Prehistoric Art

The research on prehistoric times and art, commenced in the 1940s, has so far been carried out by several generations of devoted archaeologists. During that period about 25 multi-strata sites of the so-called "wire" type have been thoroughly studied.

The sites of "Yassatepe" in "Universitetski" quarter in Plovdiv; "Ploskata mogila" ("The Flat Burial Mound") situated in the village of Zlatitrap; the "Razkopanitza" burial mound in the village of Manole; the prehistoric settlement near the village of Muldava as well as the eneolithic cult complex near Dolnoslav village are all among the most significant Bulgarian prehistoric sites.

The extensive site research has been a perfect basis for studying the succession of pre-historical cultures (as well as their characteristic features) that originated in the Maritza river valley from the beginning of the Neolithic Age until the end of the Bronze Age. The Museum’s Pre-historic Fund consists of 4,800 exhibits classified in the following collections:

• Production tools made of stone, flint, bone or antler
• Plastic images (anthropomorphic and zoomorphic) made of marble, bones or clay
• Pottery dating from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages
• Copper and bronze tools and their casting moulds
• Jewelry and amulets

Annotations

		Zoomorphic pot in the form of a fallow deer, pre-historical settlement near Muldava village, early Neolithic Age, the end of VII millennium B. C.
		Askos - Anthropomorphic pot, Eneolithic religious complex near the village of Dolnoslav, late Eneolithic Age, end of IV millennium B. C.
		Lily-shaped ritual pot, early Eneolithic Age, first half of the IV millennium B. C.
		Askos (ancient pot used to contain oil), "Nebettepe",
		Idol with incrusted eyes, Eneolithic religious complex near the village of Dolnoslav, end of the IV millennium B. C.
		Pointed-bottom cup, from a tumulus (burial mound) near the village of Yunatsite, Early Bronze Age III, 2500 years B. C.
		Pottery find, Plovdiv, end of Bronze Age - beginning of Iron Age, 1200 years B. C.
		Tools find, discovered by chance in the village of Svoboda, Neolithic Age, VI millennium B. C.