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Pots on mats: mat-impressed salt-extraction pottery at Chalcolithic Provadia-Solnitsata, Bulgaria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2021

Mila Andonova Open the ORCID record for Mila Andonova [Opens in a new window]  and
Vassil Nikolov
Mila Andonova*
Affiliation:
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Vassil Nikolov
Affiliation:
National Institute and Museum of Archaeology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ [email protected]
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Abstract

Evidence for both basket weaving and salt production is often elusive in the prehistoric archaeological record. An assemblage of Middle–Late Chalcolithic pottery from Provadia-Solnitsata in Bulgaria provides insight into these two different technologies and the relationship between them. The authors analyse sherds from vessels used in large-scale salt production, the bases of which bear the impression of woven mats. This analysis reveals the possible raw materials used in mat weaving at Provadia-Solnitsata and allows interpretation of the role of these mats in salt production at the site. The results illustrate how it is possible to see the ‘invisible’ material culture of prehistoric south-eastern Europe and its importance for production and consumption.

Keywords

South-east EuropeProvadia-SolnitsataNeolithicChalcolithicbasketrysalt production
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 96 , Issue 385 , February 2022 , pp. 51 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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