The Busy Periphery: Urban Systems of the Balkan and Danube Provinces (2nd – 3rd c. AD), 2020
The Busy Periphery: Urban Systems of the Balkan and Danube Provinces (2nd – 3rd c. AD) considers ... more The Busy Periphery: Urban Systems of the Balkan and Danube Provinces (2nd – 3rd c. AD) considers the reconstruction of the urban geography of the Balkan and Danube provinces at the time of the Severan dynasty. Four basic parameters governed the focus of research: the origin and socio-economic character of the settlements, their size, micro-location, and the size of their administrative territories. The principal goal was to map the variable developments of the urban network, both between and within the sub-regions that constituted this part of the Roman Empire. This line of inquiry helped in bridging the gap between the regional and the general. In the process of explaining the apparent gaps in the urban map of the study-region or the differential growth of the individual towns and settlements, we were inevitably faced with the question of the role of towns in Roman provincial society and in the economy in general, and with the interpretation of the basic prerequisites for their emergence and prosperity.
Willet, R. (ed.), 2020. The Economics of Urbanism in the Roman East, Propylaeum, Heidelberg, 2020
This volume discusses the geography of cities of the Eastern Mediterranean that existed under the... more This volume discusses the geography of cities of the Eastern Mediterranean that existed under the Roman Empire. Roman urbanism has a long historiography, however, many previous studies saw the ancient town as an isolated historical phenomenon, or at best as an index of the spread of Hellenism or Romanitas. This volume attempts to take a step further and place the town in its socio-economic context, while also presenting the most up-to-date statistics for the urban phenomenon in the Roman East. Six contributions all deal with issues related to the spatial patterns observed in the distribution of cities in the eastern half of the Empire. One contribution, by way of comparison, deals with Roman urbanism of the Iberian Peninsula. Starting off with an overview of the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole, each contribution zooms in on a specific region in order to investigate the factors that shaped the pattern of urban settlement and the variation of city size on both (supra)regional and local scales. These factors are wide-ranging, from climatological variation, possibilities of connectivity through the road-network and sea-lanes, historical path-dependency, and agricultural potential to specific policies of Roman imperialism. The book is freely available at: https://books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeum/catalog/book/571
Settlements, Culture and Population Dynamics in Balkan Prehistory - ABSTRACTS OF THE ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS, Mar 9, 2015
HAEMUS - Center for Scientific Research and Promotion of Culture
http://haemus.org.mk
Settlemen... more HAEMUS - Center for Scientific Research and Promotion of Culture
http://haemus.org.mk Settlements, Culture and Population Dynamics in Balkan Prehistory
International Conference
13-14.03.2015
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
ABSTRACTS OF THE ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS
General Editor: Vasilka Dimitrovska
Cover Design: Vasilka Dimitrovska, Elka Anastasova
Design: Elka Anastasova
Editing and English proofreading: Mark Branov
The rescue excavations at the northwest foot of “Cocev Kamen” – quickly transformed into
open-are... more The rescue excavations at the northwest foot of “Cocev Kamen” – quickly transformed into open-area excavations! – carried out in 2020, brought to light important evidence for the chronology and cultural affiliation of the Neolithic settlement at this site. By the end of this campaign, it became clear that the earliest settlement at “Cocev Kamen” continued to exist into the Late Neolithic period. (Anzabegovo-Vršnik IV) This phase went unnoticed during the study of the surface finds collected in the 2018 survey. The 2020 excavations also revealed new aspects of the inner topography of the settlement at the northwest foot of the rock. The full report of the 2020 excavations will be published in the next issue of the museum bulletin. The goal of this study is to revise some of the earlier observations about the size, location and topography of this Neolithic settlement, drawing from the experiences of the last excavation campaign.
