History of Ancient Thrace

This article gives a short presentation of the results of the archaeological surveys of the theatre in Philippopolis as well as an outline of the information revealed from the epigraphic material found there. Built in its present form in the late 1st – early 2nd c. AD, the theatre was reconstructed several times and functioned until the end of the 4th c. AD. The rich epigraphic material consists of nine honorific inscriptions on statue-bases from two different periods – the late 1st to the early 2nd c., and the first half of the 3rd c.; at least four building inscriptions from the 2nd – 4th centuries; numerous inscriptions denoting seats for eminent citizens or groups of persons; builders’ marks, graffiti, etc.

Publication of a hoard found near Plovdiv whose content is chiefly constituted by Thasian imitations along with Athenian “New Style” tetradrachms and Roman Republican denarii. The burial date is best placed c. 40/30 BC. This content includes an additional overstrike of a Thasian imitation on Athens (Thompson: c. 156/5 BC = c. 124/3 BC).

The second year of the Yurta ‐Stroyno Archaeological Project continued in the excavation of the area selected the previous year. The stone foundations were further uncovered in their continuation both to the east and to the west of the investigated area. Disrupted soil from Rooms A and B, previously excavated by robbers, was cleaned to the sterile soil. The area of the settlement core was selectively walked while creating a geodetic site grid. During the random survey, several areas of outstanding surface concentrations were selected for future investigation. Further, documentation of the finds from the two years of the excavation progressed, with their selection given in this report. kEywordS Bulgaria; Thrace; Yurta; Stroyno; vicus; terracotta lamps; metals; glass; Thracian horse rider; votive terracotta plate. This volume of Studia Hercynia is very special to us, being dedicated to a great scholar and our mentor, Prof. Jan Bouzek. He is the one who brought two of the authors – P. ...

The second year of the Yurta ‐Stroyno Archaeological Project continued in the excavation of the area selected the previous year. The stone foundations were further uncovered in their continuation both to the east and to the west of the investigated area. Disrupted soil from Rooms A and B, previously excavated by robbers, was cleaned to the sterile soil. The area of the settlement core was selectively walked while creating a geodetic site grid. During the random survey, several areas of outstanding surface concentrations were selected for future investigation. Further, documentation of the finds from the two years of the excavation progressed, with their selection given in this report. kEywordS Bulgaria; Thrace; Yurta; Stroyno; vicus; terracotta lamps; metals; glass; Thracian horse rider; votive terracotta plate. This volume of Studia Hercynia is very special to us, being dedicated to a great scholar and our mentor, Prof. Jan Bouzek. He is the one who brought two of the authors – P. ...

We publish a hoard found in 1995 near Gotse Deltchev (South-West Bulgaria). Its contents 25 Athenian stephanephoroi tetradrachms (up to c. 96/5 BC [with a clear overrepresentation of the years 127/6-124/3 BC as it is usual for this area) and 23 Thasian type tetradrachms. The burial date seems to be close from the end of the 70's BC. Several similar hoards of the same composition and chronological context have been found in Bulgaria.

The paper examines the religious, ideological, and political manifestations of Emperor Constantine I the Great during the consecration ceremonies of the city named after him, which have been the subject of heated discussions and contradictory interpretations. The focus is on the policy of tolerating and encouraging local cults in Byzantion, which Constantine clearly preferred and pursued. Historical sources can be grouped into at least two groups organized around the events related to the consecration of Constantinople in May 330 AD, in which two remarkable ritual and cult centres stand out: 1) The Constantine Forum: the consecration of the solar statue of Emperor Constantine at the newly constructed Constantine Forum on the famous porphyry column the day before or on the first day of the 40-day celebrations, accompanied by numerous additional ceremonies and rituals; 2) The Hippodrome: The ceremony of the Hippodrome on the first day of the 40day celebrations in which the gilded xoanon of Constantine, holding a small sculpture of Tyche on the city in his right hand, was carried in the "Helios Chariot". In the worship of the Emperor Constantine I the Great during the consecration ceremonies of the Constantinople two important religious ideas were intertwined as central:-Reviving and incorporating the ancient mythological tradition of the founding Byzantion in the new context and traditions of Constantinople;-The specific role of Zeuxippus, the central solar deity of the Thracian population in the city identified with Helios / Zeus Helios / Zeus Hippios, in this religious-political context. With this public behaviour, perhaps the emperor sought a balance between the traditional urban religion and local cult practices, on the one hand, and those of the imperial cult of the ruler or even his personal cult, on the other.

