Journal articles on the topic 'Pottery, Bulgarian'

Abstract 40 potsherds and five other fired clay fragments from the prehistoric site of Nova Nadezhda in Bulgarian Thrace were analysed by archaeometric techniques. Twenty sherds and a daub fragment were analysed in thin section by optical microscopy; these thin sections, and thick sections of a further 24 sherds were also analysed by SEM-EDX. Results were used to describe the Early Neolithic chaîne opératoire at Nova Nadezhda, which was then compared to pottery production in roughly contemporaneous Starčevo-Criş communities in the central Balkans, to shed light on the Neolithisation process that took place in the 6th millennium BC. A variety of ceramic recipes was used to make different vessel shapes. Analyses of surface coatings were particularly enlightening in terms of provenance and the organisation of pottery production.

The period at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries produced a wealth of pottery, including large storage jars with a T-shaped rim and decorated with single or multiple wavy lines and horizontal grooves on the rim and body. It is a fairly specific pottery form that is quite rare at Slovenian sites; apart from Rifnik, a more substantial quantity has only been excavated in Kranj. Elsewhere (Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia), such jars are known in greater numbers on a few sites only and are similar to those from Rifnik in shape and decoration, but not fabric. At Rifnik, their fabric is the same as that used for several other kinds of pottery from the same period, which suggests a local production that followed the general trends of the day.

The paper presents the pottery from the 6th—12th c. obtained in the course of the archaeological excavations of the authors near the Sedlari village, about 4 km to the west from Momchilgrad, in the Eastern Rhodopes, on the broad terrace of the left west bank of Varbitsa River, the old Syutliyka, the right confluent of the Arda River.

Prehistoric tell stratigraphies, like deep-sea sediments or peat deposits, store information about past atmospheric 14C variations. By matching the 14C ages on charcoal samples from settlement deposits with the tree-ring calibration curve, estimates for the time span covered by successive stratigraphic phases can be derived. This method is applied to 14C data from the tell mounds at Troy, Turkey and Ezero, Bulgaria. I compare the derived chronologies with the results of pottery shape seriation using correspondence analysis.

The first three seasons of excavation at Nicopolis ad Istrum have established that the castellum, a strongly defended enclosure of 5.7 ha., represents the site of the late Roman city of the fourth to sixth centuries A.D. In addition to a well-preserved early Roman gate and road, excavations have uncovered a fourth-century building, a sixth-century Christian basilica, workshops and a late Roman gate. Finds include reused architectural material from the Roman city, early and late Roman pottery, glass, seeds and bone, three inscriptions and a wide range of small finds in bone, iron, bronze and gold.

This paper reviews archaeological publications and fieldwork related to Macedonia and Thrace of the past five years, covering the Early Iron Age to the Hellenistic period, with reference also to sites and projects in Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Turkey. Published syntheses reveal the priorities that have driven archaeological research to date (for example funerary monuments, ties to historical figures and narratives, pottery) and a need for more studies on other aspects of social history and archaeology, such as subsistence, crafts and households. Fieldwork at settlements has continued over the years, but few are being dug and published to current standards. A discussion is growing about the role and use of the countryside, and field surveys and excavations are providing new data on this. Fortified rural sites in Greece and Bulgaria may indicate that similar social processes were afoot, but full publication and the retrieval of relevant comparative data, especially faunal and botanical, are essential for a better understanding of potential differences.

Research performed on Early Neolithic ceramic assemblages from southwestern Bulgaria has revealed that several categories of pottery were used for the preparation of foodstuffs. One particular type of beige residue has been identified on the inner surface of ceramic vessels from several sites. Chemical analyses of mineral residues, combined with the stylistic characteristics of ceramic vessels, have shown the consumption of bone powder. This consumption, far from being anecdotal, raises several questions regarding the diet behaviour of the earliest Neolithic communities in the Balkans, which have obviously sought a complementary source of calcium. Would the dietary transition at the beginning of the Neolithic period correspond to a diet stress?

In 1999, fieldwork was resumed by the British team at Adzhiyska Vodenitsa, Vetren, the site of an inlandemporionwhich has been identified with ancient Pistiros (SEG43. 486, 46. 872*). Excavations were conducted on the terrace with architectural remains in two sectors, north and south of the main east-west road. In the northern sector, 22 pits were investigated. The faunal material from these pits reveals specific butchering methods and the re-articulation of complete body parts following butchery. Among the finds aregraffition pottery, including a votive inscription to Zeus. In the southern sector, there are traces of residential use. The report includes an account of geophysical prospection to determine the nature of land use beyond the terrace, with evidence suggesting that the settlement was directly adjacent to the River Maritsa (ancient Hebros).