This study is about the reconstruction of the urban geography of the Balkan and the Danube provin... more This study is about the reconstruction of the urban geography of the Balkan and the Danube provinces at the time of the Severan dynasty (AD 193-235). Four basic parameters were in the focus of research: the origin and socio-economic character of the settlements, their size, micro-location and the size of their administrative territories. The principal goal of this exercise was to map the variable developments of the urban network, both between and within the sub-regions that constitute this part of the Roman Empire. This line of inquiry helped to bridge the gap between the regional and the general. In the process of explaining the apparent gaps in the urban map of the study-region or the differential growth of the individual towns and settlements, we were inevitably faced with the question of the role of the town in Roman provincial society and economy or the basic prerequisites for the emergence and prosperity of towns. This study also brought to light the intimate connection betwe...
This study reports on the results of the resurvey of the archaeological sites in the area of Krat... more This study reports on the results of the resurvey of the archaeological sites in the area of Kratovo, included in the national archaeological atlas. The preliminary reading of these results underlines the partial and unrepresentative character of the archaeological atlas for the area of Kratovo. This is not only reflected in the formal and chronological composition of the sites included in this inventory but also in the large number of newly discovered sites, found by haphazard walking or with the help of local informants. In the second part of the paper, the authors briefly present a few individual sites. These sites were chosen either because of their specific character and size, the large stone quarry opposite the Late Antique town at “Golemo Gradište“, Konjuh, or because favourable ground conditions allowed us to make more detailed observations in the field. The large number of so-called special-purpose sites, like mines, smelting furnaces, quarries and paved roads, is a stark reminder of the importance of the mineral resources for the local economy and the road infrastructure necessary for their exploitation.
This volume discusses the geography of cities of the Eastern Mediterranean that existed under the... more This volume discusses the geography of cities of the Eastern Mediterranean that existed under the Roman Empire. Roman urbanism has a long historiography, however, many previous studies saw the ancient town as an isolated historical phenomenon, or at best as an index of the spread of Hellenism or Romanitas. This volume attempts to take a step further and place the town in its socio-economic context, while also presenting the most up-to-date statistics for the urban phenomenon in the Roman East. Six contributions all deal with issues related to the spatial patterns observed in the distribution of cities in the eastern half of the Empire. One contribution, by way of comparison, deals with Roman urbanism of the Iberian Peninsula. Starting off with an overview of the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole, each contribution zooms in on a specific region in order to investigate the factors that shaped the pattern of urban settlement and the variation of city size on both (supra)regional and local scales. These factors are wide-ranging, from climatological variation, possibilities of connectivity through the road-network and sea-lanes, historical path-dependency, and agricultural potential to specific policies of Roman imperialism. The book is freely available at: https://books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeum/catalog/book/571
point of view, the data gathered in the course of these excavations are an important contribution... more point of view, the data gathered in the course of these excavations are an important contribution to our understanding of the evolution of the topography of this settlement. This is briefly discussed against the background of the known regional developments in the urban geography and administrative divisions during the Roman period.
The following study seeks to present the results of an intensive ceramic survey on Vidingrad near... more The following study seeks to present the results of an intensive ceramic survey on Vidingrad near Vodovrati, the presumed site of the ancient town of Argos in Paeonia. It is one of the first studies of this type carried out in the region of the Middle Vardar and we thought it was important to publish the results, although the study of the collected pottery is still in a very early phase. After a brief description of the method of fieldwork, the distribution of the overall surface record is discussed. It enabled us to establish the precise location and draw the limits of the ceramic site. In the second half of the paper, the distribution of certain classes of ceramic material is examined and an attempt is made to trace the history of the settlement, from its founding to its final demise. The maximum size of the settlement, the presence and the quantities of some of the analysed ceramic categories, alongside the known historical facts about Argos on the Vardar are also indicative of t...
This study is a continuation of the field report published in the previous issue of the journal H... more This study is a continuation of the field report published in the previous issue of the journal Haemus (Donev, D. (2012) Campus Argestaeus: A Landscape Frozen in Time, 217229, Haemus I.). After considering two methodological issues relevant to all surface artifact surveys, the author describes the distribution of the surface material by periods. Particular attention is given to the extent of the settlements, their inner structure and their locational preferences. In conclusion we point to possible directions for future research and explicate the difficulties and limitations in interpreting surface artifact scatters.
