Gradeshnitsa tablets, Neolithic clay tablets in Gradeshnitsa, Bulgaria.

The Gradeshnitsa tablet is a shallow rectangular clay dish with thin, outward-sloping walls, made of clay tempered with crushed pottery and organic matter and coated with a fine slip. Its smoothed face is divided by four horizontal lines into four fields holding 24 incised signs, while the back bears a geometric composition with a stylised anthropomorphic figure in an adoration pose and two pierced oval lugs for suspension.

The settlement at Gradeshnitsa was found in 1961 and excavated from 1964 to 1971 under Bogdan Nikolov, revealing three cultural layers. The tablet itself was unearthed in 1969 on the floor of house No. 1 in the second layer, dated to about 5000–4800 BC. Nikolov published the first scholarly report on it.

The reverse side carries a stylised figure in a pose of adoration: a triangular head, a rhombus body with arms raised toward the face, and a smaller inverted triangle for the legs. Bogdan Nikolov, who found the tablet in 1969, read this as a sign of cult use. Two small oval lugs with vertical holes on the short sides suggest the plaque was hung or worn.

These objects can be viewed at the Vratsa Regional Museum of History, located in Vratsa town and open throughout the week. The museum displays the tablets in a controlled environment where their details can be examined closely.

The reverse side carries a stylised figure in a pose of adoration: a triangular head, a rhombus body with arms raised toward the face, and a smaller inverted triangle for the legs. Bogdan Nikolov, who found the tablet in 1969, read this as evidence of a cult function. Two small oval lugs with vertical holes on the short sides suggest the plaque was hung.