Programme: Scientific Research Fund

Introduction
Zhizhni are negative, excavated landforms used for the intentional carbonization of wood in order to produce charcoal from ancient times to the present day. Historically, charcoal is one of the less-studied forest by-products compared to timber itself as an object of logging. For this reason, this product has been included in COST Action CA22155, titled “Network for forest by-products charcoal, resin, tar, potash (EU-PoTaRCh)”, which also focuses on the extraction of resins, tar, and wood ash, again in the context of distinctive secondary industries related to forests.

With regard to charcoal production and the associated excavated structures—the so-called zhizhni—there are references in historiographical literature from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of these concern Mount Vitosha, mainly in the context of the active mining industries of the past (gold mining and iron production) and the charcoal required for their manufacturing needs (e.g., Trifonov, 1911; Deliradev, 1926). The available bibliography can in turn be successfully combined with preserved contemporary or historical toponymy in the mountain, which suggests the presence of installations associated with the different production stages of these industries in the past.