The settlement area of the Ohrid region extends on the shores of a homonymous lake shared between... more The settlement area of the Ohrid region extends on the shores of a homonymous lake shared between the Republics of Northern Macedonia and Albania. Despite its mountainous framing, the geographical setting of the Ohrid region provides the broadest accessible link between the Aegean and the Adriatic regions in the southern Balkans and was, vice versa, an eminent pre -condition for the formation of supra -regional networks in the past. Placed on this communication route, which is embodied by the widely known Via Egnatia, the region represented an important hub in the cultural connectivity between the Aegean, the Adriatic see, and the Balkans. As a response to the lacking of systematic investigations, this paper presents a reconstruction of the preand protohistoric habitation in the region. Reviewing past archaeological discoveries and recent data collected during the first two field seasons conducted within the frame of the project Frontier Studies, this paper focuses on the settlement...
Rimska mesta balkanskih in podonavskih provinc so bila doslej le redko del raziskav širših mest... more Rimska mesta balkanskih in podonavskih provinc so bila doslej le redko del raziskav širših mestnih mrež. Namen prispevka je prepoznati glavne značilnosti mestnih sistemov in na podlagi najpomembnejših mest provincialne mestne hierarhije poiskati njihovo vpetost v ekonomijo provinc v času severske dinastije. Avtor se osredotoča na primerjavo velikosti prvorazrednih mest z ostalimi naselbinami, upošteva pa tudi njihovo lego in kmetijsko bogastvo zaledja. Ugotavlja, da moramo obravnavano območje glede na ekonomske vire razumeti kot obrobje rimskega imperija. Glavna bogastva obravnavanih provinc so bili namreč les, volna, ruda in delovna sila, kar se jasno izraža tudi v osnovnih geografskih parametrih prvorazrednih mest: v njihovi relativno skromni velikosti, obrobni legi in vojaški naravi.
The Busy Periphery: Urban Systems of the Balkan and Danube Provinces (2nd – 3rd c. AD), 2020
The Busy Periphery: Urban Systems of the Balkan and Danube Provinces (2nd – 3rd c. AD) considers ... more The Busy Periphery: Urban Systems of the Balkan and Danube Provinces (2nd – 3rd c. AD) considers the reconstruction of the urban geography of the Balkan and Danube provinces at the time of the Severan dynasty. Four basic parameters governed the focus of research: the origin and socio-economic character of the settlements, their size, micro-location, and the size of their administrative territories. The principal goal was to map the variable developments of the urban network, both between and within the sub-regions that constituted this part of the Roman Empire. This line of inquiry helped in bridging the gap between the regional and the general. In the process of explaining the apparent gaps in the urban map of the study-region or the differential growth of the individual towns and settlements, we were inevitably faced with the question of the role of towns in Roman provincial society and in the economy in general, and with the interpretation of the basic prerequisites for their emergence and prosperity.