In the winter of 2007, severe damage was observed on numerous indoor potted plants of Dracaena sanderiana hort. Sander ex Mast. (“lucky bamboo”) in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which were imported from a country of unknown origin. These plants were already in the retail distribution stream. Initially, the internodes of infected stems appeared pale green with yellowish lesions. An upward spreading necrosis led to a weakness of the stems with wilt and death of the plants occurring within 2 weeks. Eventually, entire stems were covered with numerous, black, globose-to-ellipsoid acervuli with sparse, black setae. The fungus was aseptically isolated from stem lesions on potato dextrose agar (PDA) on which it produced fast-growing, pale pink colonies. On the plant and in culture, the conidia were hyaline, broadly clavate to cylindrical, occasionally slightly curved, and measured 20 to 34 × 6.7 to 10.0 μm (average 28 × 8.5 μm). On the basis of the symptoms on the plant and morphological, cultural, and molecular characteristics, the fungus was identified as Colletotrichum dracaenophilum D.F. Farr & M.E. Palm (1). Pathogenicity of the fungus was confirmed by artificial inoculation of healthy plants of D. sanderiana (three replicates). Stems were inoculated by inserting small mycelial plugs from 7-day-old PDA cultures into wounds that were subsequently covered with Parafilm strips. After 2 weeks, pale green lesions started developing on all inoculated plants and the fungus was successfully reisolated. No symptoms were found around the pure agar control wounds. The specimen from Bulgaria was deposited in the U.S. National Fungus Collections (BPI 877337) with the derived culture deposited as CBS 121453. In addition, the internal transcribed spacer region of the nrDNA of this isolate was sequenced and deposited as GenBank Accession No. EU003533. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. dracaenophilum on potted plants outside of China and is the first report of this species in Bulgaria. Reference: (1) D. F. Farr et al. Mycol. Res. 110:1395, 2006.

Severe stem base necrosis was observed on potted gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa) plants in a greenhouse in the Plovdiv Region of Bulgaria in the spring of 2006 and sporadically in 2007. Initial symptoms were water-soaked lesions at the stem base; eventually the lesions spread upward and downward until the entire stem was affected, resulting in withered leaves and plant collapse. Disease foci were sometimes apparent in rows of plants because of water splash. White, fungal-like colonies with arachnoid, aerial mycelia were obtained from affected plant tissue placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 24 to 25°C in the dark. Pyriform to ellipsoid sporangia, 30 to 55 × 23 to 40 μm (average 38 × 27 μm), with a prominent papilla (sometimes two) and a short pedicel were observed. Chlamydospores were intercalary or terminal, spherical, and 15 to 55 μm in diameter. Oogonia and antheridia were not observed. On the basis of morphological features, the pathogen was tentatively identified as Phytophthora nicotianae (2). Pathogenicity was tested by placing 3-mm-diameter discs from 7-day-old PDA cultures onto wounded petioles of visibly healthy 3-month-old gloxinia potted plants (three replicates). Sterile PDA plugs were placed onto similar wounds of three control plants. The inoculated wounds were covered with Parafilm. Three days after inoculation, water-soaked lesions began to spread longitudinally in both directions on inoculated petioles. The pathogen was recovered from the inoculated tissue but not from the control plants. Molecular identification of the pathogen was achieved with PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism of the internal transcribed spacer regions ITS1 and ITS2 of the ribosomal DNA (1). The restriction patterns obtained with the enzymes AluI, MspI, and TaqIα were identical to those of P. nicotianae, confirming the morphological identification. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. nicotianae on gloxinia in Bulgaria. References: (1) D. E. L. Cooke and J. M. Duncan. Mycol. Res. 101:667, 1997. (2) D. C. Erwin and O. K. Ribeiro. Phytophthora Diseases Worldwide. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1996.

A total of 268 sites within a region of c 2,000 square kilometres in northern Bulgaria, extending north from the Stara Planina (Haemus) to the Danube, offers a unique opportunity to study the character and extent of economic and social change which separates the Roman Empire from Late Antiquity. The method involves excavations within the Roman city of Nicopolis, along the course of a remarkable Roman aqueduct, and at the ‘type site’ of Gradishte, a Late Roman and early Byzantine fort where one of the primary goals is to reconstruct its palaeoenvironmental history. This is accompanied by site-specific field survey, using geophysics and intensive surface collection, to date and identify different categories of nucleated settlements. Running concurrently, the collection and dating of pottery samples from other sites should help to establish whether there was continuity or dislocation of settlement on the lower Danube in the period of transition between the second and the sixth centuries AD.

