INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PLANET EARTH – 2008
Second circular
International conference
GEOARCHAEOLOGY AND ARCHAEOMINERALOGY
IMPACT OF EARTH SCIENCES IN THE STUDY OF
MATERIAL CULTURE
Sofia, 29-30 October 2008
Scientific Program
Archaeomineralogy and gemmology: mineral and rock artifacts
throughout the centuries; mineral pigments and salts; biomineral
materials; ceramics and natural glasses; jewellery; glyptic art; raw
material supported strategy and the role of minerals and building
stones in human culture; history of production, cutting and trade
Megalithic and stone-cut monuments
Metals, mining and archaeometallurgy
Geomorphology and geological processes related to cultural and
historical objects and sites
Geophysical and remote methods in archaeology
Conservation and preservation of artifacts and cultural heritage
Organizing Committee
Chairman: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ruslan I. Kostov
Vice-chairman: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veselin Kovachev
Vice-chairman: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zdravko Tsintsov
Vice-chairman: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Gurova
Secretary: Dr. Nikoleta Tzankova
Basic organization: Sofia 1700
University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski”
tel. +359-2 8060385; fax +359-2 9624940
Correspondence: Е-mail
rikostov@yahoo.com
niktzankova@abv.bg
http://www.mgu.bg/docs/CircularEN.doc
http://www.mgu.bg/docs/CircularBG.doc
Scientific Board
Assoc. Prof. Dr.Sc. Valeria Fol – Institute of Thracology “Prof. Alexander Fol”, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Diana Gergova – National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Gurova – National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Stefanka Ivanova – National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rositsa Kenderova – University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski”; Faculty of Geology and Geography
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ruslan I. Kostov – University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veselin Kovachev – University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski”; Faculty of Geology and Geography
Prof. Dr.Sc. Bozhidar Mavrudchiev – University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski”; Faculty of Geology and Geography
Prof. Dr.Sc. Stefan Shanov – Geological Institute “Acad. Strashimir Dimitrov”, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Prof. Dr.Sc. Dobrinka Stavrakeva – University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Totko Stoyanov – University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski”; Faculty of History
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Milena Tonkova – National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zdravko Tsintsov – Central Laboratory of Mineralogy and Crystallography “Acad. Ivan Kostov”,
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
In cooperation with:
Bulgarian Geological Society
Bulgarian Mineralogical Society
Society of Geophysicists in Bulgaria
Union of Scientists in Bulgaria: Section “Geology and Geography”
National Commission for Celebration of the International Year of Planet Earth
Museums of mineralogical and archaeological interest in Sofia
National Natural History Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
National Museum “Man and Earth”
Museum of Unique Crystals “Ilia Deleff”, University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski”
National Historical Museum
National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Official foreign language: English
Registration fee* and excursion prices (including accommodation**): 1 EUR ~ 1.54 USD ~ 0.78 GBP
Participant
Student
Guest
Before
15.08.2008
After
15.08.2008
Excursion A
(two days)
Excursion B
(three days)
Gala dinner
booking fee
60 EUR
30 EUR
20 EUR
80 EUR
50 EUR
30 EUR
60 EUR
60 EUR
60 EUR
100 EUR
90 EUR
100 EUR
20 EUR
20 EUR
20 EUR
* The registration fee includes access to sessions, materials of the conference including program and volume with
papers of the conference, cocktail party. Refreshments and snacks will be provided. However, participants are expected
to purchase lunch and dinner. Gala dinner (30 October) is optional.
** Bed and breakfast. Hotel prices can vary a bit depending on: single room (included in the table), double beds (add 8
ЕUR per night) or apartment (add 27 EUR per night).
Payment: Bank transfer can be made in EUR, US $ and other currency at:
Bank name: Bulgarian National Bank,
Address: Bulgaria, Sofia 1000, Batenberg Square 1
Account name: University of Mining and Geology, Sofia (for the Geoarchaeology conference)

(Leva account) IBAN: BG88 BNBG 9661 3100 1624 01
BIC: BNBG BGSD
TIMETABLE
Excursion A: 27.10-28.10.2008 (two days before the conference)
The “unknown” megalithic and stone-cut monuments of Europe (megalithic and stone-cut
sites in South East Bulgaria). Sites and museums on the route Sofia – Topolovgrad – Kurdjali
– Sofia in the Sakar Mountain and the Eastern Rhodopes. Introduction to the geological and
mineralogical background of the megalithic and stone-cut culture in Bulgaria.
Monday, 27 October 2008
Dolmens in the Sakar Mountain area; rock-cut circles in the Topolovgrad area (visit of the
“Paleocastro” site); visit to rock sites with enigmatic trapezoid niches in the Eastern Rhodopes; the
unique rock-cut and cave complex “The Arch”; accommodation for one night – hotel Arpezos at the
town of Kurdjali.
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Visit of the Kurdjali Regional historical museum (remarkable Early Neolithic frog-like nephrite
amulet on display); visit of the stone-cut sacred Thracian and Medieval town “Perperek” near the
ancient gold mines “Stremtsi”, North West of Kurdjali. Return to Sofia.