Willet, R. (ed.), 2020. The Economics of Urbanism in the Roman East, Propylaeum, Heidelberg, 2020
This volume discusses the geography of cities of the Eastern Mediterranean that existed under the... more This volume discusses the geography of cities of the Eastern Mediterranean that existed under the Roman Empire. Roman urbanism has a long historiography, however, many previous studies saw the ancient town as an isolated historical phenomenon, or at best as an index of the spread of Hellenism or Romanitas. This volume attempts to take a step further and place the town in its socio-economic context, while also presenting the most up-to-date statistics for the urban phenomenon in the Roman East. Six contributions all deal with issues related to the spatial patterns observed in the distribution of cities in the eastern half of the Empire. One contribution, by way of comparison, deals with Roman urbanism of the Iberian Peninsula. Starting off with an overview of the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole, each contribution zooms in on a specific region in order to investigate the factors that shaped the pattern of urban settlement and the variation of city size on both (supra)regional and local scales. These factors are wide-ranging, from climatological variation, possibilities of connectivity through the road-network and sea-lanes, historical path-dependency, and agricultural potential to specific policies of Roman imperialism. The book is freely available at: https://books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeum/catalog/book/571
Settlements, Culture and Population Dynamics in Balkan Prehistory - ABSTRACTS OF THE ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS, Mar 9, 2015
HAEMUS - Center for Scientific Research and Promotion of Culture
http://haemus.org.mk
Settlemen... more HAEMUS - Center for Scientific Research and Promotion of Culture
http://haemus.org.mk Settlements, Culture and Population Dynamics in Balkan Prehistory
International Conference
13-14.03.2015
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
ABSTRACTS OF THE ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS
General Editor: Vasilka Dimitrovska
Cover Design: Vasilka Dimitrovska, Elka Anastasova
Design: Elka Anastasova
Editing and English proofreading: Mark Branov
The rescue excavations at the northwest foot of “Cocev Kamen” – quickly transformed into
open-are... more The rescue excavations at the northwest foot of “Cocev Kamen” – quickly transformed into open-area excavations! – carried out in 2020, brought to light important evidence for the chronology and cultural affiliation of the Neolithic settlement at this site. By the end of this campaign, it became clear that the earliest settlement at “Cocev Kamen” continued to exist into the Late Neolithic period. (Anzabegovo-Vršnik IV) This phase went unnoticed during the study of the surface finds collected in the 2018 survey. The 2020 excavations also revealed new aspects of the inner topography of the settlement at the northwest foot of the rock. The full report of the 2020 excavations will be published in the next issue of the museum bulletin. The goal of this study is to revise some of the earlier observations about the size, location and topography of this Neolithic settlement, drawing from the experiences of the last excavation campaign.
This study is about the reconstruction of the urban geography of the Balkan and the Danube provin... more This study is about the reconstruction of the urban geography of the Balkan and the Danube provinces at the time of the Severan dynasty (AD 193-235). Four basic parameters were in the focus of research: the origin and socio-economic character of the settlements, their size, micro-location and the size of their administrative territories. The principal goal of this exercise was to map the variable developments of the urban network, both between and within the sub-regions that constitute this part of the Roman Empire. This line of inquiry helped to bridge the gap between the regional and the general. In the process of explaining the apparent gaps in the urban map of the study-region or the differential growth of the individual towns and settlements, we were inevitably faced with the question of the role of the town in Roman provincial society and economy or the basic prerequisites for the emergence and prosperity of towns. This study also brought to light the intimate connection betwe...
This study reports on the results of the resurvey of the archaeological sites in the area of Krat... more This study reports on the results of the resurvey of the archaeological sites in the area of Kratovo, included in the national archaeological atlas. The preliminary reading of these results underlines the partial and unrepresentative character of the archaeological atlas for the area of Kratovo. This is not only reflected in the formal and chronological composition of the sites included in this inventory but also in the large number of newly discovered sites, found by haphazard walking or with the help of local informants. In the second part of the paper, the authors briefly present a few individual sites. These sites were chosen either because of their specific character and size, the large stone quarry opposite the Late Antique town at “Golemo Gradište“, Konjuh, or because favourable ground conditions allowed us to make more detailed observations in the field. The large number of so-called special-purpose sites, like mines, smelting furnaces, quarries and paved roads, is a stark reminder of the importance of the mineral resources for the local economy and the road infrastructure necessary for their exploitation.
This volume discusses the geography of cities of the Eastern Mediterranean that existed under the... more This volume discusses the geography of cities of the Eastern Mediterranean that existed under the Roman Empire. Roman urbanism has a long historiography, however, many previous studies saw the ancient town as an isolated historical phenomenon, or at best as an index of the spread of Hellenism or Romanitas. This volume attempts to take a step further and place the town in its socio-economic context, while also presenting the most up-to-date statistics for the urban phenomenon in the Roman East. Six contributions all deal with issues related to the spatial patterns observed in the distribution of cities in the eastern half of the Empire. One contribution, by way of comparison, deals with Roman urbanism of the Iberian Peninsula. Starting off with an overview of the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole, each contribution zooms in on a specific region in order to investigate the factors that shaped the pattern of urban settlement and the variation of city size on both (supra)regional and local scales. These factors are wide-ranging, from climatological variation, possibilities of connectivity through the road-network and sea-lanes, historical path-dependency, and agricultural potential to specific policies of Roman imperialism. The book is freely available at: https://books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeum/catalog/book/571
point of view, the data gathered in the course of these excavations are an important contribution... more point of view, the data gathered in the course of these excavations are an important contribution to our understanding of the evolution of the topography of this settlement. This is briefly discussed against the background of the known regional developments in the urban geography and administrative divisions during the Roman period.
