Askoi from the early bronze age settlements at tell Yunatsite (Bulgaria)

Vessels known as askoi are found all across the Mediterranean and the Balkans, they date to the period from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age. The paperpresents a collection of askoi from Tell Yunatsite (Thrace), which is the largest fortoday, containing 37 vessels in total (Fig. 1, 2a, 2b, 4a, 4b). The asymmetrical shapeof such vessels is easily identifiable from the bulk of materials, making it possible tohave sufficiently representative figures for statistical data processing (251 fragments).The pottery of this type has been studied in terms of its morphology, size classes andproportions (Fig. 3, diagrams 1-5) and ornamentation. Two vessel standards have beenidentified: small askos-cups (Group 1) and larger askos-jars (Group 2). Well-studiedstratigraphy and chronology of Tell Yunatsite help determine relative and absolutechronology of this type of pottery. The number of askoi decreases from the earlierhorizons (XVI/XVII-XV) to the subsequent horizons (IX-VIII) (Diagram 6). Askoiwere commonly used in the interval of 3100-2400 BC (EBA I and EBA II in accordancewith the periodization used in Bulgaria). The examination of askoi found in Bulgaria(Fig. 5) and within a limited chronological interval of Early Bronze Age has shownthat these vessels are a reliable chronological marker for this region. Askoi with flutingand stroke ornamentation, which are recorded for EBA I and which disappeared bythe beginning of EBA II, are dated with the highest precision. Regarding the Ezeroculture, askoi function as the EBA I marker while for the Yunatsite culture they functionboth as the EBA I and the EBA II marker. It means that the Ezero and the Yunatsiteculture had closer links at the early stage of their coexistence