The archeological excavations at the prehistoric tomb in the village of Yunatsite, Pazardzhik district (Bulgaria), give pleasant surprises every year to specialists working there, the leader of the team of archeologists Stoilka Iganatova said. In 2008 the joint Bulgarian-Greek team had excavated the layers of the tomb that date back from the Halcolite Age.
     After finding the skeleton of a young woman, now they found the fortifying system that includes a big 5m wide wall that has surpassed the settlement. According to Ignatova, in contrast to other sites dating back to the same age, this was is massive and not temporary, and had existed till the end of the settlement in the 5th c. BCE, probably as a result of some hostile attack.
     Archeologists have not yet found the necropolis of the settlement due to the deep river drifts, but they had found out that at about 350 m from the tomb there had been other settlements too. This gives specialists the grounds to speak about the so-called 'protopolis', Ignatova adds. According to her, the structure of the settlement, the culture of the people that lived there, give archeologists the grounds to define it as a civilization from the Halcolite age.
     Another interesting fact that proves the high level of development of this ancient settlement in the Bulgarian lands is the presence of pre-script signs, Ignatova said. The existence of high-cultured society through the stone-copper age is a proof for the fact that the most ancient civilization in Europe was born in the frames of the Bulgarian lands.
     The excavations of the tomb would continue next year.

Source: Focus Fen (30 December 2008)