Abstract The frontier position of the Balkan Peninsula, next to Anatolia and the Aegean, emphasises its key importance for the study of the Neolithisation processes taking place in Europe during the seventh–sixth millennia BC. A look at the distribution of most Early Neolithic sites along the submeridional alluvial plains of its central mountainous part often leaves the impression that the valleys of the Vardar, Struma, Mesta and Maritsa rivers functioned as natural corridors, allowing for the rapid advance of the farming way of life towards the interior regions of Europe. However, comparative analysis of the distribution patterns of specific diagnostic components of Early Neolithic cultures, such as white painted pottery, anthropomorphic figurines and miniature “cult tables”, from the Early Neolithic settlements in the Middle Struma Valley, southwestern Bulgaria, namely Kovachevo, Ilindentsi, Brezhani, Drenkovo and Balgarchevo I shows a rather unexpected direction and dynamic of cultural/social contact during this crucial period.

A rapid and reliable assay for screening European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) genotypes for quantitative resistance to eastern filbert blight [Anisogramma anomala (Peck) E. Müller] was tested by comparing two methods using the same clones. In the first assay, disease spread was followed for five consecutive years (1992-96) in a field plot planted in 1990. Measured responses included disease incidence (the presence or absence of cankers) and total canker length, quantified as the length of perennially expanding cankers. The second assay consisted of annually exposing replicated sets of 2-year-old, potted trees to artificially high doses of pathogen inoculum and measuring incidence and canker lengths at the end of the next growing season. The potted trees were exposed to inoculum in 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1994. Compared to the field plot, disease incidence and total canker length were higher in all the potted-tree experiments. Nonetheless, disease responses of individual clones in the two screening methods were significantly correlated in some contrasts (rs = 0.97 between 1996 field and 1995 potted trees). However, for a few clones (`Camponica', `Tombul Ghiaghli', and `Tonda di Giffoni'), disease developed slowly in the field plot, but disease incidence on these clones averaged > 30% in most of the potted-tree studies. Disease responses also were significantly correlated among some of the potted-tree experiments (rs = 0.72 for the comparison of 1994 to 1995). Highly susceptible and highly resistant hazelnut clones were identified by both methods. However, the field plot method was superior to the potted-tree method for distinguishing among moderately resistant clones. `Bulgaria XI-8', `Gem', `Camponica', `Tombul Ghiaghli', and `Tonda di Giffoni' were identified as promising sources of quantitative resistance to eastern filbert blight.

The article analyzes the pottery Plotnikovo burial ground, which belongs to the Rodanovskaya culture. Material culture this time has not been well studied. Finds discovered during the excavations, it was quite diverse. Jewelry, weapon, tools and household items represent it. Some things are similar to the materials of the Russian North, the Volzhskaya Bulgaria and Perm Vychegodskaya. The study was conducted typological and technological analysis of the fragments of 52 vessels. For the site is characterized by proliferation of cup-shaped vessel with a flattened bottom and a loop handle, weak ornamentation dishes with the prevalence of the use of a comb stamp for applying the patterns, the use of clay in the wet state with the addition of crushed shells in the molding composition. A comparison with ceramic complexes chronologically simultaneous sites Vymskaya and Chepetskaya culture revealed both similarities and differences. These differences indicate the presence of its own tradition of producing ceramics in funerary XII-XV centuries of the population, left the Plotnikovo burial ground. The study material of the Plotnikovo burial ground is great interest to address the issues of ethno genesis Permian Komis and clarify the chronology of late stage rodanovskaya culture.

