Geodynamics of the South Balkan and Northern Aegean Regions Driven by the Westward Escape of Anatolia

The Plio-Quaternary deformation pattern of the northern Aegean and south Balkan regions is interpreted as an effect of the interaction between the Anatolian-Aegean-Pelagonian system (Tethyan belt), undergoing westward extrusion and strong deformation, and the surrounding plates (Nubia, Europe and Adriatic). Since the middle-late Miocene, the collision of the Tethyan belt with the continental Adriatic domain has caused strong E-W shortening in the outer Hellenides and Albanides, also involving the southward extrusion of the Peloponnesus wedge, at the expense of the Ionian oceanic domain. The roughly E-W extension recognized in the western South Balkan zones (Macedonia and eastern Albania) is related to the divergence between the Pelagonian belt (Albanides and Hellenides) and the Rhodope-Moesia domain. Stressed by the westward displacement of the central Anatolian plateau and by the southward bowing of the Cycladic Arc, the northern Aegean zone has contemporaneously undergone E-W compression and N-S extension, which has generated a series of dextral shear faults, delimiting a number of slats. The westward displacement and deformation of such slats can explain the morphological features of the northern Aegean zone. During this phase, the push of the central Anatolian plateau also caused the separation of the Rhodope massif from the Moesian European domain, with the consequent formation of the upper Thrace basin. This hypothesis can explain the Plio-Quaternary compressional deformations recognized in a sector of the North Anatolian fault system, the Ganos-Gelibolu zone. The proposed geodynamic/tectonic interpretation may help to explain some features of the time-space distribution of major earthquakes in the study area.

Archaeological Mineralogy and the Dawn of Gemmology:Prehistoric(7th-5th Millennium BC)Gem Minerals and Gold from the Balkans（South-East Europe）

The territory of the Balkan Peninsula in SE Europe is reviewed, from the point of gemmology, as the cradle of gem and decorative minerals and metals in European prehistory. During the local Neolithic period (end of 7 th -6 th millennium BC), as material for tools or for beads, nephrite (with the earliest known Balkan nephrite culture), jadeite-omphacite and quartz (different varieties) were introduced to make pendants and idols. Large quantities of copper and gold artifacts are known since the Chalcolithic period (5 th millennium BC)(unique for the region;the largest in number of gold artifacts is the Varna I Chalcolithic necropolis in Bulgaria). The gemmological materials in the Balkans are known for malachite, antigorite serpentinite, turquoise, rock crystal, carnelian, jasper, jet and obsidian. In the Varna I necropolis (mid 5 th millennium BC) are recorded the first known complex faceted carnelian beads with 32 facets, as well as some of the most important gemmological techniques and procedures such as faceting, tumbling, annealing, miniaturization and standardization. As pigments for pottery, cinnabar, graphite and gold were used in different prehistoric sites. The earliest salt production in the Balkans is known from sites in Romania and Bulgaria, and because of its trade, salt is positively linked to a population rich with prestigious goods. The introduced possible Chalcolithic weight unit “van”(2 carats) is supposed to be the earliest known in prehistoric times.

7-14世纪拜占庭帝国在巴尔干西部地区的势力探究

巴尔干半岛西部地区边界争端、族裔冲突、宗教纷争频发,差异性远超同一性,原因在于该地区错失了历史整合的时机。7—11世纪,拜占庭帝国在巴尔干西部建立起了有效的直接与间接统治体系,还通过推动基督教化奠基了文化影响。然而,自11世纪中叶,拜占庭帝国对此地区的统治逐步失效,文化影响程度极不均衡。14世纪中叶起,拜占庭国力衰落,不仅在巴尔干西部的统治崩溃,而且随着其在此地区内最大的文化载体塞尔维亚帝国覆灭,承载、延续拜占庭文化的统一体被彻底打破,也经历了文化影响方面的崩溃。拜占庭势力在巴尔干西部地区的涨落,导致地区内部拜占庭化程度不一、拜占庭斯拉夫文明传统的整体性被打破,是南部斯拉夫人族群以及这一地区历史整合失败的重要原因之一。