Meeting schedule
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Registration. Opening ceremony and plenary presentations. Scientific sessions (oral presentations;
poster display). Exhibition: photo-show of rock-cut site monuments from Bulgaria. Evening cocktail party.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Scientific sessions (oral presentations; poster display). Gala dinner.
Excursion B: 31.10-02.11.2008 (three days after the conference)
Role of Bulgaria in the history of world’s jewellery art (the first cut gem minerals and first
metals; the enigma of the Neolithic-Chalcolithic nephrite artifacts; earliest for Europe copper
mining; first complex faceting on chalcedony beads; the earliest gold artifacts in the world
from the Varna Chalcolithic necropolis; gold treasures and mound temples of the Ancient
Thracians; Medieval jewellery art and rock art). Sites and museums on the route Sofia – Stara
Zagora – Kazanluk (“Valley of the Thracian Kings”) – Varna – Madara – Veliki Preslav –
Veliko Turnovo – Sofia.
Friday, 31 October 2008
Visit of the Regional historical museum at Stara Zagora with information on the first copper mining
in Europe; visit of the on-site Neolithic settlement; visit of the “Golyama Kosmatka” Thracian
mound near Kazanluk as example of the sacred tombs in the “Valley of the Thracian Kings”;
treasures of the Thracian kings at the Kazanluk Historical museum; arrival at Varna
(accommodation at the International House of Scientists “Frederick Joliot-Curie” at the “St.St.
Constantine and Elena” resort, 10 km from Varna).
Saturday, 01 November 2008
Visit of the Varna Archaeological museum with the display of the oldest gold treasure, gold painted
pottery, gem minerals and shells beads from the Varna Chalcolithic necropolis (of peculiar interest
are also the Mesolithic collection; fine Roman and Antiquity jewellery).
Sunday, 02 November 2008
Visit of the village of Madara with the rock-cut “Madara Horseman” UNESCO site; visit of the
Medieval Bulgarian capital Veliki Preslav with the Historical museum (fine Medieval jewellery;
mosaics); visit of the old Bulgarian capital Veliko Turnovo (a tour at the museums with display
from the Neolithic period to Medieval and Revival times); arrival at Sofia in the evening.
The minimum number of participants for both excursions is 14 persons.
IMPORTANT DATES
Deadline for submission of papers – August 15, 2008
Deadline for payment of reduced registration fee – August 15, 2008
CALL FOR PAPERS
See the format of publication below. Each participant can submit not more than two contributions
as first author or co-author. Papers are to be published only if payment has been received before the
deadline. Persons not sending their papers at time could participate, but without publication.
ACCOMMODATION AND TRAVEL
For accommodation in Sofia contact meeting organizer, or click on the links below for a list of
reasonably priced Hotels and B&Bs.
http://www.sofiahotels.net
http://www.hotelsinsofia.com
http://www.sofiahotels.web
Accommodation list
Park Hotel Vitosha**** (3 min. to the University) recommended with preferential prices for
participants; www.vitoshaparkhotel.com
reservations@vitoshaparkhotel.com (or by the Organizing committee only until August 15 2008)
Single Room 69 EUR; Double room 89 EUR; Apartment 109 EUR
Other near-by hotels
Hotel Vega Sofia**** (5 min. to the University)
www.hotelvegasofia.bg
sales@hotelvegasofia.bg
Park Hotel Moskva*** (2 bus stops N413 to the University)
www.parkhotelmoskva.net
Hotel Pliska** (4 bus stops N280 to the University)
www.hotelpliska.com
Currency: The currency in Bulgaria is lev(a), 1 EUR ≈ 2 leva; currency can be exchanged at banks,
hotels and at a lot of bureaus easy to find downtown. Club bank cards are widely accepted at hotels,
big stores, including some restaurants.
Visas
Entry visas are required only for certain countries. For details, please visit the site of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs at:
http://www.mfa.bg/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4794&Itemid=243
Time
Two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Further information
Sightseeing of Sofia as well as of the above mentioned national or university museums (!) has to be
planned individually in dependence on each participant’s plan for arrival and departure before or
after the conference.
The support of the Organizing committee in cases for students, young scientists or for scientists
from developing countries or less favored regions will include: waiving of the registration fee;
accommodation in an inexpensive hotel.
Cancellation of registrations shall be notified by sending a written and signed document to the
secretariat: 100% refund cancellation by August 15, 2008; 50% refund cancellation by September
30, 2008; no refund after October 01, 2008.
Please return before June 30, 2008
International conference
GEOARCHAEOLOGY AND ARCHAEOMINERALOGY
APPLICATION FORM
Family name, first name, middle initial...........................................................................................
Organization, institution...................................................................................................................
Address………………………………………………………………………………………………
Country...............................................................................................................................................
E-mail..................................................................................................................................................
Title:
 Professor;  Associate Professor;  Assistant Professor;  Dr.Sc.;  Dr.;  Lecturer, specialist
 Mr. /  Ms.