The following study seeks to present the results of an intensive ceramic survey on Vidingrad near... more The following study seeks to present the results of an intensive ceramic survey on Vidingrad near Vodovrati, the presumed site of the ancient town of Argos in Paeonia. It is one of the first studies of this type carried out in the region of the Middle Vardar and we thought it was important to publish the results, although the study of the collected pottery is still in a very early phase. After a brief description of the method of fieldwork, the distribution of the overall surface record is discussed. It enabled us to establish the precise location and draw the limits of the ceramic site. In the second half of the paper, the distribution of certain classes of ceramic material is examined and an attempt is made to trace the history of the settlement, from its founding to its final demise. The maximum size of the settlement, the presence and the quantities of some of the analysed ceramic categories, alongside the known historical facts about Argos on the Vardar are also indicative of t...
This study is a continuation of the field report published in the previous issue of the journal H... more This study is a continuation of the field report published in the previous issue of the journal Haemus (Donev, D. (2012) Campus Argestaeus: A Landscape Frozen in Time, 217229, Haemus I.). After considering two methodological issues relevant to all surface artifact surveys, the author describes the distribution of the surface material by periods. Particular attention is given to the extent of the settlements, their inner structure and their locational preferences. In conclusion we point to possible directions for future research and explicate the difficulties and limitations in interpreting surface artifact scatters.
The settlement area of the Ohrid region extends on the shores of a homonymous lake shared between... more The settlement area of the Ohrid region extends on the shores of a homonymous lake shared between the Republics of Northern Macedonia and Albania. Despite its mountainous framing, the geographical setting of the Ohrid region provides the broadest accessible link between the Aegean and the Adriatic regions in the southern Balkans and was, vice versa, an eminent pre -condition for the formation of supra -regional networks in the past. Placed on this communication route, which is embodied by the widely known Via Egnatia, the region represented an important hub in the cultural connectivity between the Aegean, the Adriatic see, and the Balkans. As a response to the lacking of systematic investigations, this paper presents a reconstruction of the preand protohistoric habitation in the region. Reviewing past archaeological discoveries and recent data collected during the first two field seasons conducted within the frame of the project Frontier Studies, this paper focuses on the settlement...
Rimska mesta balkanskih in podonavskih provinc so bila doslej le redko del raziskav širših mest... more Rimska mesta balkanskih in podonavskih provinc so bila doslej le redko del raziskav širših mestnih mrež. Namen prispevka je prepoznati glavne značilnosti mestnih sistemov in na podlagi najpomembnejših mest provincialne mestne hierarhije poiskati njihovo vpetost v ekonomijo provinc v času severske dinastije. Avtor se osredotoča na primerjavo velikosti prvorazrednih mest z ostalimi naselbinami, upošteva pa tudi njihovo lego in kmetijsko bogastvo zaledja. Ugotavlja, da moramo obravnavano območje glede na ekonomske vire razumeti kot obrobje rimskega imperija. Glavna bogastva obravnavanih provinc so bili namreč les, volna, ruda in delovna sila, kar se jasno izraža tudi v osnovnih geografskih parametrih prvorazrednih mest: v njihovi relativno skromni velikosti, obrobni legi in vojaški naravi.
