Vadas Ferenc (szerk.): A Szekszárdi Béri Balogh Ádám Múzeum Évkönyve 13. (Szekszárd, 1986)

Michel Séfériades: The Great Hungarian Plain and East Macedonia: a Szakálhát import or imitation at Dikili Tasch

The Great Hungarian Plain and East Macedonia: a Szakáihát import or imitation at Dikili Tasch MICHEL SÉFÉRIADÈS, PARIS In two recent articles I have tried to characterize the material labelled as „Struma Group" (Séfériadès 1983 a; 1983 b). Chronologically, this culture belongs to the Neolithic of Eastern Europe, more exactly to the „black burnished ware horizon". Its geographical area, now relatively well defined, includes East Macedonia in Greece and South-West Bulgaria, that means not only the greatest part of the Struma (Strymon) valley but also the adjacent Drama - Philippi plain. The Struma and Nisava - valleys may well have been a natural road for the main-stream of the connections between the Aegean and the Middle - Danube area during the Neolithic and Copper Age (using the Hungarian terminology). The importance of the Vardar (Axios) has been overemphasized (Hammond 1972) and as far as the Maritsa (Evros) is concerned, recent investigations have revealed the fact that the cultural connections are scarcely attested in Turkish Thrace during the periods in question (Özdogan 1984). The material of the Struma group was found on most of the sites, e. g. in East Macedonia at Akropotamos, Sitagroi, Dhimitra, Dikili Tash, in South-west Bulgaria at Strumsko and Bälgarcevo. At Dikili Tash and Sitagroi, the Struma group is represented by the Struma group is represented by the lower levels or Dikili Tash I and Sitagroi II. Taking into account the Dikili Tash I material and the different classes of pottery, especially the two great categories of fine ware, what can we say concerning that culture? The first important category consists of grey, black or black-topped burnished or polished wares. Very characteristic are the carinated bowls sometimes with one or two handles generally horned (fig. 1). Some of thes bowls are decorated with chanelled spirals (fig. 2). Whitish or brownish paint appears on the blacktopped carinated bowls or open dishes (fig. 3). All these dark-faced wares well burnished or polished in the „bucchero" manner can be related to the Vinca complex, especially to the end of the Vinöa Tordos and or the beginning of the Vinca Plocnik phase. Other good parallels can be also found in the Thessalian black wares of the Tsangli and Arapi periods, for example in the material coming from Arapi II and III (Hauptmann and Milojcic 1969). The second leading class of pottery is the dark-on-light patterned ware. The clay is very well cleaned and the biscuit is very thin. Here two important groups can be distinguished, bright red brown-on-cream type and a matte brown-on-buff or light grey ware which is also named Akropotamos ware. 57