The Balkan–Danubian culture was an

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...

which emerged in the region of the

Lower Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

in the 8th century and flourished until the 11th century. In

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

it is usually referred to as the Pliska–Preslav culture, while in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

it is called the Dridu culture. It is better represented in the territory of modern-day Central and Northern Bulgaria, although it probably spread north of the Danube as well due to the continuous extension of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...

over the territory of present-day Romania in Northern Dobrudzha. The Balkan–Danubian culture is described as an early '' Slavic-

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

'' culture, but besides Slavic and Bulgar elements it also possesses some ''

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

'' components. However, this only appears in the southern regions of what is now southern Bulgaria, all of which were heavily influenced by the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. Famous examples of this architecture are the early Bulgarian capitals of

Pliska Pliska ( , cu, Пльсковъ, translit=Plĭskovŭ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain, 20 km northeast o ...

and

Veliki Preslav The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav ( bg, Велики Преслав, ), former Preslav ( bg, link=no, Преслав; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new B ...

, in addition to the

Palace of Omurtag The Palace of Omurtag or Aul (''Aulē'') of Omurtag ( bg, Аул на Омуртаг, ''Aul na Omurtag'') is an archaeological site in northeastern Bulgaria dating to Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages located near the village of Han Krum in ...

and the

Murfatlar Cave Complex The Basarabi-Murfatlar Cave Complex is a medieval Christian monastery located near the town of Murfatlar (known as Basarabi between 1924–1965 and 1975–2007), Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. The complex is a relict from a wides ...

. Some scholars partition this culture in two subgroups. Because the Byzantine influence was stronger in the south, the northern finds are enterely Slavic with some Turkic impression.Elemér Illyés, ''Ethnic Continuity in the Carpatho-Danubian Area'', 2nd ed. (Hamilton, ON: Struktura Press, 1992), 176.

Footnotes

Sources

* * *
Madgearu, Alexandru (2007). “The Dridu Culture and the changing position of Romania among the Communist states”, ''Archaeologia Bulgarica'', 11-2 (2007): 51-59.
* * Slavic archaeological cultures Early medieval archaeological cultures of Europe Archaeological cultures of Eastern Europe Archaeological cultures of Southeastern Europe Archaeological cultures in Bulgaria Archaeological cultures in Romania Migration Period First Bulgarian Empire Romania in the Early Middle Ages {{Romania-archaeology-stub

See also

Footnotes

Sources