archaeology and Museum in Sofia, the Regional Archaeological Museum in Plovdiv, and more recently with the Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Sozopol. Previously, he worked for 12 years (2008–2020) at the Laboratory for Archaeometry and Experimental Archaeology at the New Bulgarian University in Sofia. He graduated from Sofia University with a Master’s thesis on the Chalcolithic site of Durankulak, and his doctoral research—currently in the final stages—is focused on Bronze Age bone industries from Troy, Turkey.

His research includes the analysis of Neolithic and Chalcolithic bone tools and ornaments, conducted as part of international collaborations such as those at Pietrele (with Svend Hansen), Teleac (with Nick Boroffka and Horia Ciugudean), and more recently Bucova Pusta (with Raiko Krauss and Dan Ciobotaru). At Pietrele and Bucova Pusta, he worked on the study of worked bone materials, while at Pietrele and Teleac, he carried out geomagnetic surveys.

Dr. Zidarov has studied finds from numerous key prehistoric sites such as Troy, Durankulak, Varna, Golyamo Delchevo, Yunatsite, and Telish-Liga. He has conducted magnetometric surveys at over 120 sites across Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Moldova, Germany, and North Macedonia. Among these, projects around the Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites near Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, including Karahan Tepe and Sayburç, hold a special place in his work.

The event is organized by the University of Bucharest organizes under the project “Regional Centre for Career Orientation and Counselling in Research – Bucharest-Ilfov – from Pre-University Education to Advanced Research” (SciResCareer), contract 760032/23.05.2023, funded under PNRR/C9/Investment “I10 – Establishing and financially supporting a national network of eight regional career guidance centres as part of the ERA TALENT PLATFORM.”

These seminars are an original initiative of the ArchaeoSciences Platform (ASp) within ICUB, designed to provide a space for professionals in archaeological sciences from around the world to share knowledge and insights on the latest issues, methods, and approaches in studying the past. They also offer Romanian students the opportunity to explore the interdisciplinary aspects of archaeology.