In the spring of 2009 a diachronic, multidisciplinary, and international research project led by the National Archaeological Institute with Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences began to explore palaeoenvironments, settlement patterns, and productive strategies in the watershed of the upper Tundzha River. The project included palaeoecology, satellite remote sensing, geophysics, and trial excavations, but archaeological surface survey constituted the principal approach utilised. Initial research in 2009 focused on the hinterland of the ancient city of Seuthopolis (now submerged under the Koprinka Reservoir). A follow-up campaign in 2010 extended the study area towards the Stara Planina Mountains, exploring rural landscapes across a variety of environmental and topographic zones. In total, the project surveyed 56.5 sq km, inventorying some 370 archaeological features.

The Tundzha Regional Archaeological Project (TRAP) was initiated in 2008 and is still ongoing. It is a collaborative, multidisciplinary project involving researchers, students, and volunteers from Australia, Bulgaria, the United States, and the Czech Republic. TRAP combines regional landscape archaeology with paleoecological studies to reconstruct and interpret habitation in the Tundzha River watershed in its environmental context. The project is diachronic in nature, investigating the long-term environmental change and social evolution from before the introduction of agriculture to the recent past. An Australian Research Council Linkage Project Award funded extensive fieldwork (archaeological survey, test excavations, and palaeoecology) from 2009 through 2011. This paper will examine the emergence and evolution of larger-scale social and political organisation in Thrace over the course of the first millennium BC (until the arrival of the Romans in the first century BC), a research ...

The second year of the Yurta ‐Stroyno Archaeological Project continued in the excavation of the area selected the previous year. The stone foundations were further uncovered in their continuation both to the east and to the west of the investigated area. Disrupted soil from Rooms A and B, previously excavated by robbers, was cleaned to the sterile soil. The area of the settlement core was selectively walked while creating a geodetic site grid. During the random survey, several areas of outstanding surface concentrations were selected for future investigation. Further, documentation of the finds from the two years of the excavation progressed, with their selection given in this report. kEywordS Bulgaria; Thrace; Yurta; Stroyno; vicus; terracotta lamps; metals; glass; Thracian horse rider; votive terracotta plate. This volume of Studia Hercynia is very special to us, being dedicated to a great scholar and our mentor, Prof. Jan Bouzek. He is the one who brought two of the authors – P. ...

The article discusses the purpose, design and development of an epigraphical database created for a dissertation project with the title "Hellenisation of Ancient Thrace". The database has been populated with epigraphic data from a geographic area broadly conceived as falling within Ancient Thrace in a manner that crosses national and linguistic boundaries, and with an emphasis on the spatio-temporal attributes of individual inscriptions. The database makes possible the quantified analysis of more than 4000 inscriptions and their attributes, and is available for use and reuse by other scholars in epigraphy, philology, archaeology and other disciplines.

The Molyvoti, Thrace, Archaeological Project (MTAP) investigates the settlement inconclusively identified as ancient Stryme in its evolving regional, political, economic, and cultural contexts. This article outlines the project goals, summarizes prior archaeological activity at the site, and presents the results of the first season. Geophysical survey provided new data on the city’s grid plan, while excavation uncovered Classical roads and structures, an enigmatic circular feature, and a 20th-century war trench. Late Roman structures were identified at the site for the first time. This article proposes a new chronology for the city, examines the changing scope of its economic activity, and discusses its decline and later reoccupation. Preliminary catalogues of amphoras and coins accompany the report.