Archaeology: 7000 year-old village found near Bulgarian town of Shoumen
Sofia Echo, 04.08.2010
A settlement dating back about 7000 years has been discovered by a hill near the village of Ivanovo, in Shoumen municipality, in eastern Bulgaria, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported on July 26 2010. The settlement, 900 sq m in area, lies between two rivers on the south face of the hill. In spite of its natural defences, the settlement was fortified with a defensive wall of "unusual shape", BNT said.
"The shape of the fortification was not circular or oval-like, which was typical for the time but an irregular pattern resembling an octagon," archaeologist Svetlana Venelinova said in a television interview for BNT. Additionally, the entire settlement was encircled by a moat outside the fortification. The houses within the settlement faced south, and some of them were two-storeys high and "aristocratic".
"We found copious amounts of wood in the houses, which suggests that in those days people were aware of hydro-insulation techniques, installing wood planks on the floor," Venelinova said. The artifacts unearthed suggest that those residing in that settlement enjoyed a "high social status", the report said.
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