Cemeteries from Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in Gladno Pole locality, near Vratsa

Некрополи от късната античност и средновековието в местността „Гладно поле“, при Враца

Abstract

This monograph aims to introduce into scientific circulation the rescue excavations conducted in 2022, in the "Gladno pole" locality, near the town of Vratsa, which led to the discovery of two cemeteries. The first part of the volume is the primary publication of the 109 graves excavated during this first archaeological season at the site. Five of them belong to the older, Late Antique necropolis, and the remaining 104 – to a rich medieval necropolis that developed on the site between the 12^th and 15^th centuries. Attention has been paid to the burial practice, the grave constructions, the numerous grave goods, and the stratigraphic relations between individual graves. The various adornments and costume elements are examined by their context, and connections between the different types are sought. The second part of the monograph aims to place the newly discovered cemeteries in context, using a variety of data – archaeological, geophysical, historiographical, geographical, etc. – to do so.