In the spring of 1996, diseased plants of Trigonella coerulea were noted in an experimental area at Kazanlak, Bulgaria. The primary symptoms were leaf spots 8 to 2 mm in diameter, light brown then becoming gray and slightly zonate, and surrounded by a diffuse chlorotic margin. When single lesions occur the disease normally develops as a typical leaf spot. However, the development of more than one spot is followed rapidly by yellowing and withering of entire leaflets. Stem lesions usually begin at the point of leaf attachment, extend both directions about 15 to 20 mm, and often encircle the stems. Isolations on potato dextrose agar (PDA) yielded a slow-growing, gray fungus. Conidia from the isolated fungus when inoculated at 3.104 spores per ml on potted T. coerulea seedlings and kept in a moisture chamber for 48 h caused foliar spots in 5 to 8 days and sporulating structures similar to those seen in field observations. Simultaneous inoculation of T. foenum-graecum (fenugreek) plants produced similar symptoms, but the percentage of successfully inoculated leaves (3.6%) was lower than in T. coerulea (27.6%). Conidiophores of the fungus are dark, arising in clusters, unbranched, septate (1 to 3), and have small conidial scars. Conidia are hyaline, straight, multicelled (1 to 17), tapering at the base, and measured 30 to 212 × 4 to 6 μm. The pathogen was identified as Cercospora traversiana Sacc. and this is the first report of its occurrence in Bulgaria.

During late summer 1996 to 1997, 27 to 30% of Gypsophila paniculata (baby's-breath) plants were noted as diseased in an experimental field (Kazanlak, Bulgaria). Symptoms on lower and middle leaves consisted of small circular spots, with light brown centers and reddish purple margins. Development of numerous spots (which grew larger) and, especially, damage to the midrib led to withering of leaflets. Conidiophores of the isolated fungus were dark, formed singly or in clusters, were unbranched with three to eight septa, and were 40 to 120 µm long. Conidia, produced in branched chains (four to six conidia or longer), were brown, globose, and ovate to pyriform with short beaks, contained four to five transverse and zero to two longitudinal septa, and were 36.6 to 46.6 × 10.0 to 13.3 µm. The fungus was identified as Alternaria alternata. Pathogenicity was confirmed by artificial inoculation of potted G. paniculata and Dianthus caryophyllus plants. Conidia (2 weeks old) produced on potato dextrose agar were sprayed on plants in a 5 × 103 suspension, and plants were incubated at 20 to 24°C in a moist chamber for 2 days. Lesion development in both plant species was observed and recorded at 4 to 5 and 6 to 7 days after inoculation, respectively. Lesions were most numerous on G. paniculata. This is the first report of A. alternata on baby's-breath in Bulgaria. References: (1) M. B. Ellis. 1971. Dematiaceous Hyphomycetes. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew, U.K. (2) E. G. Simmons. Alternaria themes and variations. Mycotaxon 37:79, 1990.

<p>Rose is the principal flower of the world floriculture industry that is being exclusively used as cut flower, potted plant and garden plant. It plays significant part in numerous industries viz. food, perfumery and cosmetic industries. About 96 % of women’s perfumes contain true Bulgarian rose oil. Roses are well acclimatized in Jammu &amp; Kashmir because of its suitable agro climatic conditions which can permit its large scale production and rose products produced in the state are at par with the international standards. But the aesthetic and commercial value of roses is greatly lowered by numerous insect pests resulting in low yield. However, its major pest include aphid species most notoriously Macrosiphum rosae that pose many challenges and threats to rose plant cultivation. Aphid colonies on roses result in reduction of medical value of the plant and cause economic losses to growers particularly during spring and summer season. In order to reduce the economic losses inflicted by rose aphid, it is necessary to study different biological parameters of this pest species so that an effective management plan can be formulated.</p>

The preliminary analysis of Early Neolithic pottery from North Central Bulgaria, and the site of Dzhulyunitsa specifically, yielded surprising results which affect a number of aspects related to the study of the Neolithisation processes. Not all characteristic features traditionally considered as key signal of the Neolithisation processes were confirmed by our mineralogical and chemical analysis. A number of specifics related to the presence of engobe for instance, indicate a considerably more complex picture. In some cases the observations show no additional slip, just a simple burnish of the brownish ware, whereas in others a true slip covers both the inner and the outer surface of the vessels (white or cream-slip ware). With regard to the red engobe specifically, the majority of studied fragments actually have just red-colour surface that results from the oxidation or the rubbing of ochre, and not from the addition of a true slip. These observations raise the following question: do we actually compare same technological approaches, traditionally seen as signal for the spread of the Neolithic way of life? Furthermore, as regards the provenance of the vessels, materials expected to have local origin proved to be imported whereas others, seen as more specific and coming from distant territories were actually made on the spot by local row-materials. Even at this stage the preliminary results do not confirm some of the traditional views on this early material, raise a series of new questions and represent a ground for further interpretations and discussions regarding an eventual fragility of some models suggested for the Neolithisation processes in this part of South-East Europe.