This article deals with a relatively new form of archaeological research in the Mediterranean reg... more This article deals with a relatively new form of archaeological research in the Mediterranean region – intensive surface survey, coverage of the landscape by teams walking in close order, recording patterns of human activity visible on the landsurface as scatters of pottery and lithics, or building remains. Since 2000, archaeologists from Dutch and Belgian universities working on Mediterranean survey projects have gathered annually to discuss methodological issues in workshops that gradually attracted landscape archaeologists from other European countries and Turkey. On the basis of these discussions, this paper, written by regular workshop contributors and other invited authors with wider Mediterranean experience, aims to evaluate the potential of various approaches to the archaeological surface record in the Mediterranean and provide guidelines for standards of good practice in Mediterranean survey.
This article deals with a relatively new form of archaeological research in the Mediterranean
reg... more This article deals with a relatively new form of archaeological research in the Mediterranean region – intensive surface survey, coverage of the landscape by teams walking in close order, recording patterns of human activity visible on the landsurface as scatters of pottery and lithics, or building remains. Since 2000, archaeologists from Dutch and Belgian universities working on Mediterranean survey projects have gathered annually to discuss methodological issues in workshops that gradually attracted landscape archaeologists from other European countries and Turkey. On the basis of these discussions, this paper, written by regular workshop contributors and other invited authors with wider Mediterranean experience, aims to evaluate the potential of various approaches to the archaeological surface record in the Mediterranean and provide guidelines for standards of good practice in Mediterranean survey.
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Books by Damjan Donev
http://haemus.org.mk
Settlements, Culture and Population Dynamics in Balkan Prehistory
International Conference
13-14.03.2015
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
ABSTRACTS OF THE ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS
General Editor: Vasilka Dimitrovska
Cover Design: Vasilka Dimitrovska, Elka Anastasova
Design: Elka Anastasova
Editing and English proofreading: Mark Branov
Papers by Damjan Donev
open-area excavations! – carried out in 2020, brought to light important evidence for the chronology
and cultural affiliation of the Neolithic settlement at this site. By the end of this campaign, it became
clear that the earliest settlement at “Cocev Kamen” continued to exist into the Late Neolithic period.
(Anzabegovo-Vršnik IV) This phase went unnoticed during the study of the surface finds collected
in the 2018 survey. The 2020 excavations also revealed new aspects of the inner topography of the
settlement at the northwest foot of the rock. The full report of the 2020 excavations will be published
in the next issue of the museum bulletin. The goal of this study is to revise some of the earlier observations
about the size, location and topography of this Neolithic settlement, drawing from the
experiences of the last excavation campaign.
http://haemus.org.mk
Settlements, Culture and Population Dynamics in Balkan Prehistory
International Conference
13-14.03.2015
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
ABSTRACTS OF THE ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS
General Editor: Vasilka Dimitrovska
Cover Design: Vasilka Dimitrovska, Elka Anastasova
Design: Elka Anastasova
Editing and English proofreading: Mark Branov
open-area excavations! – carried out in 2020, brought to light important evidence for the chronology
and cultural affiliation of the Neolithic settlement at this site. By the end of this campaign, it became
clear that the earliest settlement at “Cocev Kamen” continued to exist into the Late Neolithic period.
(Anzabegovo-Vršnik IV) This phase went unnoticed during the study of the surface finds collected
in the 2018 survey. The 2020 excavations also revealed new aspects of the inner topography of the
settlement at the northwest foot of the rock. The full report of the 2020 excavations will be published
in the next issue of the museum bulletin. The goal of this study is to revise some of the earlier observations
about the size, location and topography of this Neolithic settlement, drawing from the
experiences of the last excavation campaign.
region – intensive surface survey, coverage of the landscape by teams walking in close order,
recording patterns of human activity visible on the landsurface as scatters of pottery and lithics,
or building remains. Since 2000, archaeologists from Dutch and Belgian universities working
on Mediterranean survey projects have gathered annually to discuss methodological issues in
workshops that gradually attracted landscape archaeologists from other European countries and
Turkey. On the basis of these discussions, this paper, written by regular workshop contributors
and other invited authors with wider Mediterranean experience, aims to evaluate the potential
of various approaches to the archaeological surface record in the Mediterranean and provide
guidelines for standards of good practice in Mediterranean survey.