Paper(s):..............................................................................................................................................
Participation:
 oral presentation;  poster display;  other
Excursions and banquet:
 А – two days (before the conference)
 B – three days (after the conference)
 Gala dinner
Accompanying person information:
1.  Mr.  Ms.; Family name, first name
2.  Mr.  Ms.; Family name, first name
Reservation by the Organizing Committee only for Park Hotel Vitosha (valid 15 August 2008)
 Single room
 Double room
 Apartment
The sooner you register, the more you help the organization.
Please send a copy of your transfer to the Organizing committee or the following information .
Type of card:
Card Number:
Expiration date:
Holder’s name:
I have remitted the amount of: ……….
Including: ………………………………………………………………………….
registration fee; excursion (A+B optional) fee; gala dinner (optional)
Date........
(Eight blank lines on first page – 14-point)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS OF PAPERS – TITLE OF THE PAPER (FONT TYPE - ARIAL
NARROW, FONT SIZE - 14-POINT, BOLD, LEFT-HAND MARGIN, IN CAPITALS)
(one blank line – 14-point)
First Author 1, Second Author 2, Third Author 3, … (12-point, Italic, Bold, left-hand margin )
(one blank line – 14-point)
1 University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski”, 1700 Sofia, e-mail (10-point, italic)
2 Geological institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, e-mail
3 National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, 1000
Sofia, e-mail
(one blank line – 14-point)
ABSTRACT. The abstract should be limited to 100 or 200 words and giving a brief summary of the most relevant aspects of the paper. Use paragraph format without
indentation and the entire paper width (single-spaced, plain text, 8 point, justified).
(one blank line – 14-point)
Introduction (bold, 12 point, on the left)
These instructions refer to preparation of papers for the
International
Conference
“Geoarchaeology
and
Archaeomineralogy”, which will be held on 29-30 October
2008 in Sofia. Maximum paper length is 6 (six) pages. The
first page contains the title, authors’ names, company
(organization) of affiliation, country, abstracts and text. The
text file is saved as a *.doc file in WORD for WINDOWS.
Large files are archived by ZIP or RAR. All text should be
written in Arial Narrow, 10 point. The paper is prepared on
pages of size A-4 (210 mm x 297 mm). Margins for each
page are as follows:
Page Setup: top: 1.8 cm; bottom: 2.2 cm; left: 2 cm; right: 2
cm. Paragraph: Line spacing: single; Alignment: justified.
Format
The text is presented in two columns of 0.8 cm space
between them. Graphics, figures and photographs should be
adjusted to adhere to a single column width. Exception (using
both columns) is admitted only if positioning of a certain table
of figure by the standard approach is absolutely impossible.
Text
Papers are printed by a high quality laser jet on standard A4 sheets (210 mm × 297 mm). Text is single spaced, Arial
Narrow 10-point. There is a space between the end of a
sentence (after the period) and the beginning of the following
sentence. The first line of each paragraph is intended three
spaces. Do not introduce page numbers in the file.
Main headings
The use of three types of headings is possible. Main
headings (first level) are typed with bold, 12-point, left-hand
aligned. There is one blank lines before first level headings.
Second level heading
Second level headings are left-hand aligned and typed by
Arial Narrow, bold, 10-point. The text follows immediately.
Remarks
Footnotes should be avoided. Graphics, illustrations
and drawings are positioned as close as possible to the
first reference to them. Graphics are centered within
the column margins. There is a blank line above and
below each graphics. Figure number and caption is
positioned below the graphic.
Fig. 1. Figure caption is left-hand aligned (8-point, bold)
Tables are positioned as close as possible to the first
reference to them. They are centered within column margins.
There is a blank line above and below each table. The table
number and title should be positioned above the table and lefthand aligned within column width.
Table 1
Number tables in a consecutive order (10-point, italic)
Number
Point
Measurement
1
5
2
987
3
784
Equations are typed by Equation 3.0 on a separate line with
a blank line above and below the equation. Equations are
numbered consecutively and aligned to the right-hand margin of
the column.
P l RQ
2
(1)
References
References to bibliography are referred in the main text by
author’s name and year of publication, for example: “Similar
results is published in Smith (1968)” or “Data are published
(Smith, 1968; Smith, Johnson, 1999; Smith et al., 2007) ...”
References are listed alphabetically at the end of the text.
Name of journal is typed in italics, if the source is from a journal,
the title of book or proceedings, if the source is from a
symposium or congress. If the source is a book or proceedings
the publisher, town of publishing is typed, and pages.
Examples (hanging 0.5 mm)
International Tables for X-ray Crystallography. Vol. 1. 1969. IUC,
Kynoch Press, Birmingham, 588 p.
Rapp, G. R. 2002. Archaeomineralogy. Springer, Berlin, 326 p.
Renfrew, C. 1978. Varna and the social context of early
metallurgy. – Antiquity, 52, 206, 199-203.
Submission of papers – by post printed on sheets A4 with a
CD or by Internet to the e-mail address of the conference.