For several years, a leaf spot disease has been observed on Betony, Stachys officinalis (synonym Betonica officinalis), in an experimental field in Kazanlak, Bulgaria. The round to somewhat angular spots (6 to 8 mm diameter) are dark brown with a pale center and have a chlorotic halo. A Phoma species isolated from the lesions formed regular to irregular, light brown colonies on potato dextrose agar (PDA). The isolate was studied as described by de Gruyter and Noordeloos (2). After 7 days, the growth rate was 43 mm on oatmeal agar and 33 mm on malt agar; the colonies were olivaceous gray-to-glauceous gray with a regular outline and with finely floccose, white-to-olivaceous gray aerial mycelium. Pycnidia, produced after 2 weeks, were ostiolate, globose to subglobose, 120 to 280 μm in diameter, citrine or honey, and later olivaceous to olivaceous black. The conidiogenous cells were globose to bottle shaped, 2 to 6 × 3 to 5 μm. The conidia were hyaline and unicellular, 5 to 7.5 × 2.5 to 4.2 μm, cylindrical to ellipsoidal with several small, scattered guttules. Chlamydospores were absent. According to these in vitro characters and after comparing the isolate with several Phoma isolates present in the culture collection of the Dutch Plant Protection Service, Wageningen, the Netherlands, the fungus has been identified as Phoma strasseri Moesz. The pathogenicity of the isolate was confirmed by artificial leaf inoculation of potted S. officinalis plants with a spore suspension (8 × 106 spores per ml) kept in a moist chamber for 48 h at a mean average temperature of 16°C. Leaf spots observed 4 to 5 days after inoculation were similar to those observed in the field. P. strasseri was subsequently reisolated from the spots. P. strasseri (synonym Phoma mentae Strasser) has been recorded as the cause of rhizome and stem rot on mint, Mentha spp., in Europe, Japan, and North America (3). In addition, this fungus has been found in New Zealand (strain identified at the Dutch Plant Protection Service, unpublished data). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. strasseri on S. officinalis in Bulgaria. P. strasseri may produce septate conidia and, therefore, can be classified in Phoma section Phyllostictoides Zherbele ex Boerema (1). P. strasseri clearly differs from other Phoma species described on Lamiaceae: Phoma leonuri Letendre (Phoma section Plenodomus (Preuss) Boerema et al., pycnidia scleroplectenchymatous, conidia aseptate, 3.5 to 5.5 × 1.5 to 2.5 μm), Phoma dorenboschii Noordel. & de Gruyter (Phoma Sacc. section Phoma, conidia aseptate, 3 to 5.5 × 2 to 2.5 μm, producing dendritic crystals in vitro), and Phoma valerianae Henn. (Phoma Sacc. section Phoma, conidia aseptate, 2.5 to 4 × 1.5 to 2 μm). Occasionally P. strasseri has been isolated from other Lamiaceae, namely Monarda didyma (Dutch Plant Protection Service, unpublished data). There is also a report from Valeriana sp. (3). References: (1) G. H. Boerema. Mycotaxon 64:321, 1998. (2) J. de Gruyter and M. E. Noordeloos. Persoonia 15(1):71, 1992. (3) C. E. Horner. Plant Dis. Rep. 55:814, 1971.

