Podgoritsa is an eneolithic tell in northeastern Bulgaria on a plain in the foothills of the Preslavska Stara mountains. The tell is 4.5 meters tall and has a diameter of 80 meters. There is clear evidence for use of the land surrounding the tell as well, including linear features (boundary ditches?), midden deposits and perhaps some residential or farming hamlets.
The community grew and stored large quantities of wheat and barley, raised sheep, goats and cattle, and made a variety of distinctive pots and figurines in the shapes of animals.
Excavated in the 1990s by an international team led by Ruth Tringham and Douglass Bailey, Podgoritsa's primary occupation is associated with the Polyanitsa culture of 4600-4400 BC. A multi-year study was begun at Podgoritsa in 1995, but political events in the region caused a halt after the first year and much of the scientific samples were destroyed.
Sources
Bailey, Douglass W., et al. 1998 Expanding the dimensions of early agricultural tells: the Podgoritsa Archaeological Project, Bulgaria. Journal of Field Archaeology 25:373-396.
See the Podgoritsa Archaeological Project homepage for further information.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
