Newly discovered Late Bronze Age settlement in the vicinity of Kamenovo, Kubrat municipality, northeastern Bulgariа: preliminary results

This article presents the preliminary results of several consecutive studies conducted in the period 2021–2024. The area of the Ludogorsko Plateau is characterised by one of the highest concentrations of Late Bronze Age finds discovered in present-day Bulgaria. Unfortunately, more than 100 years after the first discoveries, no large-scale studies focusing on the period of the 2nd millenium BC have been carried out. The fieldwork strategy included combination of various research methods – from remote and non-destructive methods (LiDAR, geophysics, field surveys) to conventional archaeological excavations (trenches and long-term excavations over a larger area) for the sites selected for these studies. The archaeological site in the locality of Yurtluka near the village of Kamenovo was registered during the first campaign (2021). Its identification as promising for future more detailed fieldwork led to the successive implementation of large-scale geomagnetic surveys and the first regular excavations in 2023. The results presented are diverse and allow analyses and interpretations of various research questions relating to the settlement environment, the internal organisation of the site, the characteristics of the pottery assemblage and the main groups of artefacts. Initial hypotheses about chronology, possible supra-regional contacts and interactions in this part of the Ludogorsko Plateau during the Late Bronze Age are also put forward.