Rudbeckia hirta L. var. pulcherrima Farw. (synonym R. bicolor Nutt.), known as the black-eyed Susan, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. The plant is native to North America and was introduced to Korea for ornamental purposes in the 1950s. In July 2011, a previously unknown leaf spot was first observed on the plants in a public garden in Namyangju, Korea. Leaf spot symptoms developed from lower leaves as small, blackish brown lesions, which enlarged to 6 mm in diameter. In the later stages of disease development, each lesion was usually surrounded with a yellow halo, detracting from the beauty of the green leaves of the plant. A number of black pycnidia were present in diseased leaf tissue. Later, the disease was observed in several locations in Korea, including Pyeongchang, Hoengseong, and Yangpyeong. Voucher specimens were deposited at the Korea University Herbarium (KUS-F25894 and KUS-F26180). An isolate was obtained from KUS-F26180 and deposited at the Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (Accession No. KACC46694). Pycnidia were amphigenous, but mostly hypogenous, scattered, dark brown-to-rusty brown, globose, embedded in host tissue or partly erumpent, 50 to 80 μm in diameter, with ostioles 15 to 25 μm in diameter. Conidia were substraight to mildly curved, guttulate, hyaline, 25 to 50 × 1.5 to 2.5 μm, and one- to three-septate. Based on the morphological characteristics, the fungus was consistent with Septoria rudbeckiae Ellis & Halst. (1,3,4). Morphological identification of the fungus was confirmed by molecular data. Genomic DNA was extracted using the DNeasy Plant Mini DNA Extraction Kit (Qiagen Inc., Valencia, CA.). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA was amplified using the ITS1/ITS4 primers and sequenced. The resulting sequence of 528 bp was deposited in GenBank (Accession No. JQ677043). A BLAST search showed that there was no matching sequence of S. rudbeckiae; therefore, this is the first ITS sequence of the species submitted to GenBank. The ITS sequence showed >99% similarity with those of many Septoria species, indicating their close phylogenetic relationship. Pathogenicity was tested by spraying leaves of three potted young plants with a conidial suspension (2 × 105 conidia/ml), which was harvested from a 4-week-old culture on potato dextrose agar. Control leaves were sprayed with sterile water. The plants were covered with plastic bags to maintain 100% relative humidity (RH) for the first 24 h. Plants were then maintained in a greenhouse (22 to 28°C and 70 to 80% RH). After 5 days, leaf spot symptoms identical to those observed in the field started to develop on the leaves inoculated with the fungus. No symptoms were observed on control plants. S. rudbeckiae was reisolated from the lesions of inoculated plants, confirming Koch's postulates. A leaf spot disease associated with S. rudbeckiae has been reported on several species of Rudbeckia in the United States, Romania, and Bulgaria (1–4). To our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf spot on R. hirta var. pulcherrima caused by S. rudbeckiae in Korea. References: (1) J. B. Ellis and B. D. Halsted. J. Mycol. 6:33, 1890. (2) D. F. Farr and A. Y. Rossman. Fungal Databases. Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Laboratory, ARS, USDA. Retrieved from http://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/ February 2, 2012. (3) E. Radulescu et al. Septoriozele din Romania. Ed. Acad. Rep. Soc. Romania, Bucuresti, Romania, 1973. (4) S. G. Vanev et al. Fungi Bulgaricae 3:1, 1997.

