Neolithic ditches in Kırklareli-Aşağı Pınar. Insights into a common phenomenon

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Proposed project covers multidisciplinary study of Neolithic ditches recently excavated at Aşağı Pınar, a site of critical importance in tracing the interaction between Anatolian-Near Eastern Neolithic cultures with those of Europe. It will be carried out by the German-Turkish team working together since more than 20 years.Ditches and “roundels” are one of the significant remains of prehistoric Europe, customarily considered as being restricted to early Europe. Recent excavations at Neolithic sites in Northwestern Turkey have revealed the presence of complex ditch systems that are much earlier then those in Europe, at the same time pointing to their origins further to the East in the core area of primary neolithization. Most significant among them are the two ditches recovered at Aşağı Pınar in Eastern Thrace, a prolific site not only revealing the entire sequence of Early Neolithic cultures in Thrace, but also critically located at the meeting point of Anatolia with South-eastern Europe. Both ditches have been extensively excavated and documented by conventional methods revealing an unprecedented picture controversial to previous assumptions on the function of Neolithic ditches. It is clearly evident that they were neither for drainage nor for defence but seemingly had some social function such as burying the remains of ceremonial acts. Even though with the recovery of ditches at Aşağı Pınar, several other sites have also became aware on the presence of similar ditches, Aşağı Pınar, due to the extensive area exposed and thorough documentation, stands as the most promising site for an extensive study to understand ditch systems. The proposed program will implement several new modalities firstly to ameliorate the already made documentation and procure data for a comprehensive assessment. Among suggested work packages, digitalizing and 3D reconstruction of the multifarious deposition within the ditches, micro-sedimentological analysis of the sediments, analysis of faunal, botanical and residue analysis, obtaining series of absolute dates that would allow detailed sequencing. The animal bones and the archaeological finds will be edited and analysed for their selectivity. It is to be anticipated that the proposed project will have wider consequences then as a case study of Aşağı Pınar; it is expected to provide groundbreaking results that would highlight transformation of social behavioural practices in the expansion of Neolithic way of living from Anatolia to Europe.