Exhibit of the month – June 2024

Zoomorphic ceramic application, discovered during regular archaeological excavations of the oldest malting centre in Europe, "Provadia-Solnitsata".

The exhibit is a stylized head of a night bird placed on a lid. The face is covered with a white substance. The eyes are filled with a red substance. V-shaped incised elements on the crown and on the preserved part of the lid. The zoomorphic application is dated to the Late Chalcolithic period.

The artefact is presented in the temporary exhibition "The Lords of the Salt": Provadia-Solnitsata 5600 - 4350 BC" in the temporary expositions hall of NAIM-BAS. The exhibition is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of archaeological excavations at the earliest prehistoric salt-production and urban centre in Europe "Provadia-Solnitsata".

The exhibit is part of the collection of the Provadia Historical Museum, ИМПр С4041.

Catalogue: "The Lords of the Salt: Provadia-Solnitsata 5600 - 4350 BC". Exhibition dedicated to the two decades of archaeological excavations at the earliest prehistoric salt-production and urban centre in Europe "Provadia-Solnitsata". Scientific supervisor: prof. Vasil Nikolov, Ph.D., Sc.D., curator Dr. Galina Samichkova, Publisher BAS "Prof. Marin Drinov", Sofia 2024.