Although a rare occurrence in late medieval cemeteries, vessels have been found on almost all major sites of the period, such as Novo Brdo, Trgoviste, Reljina Gradina and the churchyard of St Peter?s near Novi Pazar, the churchyard of St Nicholas? at Kursumlija, the churchyard of St Stephen?s at Milentija near Brus, Mali Zvecan, Mirijevo, Vinca. Vessels occur in different places, both on top of and in graves. Fragments of pottery and glass vessels are relatively abundant in layers of earth filling burial pits and chambers, and in those immediately overlaying burial pits or gravestones. The available data make it possible to recognize almost all functional types. The most frequently found pottery shapes are larger liquid containers - jugs and pitchers, and apparently there have also been many pots, both hearth cooking and glazed (figs. 1-3; 5-9). Recognizable among the glass vessels are bottles, usually those with long fluted necks and biconical, as well as infrequent icon lamps. The data about the vessels found buried with the deceased is much more detailed. Such finds are recorded at Macvanska Mitrovica (fig. 10/3), Brestovik (fig. 13/3), Mirijevo (fig. 4/1), Vinca (figs. 4/2; 10/4), Stragari near Kragujevac, Milentija near Brus, round the church of St Peter near Novi Pazar, at the monastery of Konculic (fig. 13/2) and the monastery of Gradac. The relatively plentiful and diverse vessels discovered at the cemeteries of medieval Trgoviste are especially illustrative (fig. 10/2, 7). The available descriptions of vessels and archaeological contexts provide a general impression about the types of vessels recorded in the cemeteries of a late medieval and early modern date in the central Balkans. Glass bottles as a rule were laid in graves, while earth-fill layers, apart from bottles, contained plentiful shards of drinking vessels. As for the bottles, two types were registered: biconical and those with long fluted necks (figs. 10; 12/1). Among the glass fragments there were parts of bottles with a ring around the neck and a ribbed body (Rippenflaschen), generally known in domestic scholarship under the term Panik type bottle (fig. 10/8). Also identifiable among the recovered glass fragments are drinking vessels of several types, beakers with small or large prunts (Nuppenbecher and Krautstrunk) and ribbed (Rippenbecher), common especially in the 15th and 16th centuries (figs. 12/1, 3, 5, 6). There are also pieces with a blue thread applied around the rim and body, similar to the examples from Stalac reproduced herein (fig. 12/3). Quite rarely found are drinking vessels of cobalt blue glass, which are mostly small, except for a few examples of up to 14 cm in height, which is also the height of the abovementioned bottles. Apart from Venice and Dubrovnik (Ragusa), glassware was imported from Hungary. The discovered pottery vessels show a greater diversity, mostly in terms of shape. In addition to liquid containers - jugs, pitchers and beakers, there occur bowls, pots and even apothecary vessels. A vast majority belong to the Serbian ware of the 14th and 15th centuries. Most are glazed, and frequently painted with spirals, bands and blotches in white, green and dark brown or decorated with simple sgrafitto patterns, such as the finds from Novo Brdo (fig. 1), St Peter?s (figs 9; 13/1, 4) and the monastery of Gradac. By far the most interesting of them is the beaker from Konculic with an openwork edge around the base (fig. 12/2), which is commonly found in glass beakers of the same period. Deserving of particular attention are three cylindrical ceramic bottles from Novo Brdo (fig. 2). The presented material allows us to recognize the central issues surrounding the occurrence of vessels in the cemeteries of the 14th to 17th century in Serbia. Given the small number of recorded cases, the presence of vessels in graves as grave goods appears to have been utterly sporadic. Being based on the processed and published results, and given the small number of systematically investigated and analyzed cemeteries, however, such a conclusion should be taken with caution. In most cases, the vessels were laid beside the head of the deceased, usually on its left, rarely on the right side, and only exceptionally next to the legs or the upper body area. On the other hand, the amount of fragments discovered in cemeteries is generally large, as shown, for example, by a cursory insight into the excavation records for the site of Novo Brdo. This discrepancy is surprising and makes us think over the character of the finds, but we shall not get closer to an answer until we have detailed context analyses done and the material systematized and statistically processed. When it comes to shapes, liquid containers obviously predominated - glass bottles and ceramic pitchers, followed by glass and ceramic drinking vessels, while ceramic pots and bowls occurred in graves only rarely. The vessels are mostly small. The glass bottles are between 14 and 15 cm in height on average, except the specimen from Mali Zvecan, which is more than twice as high (36 cm). The cups show similar heights, between 10 and 16 cm. The ceramic pitchers and pots are also small, with a height usually not exceeding 16 cm. Judging by the available data, it appears that shards of larger vessels were found on top of graves (bowls, pitchers, jugs, pots), apparently brought for the memorial ceremony held at the grave, while graves usually contained small vessels, usually bottles. Apart from Serbia, the occurrence of vessels in cemeteries has also been recorded in the surrounding areas. Given their very distinctive context and character, the finds from Bosnia draw particular attention, as well as those from Croatia, where they are concentrated in the broader area of Split. This overview makes it plain that the vessels laid in graves differ little from ordinary household utensils. Moreover, all can be classified as typical of the 14th to 17th century - Venetian, Dubrovnik and Hungarian glass, and the ceramic kitchen and tableware produced locally, in Serbia. For the sake of comparison, we draw attention to similar vessels discovered on fortress, settlement and monastery sites, such as Stalac, Belgrade (fig. 14), Studenica, Mileseva, Trgoviste, Trnava near Cacak. The presented examples, combined with all previously gained insights, clearly demonstrate and corroborate the assumption that the custom of laying vessels in graves in the central Balkans was an uncommon but long-standing phenomenon. Unlike earlier periods, when it was pottery vessels that were almost exclusively placed in graves, from the 14th century on the ratio of glass to ceramic vessels, mostly bottles, pitchers and beakers, becomes virtually equal. Judging by the find-spots and other known information, in the late medieval period the custom of laying vessels in graves was confined to a few areas along the Danube, Morava, Ibar, Drina and Neretva rivers. These areas, in the hinterland of Dubrovnik, in Herzegovina, Bosnia and Serbia, are associated with major caravan routes, which is relevant in our considerations of the glass finds. As it appears from the examples from all aforementioned areas, the only difference of some significance concerns the type of glass vessels used in funeral rituals - bottles in Serbia and Croatia, and drinking vessels in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though this seems to give grounds to assume certain regional variation in the custom of making offerings to the dead, at this point any conclusion would be highly conjectural, especially if based only on the available archaeological data. As shown by ethnological research, the custom, also sporadic, survived in Serbia and Bulgaria until the late 19th century. The analysis of the vessels from late medieval and early modern cemeteries has revealed a number of features common to the central-Balkan region, but also some regional variation. However, given the proportion of processed specimens in the entire recovered material, the assumptions and results presented here should only be taken as preliminary. The fact that some manifestations of the custom are still obscure reduces some of the previously proposed interpretations to little more than unfounded speculation, which is fertile ground for manipulation. Apart from analyzing the archaeological material, what is needed therefore is a thorough study of other aspects of the issue, above all the phenomenon of burials topped by slabs and stecci, and funerary practices at large.

Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium (L.) Hoffm.), belonging to the family Apiaceae, is an aromatic annual herb that is native to the Caucasus. It is widely used as a flavoring agent for culinary purposes. This herb was recently introduced in Korea. In April 2013, plants showing typical symptoms of powdery mildew disease were observed in a polyethylene film-covered greenhouse in Seoul, Korea. White mycelium bearing conidia formed irregular patches on leaves and stems. Mycelial growth was amphigenous. Severe infections caused leaf withering and premature senescence. Voucher specimens were deposited in the Korea University Herbarium (KUS). Hyphae were septate, branched, with moderately lobed appressoria. Conidiophores presented 3 to 4 cells and measured 85 to 148 × 7 to 9 μm. Foot-cells of conidiophores were 37 to 50 μm long. Conidia were produced singly, oblong-elliptical to oblong, measured 30 to 50 × 13 to 18 μm with a length/width ratio of 2.0 to 3.3, lacked conspicuous fibrosin bodies, and with angular/rectangular wrinkling of the outer walls. Germ tubes were produced in the subterminal position of conidia. Chasmothecia were not found. These structures are typical of the powdery mildew Pseudoidium anamorph of the genus Erysiphe. The specific measurements and morphological characteristics were consistent with those of E. heraclei DC. (1). To confirm identity of the causal fungus, the complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA of KUS-F27279 was amplified with primers ITS5 and P3 (4) and sequenced directly. The resulting 561-bp sequence was deposited in GenBank (Accession No. KF111807). A GenBank BLAST search of this sequence showed >99% similarity with those of many E. heraclei isolates, e.g., Pimpinella affinis (AB104513), Anethum graveolens (JN603995), and Daucus carota (EU371725). Pathogenicity was confirmed through inoculation by gently pressing a diseased leaf onto leaves of five healthy potted chervil plants. Five non-inoculated plants served as a control treatment. Plants were maintained in a greenhouse at 22 ± 2°C. Inoculated plants developed signs and symptoms after 6 days, whereas the control plants remained healthy. The fungus present on the inoculated plants was identical morphologically to that originally observed on diseased plants. Chervil powdery mildews caused by E. heraclei have been reported in Europe (Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Switzerland, and the former Soviet Union) and the United States (2,3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of powdery mildew caused by E. heraclei on chervil in Asia as well as in Korea. The plant is cultivated in commercial farms for its edible leaves in Korea. Occurrence of powdery mildew is a threat to quality and marketability of this herb, especially those grown in organic farming where chemical control options are limited. References: (1) U. Braun and R. T. A. Cook. Taxonomic Manual of the Erysiphales (Powdery Mildews), CBS Biodiversity Series No. 11, CBS, Utrecht, 2012. (2) D. F. Farr and A. Y. Rossman. Fungal Databases, Syst. Mycol. Microbiol. Lab., Online publication. ARS, USDA. Retrieved July 29, 2013. (3) S. T. Koike and G. S. Saenz. Plant Dis. 88:1163, 2004. (4) S. Takamatsu et al. Mycol. Res. 113:117, 2009.

ABSTRACTTwelve samples of lime plaster were examined, including a white incrustation on vessels and religious tables and the contents of a large vessel filled with the white substance. These materials are from Tell Samovodene, Bulgaria which was inhabited during the Neolithic period between 5750 and 5400 B.C. Crystal-optical analysis, X-ray diffraction, emission spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used in the analysis. It was established that the white contents of the vessel consisted of slaked lime which had been carbonized in antiquity. The white incrustation was shown to be a lime plaster, composed of slaked lime and quartz. We are continuing investigation of the kiln, found on the periphery of the tell; preliminary data suggest the kiln was used for lime burning.

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Sphacelotheca cruenta (Kuhn) Potter. Hosts: Sorghum. Information is given on the geographical distribution in Africa, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rodriguez Island, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Asia, Afghanistan, Burma, China, Henan, Manchuria, Nanking, Yunnan, Jiangsu, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Korea Republic, Lebanon, Pakistan, Taiwan, Turkey, USSR, Central Asia, Yemen Arab Republic, Yemen Democratic Republic, Europe, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, USSR, Yugoslavia, North America, Mexico, USA, Central America & West Indies, Barbados, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Salvador, South America, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela.