Coin Circulation in the Balkans in Late Antiquity

The archaeological excavations carried out on late Roman and early Byzantine sites in the Balkans has revolutionized our knowledge of this part of the world in Late Antiquity. How these sites are dated is obviously important as, without accurate and reliable dating, it is difficult to understand how they fit into the wider historical narrative. This chapter takes the coins excavated at Dichin as its starting point and, by careful analysis, proposes a general dating scheme for the two phases of occupation at the settlement. The lack of coins struck during the years 474–518 is a notable feature of the assemblage from Dichin, a pattern that is repeated at most sites in the region where coins of the emperor Zeno are particularly rare. By looking at both site finds and hoards from the region, however, these explanations need to be revised as they are based on a numismatic mirage rather than archaeological fact.

Dichin (Bulgaria): Interpreting the Ceramic Evidence in its Wider Context

In the Dichin (north central Bulgaria) store-buildings destroyed in about the 480s, the large quantities of imported Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea amphorae typify late Roman military supply (annona) to the forts of the lower Danube limes. A dearth of amphorae at Dichin for most of the sixth century is linked ultimately to alterations in trading patterns in the Mediterranean as a whole. A slight increase in amphorae shortly before the final destruction of c.580 reflects a significant recasting of supply sources. The few imported red-slipped wares are mostly late fifth century and of Pontic origin. During the sixth century, modifications in the local coarse pottery reflect cultural changes in the region — the decline of Romanized eating practices and the impact of the barbarian social traditions. The wider significance of ‘foederati ware’ for the Germanic settlement of the region and its influence on the technology of indigenous ceramics production are also explored.

The Environmental Archaeology Research Programme at Nicopolis: Methodology and Results

This chapter describes the methodology and results of the environmental archaeology research programme at Nicopolis ad Istrum in the Balkans. The aims of the research programme were: to determine the use of the major domestic animal and plant species and to explore what husbandry practices may have been employed; to examine the changing role of domestic versus wild resources; to reconstruct the likely natural environment close to Nicopolis, using the presence of particular species and their known habitats. This chapter presents examinations of epigraphic and documentary evidence found at the site, including coins and animal footprints. A large quantity of bio-archaeological data was collected, including bone fragments of mammals, birds, and fish; moderate quantities of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine mollusca; and large quantities of cereals, pulses, edible fruits, and nuts, as well as wild plants.

The Late Roman Army and the Defence of the Balkans

In Late Antiquity, the Balkans were transformed from a relatively prosperous region to one of great insecurity, with emperors increasingly inclined to ignore problems as long as they did not threaten the security of Constantinople itself; the Roman troops in the Balkans might appear inadequate in both quality and quantity for dealing with the challenges from beyond the Danube, particularly those posed by the great federations of Huns and Avars. Huns and Avars both shattered the Roman Empire's defences, but the process took time. Overall, the performance of the Roman army in the defence of the Balkans might seem mixed for such a significant area, although periods of considerable success should be recognized. Logistics as well as strategic and tactical thinking were powerful advantages for the Romans, and were exploited right through until the early seventh century.

Site-Specific Field Survey: the Methodology

A field survey was undertaken to understand the date and character of villas and villages within the territory of the ancient town of Nicopolis ad Istrum in Bulgaria. The principal aim was to discover whether there had been a major dislocation in the traditional Roman settlement pattern which might explain the radical changes that affected the layout, function and economy of the city during the late fifth and sixth centuries AD. The work was principally directed towards villas because, as in other provinces, it was the villa-owning class which supported the city financially and, as the ruling elite, was responsible for urban administration; numerous second- to third-century tombstones from the city's territory, evidently set up on villa estates, record the role played by the landed class in the organization of Nicopolis, either as members of the assembly (bouleutes), or as magistrates. This chapter describes the survey methodology, developed for the Transition to Late Antiquity. It originated in a surprisingly successful survey which discovered a new early Byzantine ‘city’ in north-eastern Greece.

Extensive Field Survey in North Central Bulgaria

The Roman city of Nicopolis ad Istrum and its territory lie in north central Bulgaria. Although the exact extent of the ancient city's territorial jurisdiction is unknown, in general terms the location of its fertile heartland is readily identifiable. The hinterland of the city was within the Roman province of Thrace from the foundation of Nicopolis c.AD 108 down to c.AD 193 when it was transferred to the province of Moesia Inferior. It comprised three distinct regions with different geographical characteristics. The southern part included the upland slopes of the Turnovo hills. The middle region, where the city was located, included the river valleys of the Rositsa and part of the Yantra while the third formed part of the agriculturally fertile light soils of the Danube basin. Within this area, survey has identified more than 300 settlements, dating from the first to the sixth centuries AD, all of which have been recorded as part of the national programme for the identification and description of ancient settlements.

Caričin Grad and the Changes in the Nature of Urbanism in the Central Balkans in the Sixth Century

Caričin Grad (Justiniana Prima) is an ideal site for studying urbanism in the early Byzantine period. Amongst the numerous early Byzantine sites in the central Balkans, Caričin Grad is one of the very few that was a city and was founded in the sixth century. Its fortifications include three separate walled areas (the Acropolis, the Upper City, and the Lower City). Contrary to the traditional view, this chapter argues that the walls of the Acropolis were not part of the original plan and that the Upper and Lower Cities were established at the same time. The Church and the army occupied more than two-thirds of the Upper City and the Lower Town contained mainly public buildings. The only known intramural residential area lies in the south-west corner of the Lower City. Houses here were built of stone bonded with clay at ground-floor level, and the upper floor was constructed with a timber frame and cob walls and had tile roofs. It is also very likely that there was an extramural population, protected by a ditch and palisades.

The Two Anglo-Bulgarian Research Programmes and the Results of the Bulgarian Excavations

In 1985, archaeologists from Bulgaria and Britain began a collaborative work with the initiation of two complementary projects. The first one was entitled ‘The Roman and late Roman city; Nicopolis ad Istrum’ (1985–1992) when the archaeological research of both teams was concentrated upon the Roman city and its late antique successor. The ‘City of Victory’ was founded by the emperor Trajan and is one of the largest archaelogical sites in the Balkans. The second programme represents a continuation and an expansion of the first and was entitled ‘The city and the village in the Roman and late Roman Empire: Nicopolis ad Istrum and nucleated settlement in its territory’ (1996–2002). It initiated work on the site of the late antique fortified settlement near the village of Dichin. Nicopolis, like the other cities in Thrace, was organized according to the Greek model, on similar lines to those found in the cities of Asia Minor. This influence is reflected in the character of the town, its plan, its agora and in its principal buildings.

The Contribution of Regional Survey to the Late Antiquity Debate: Greece in its Mediterranean Context

The fall of the Roman Empire remains a mystery. Archaeological and historical concerns today are less metaphysical and more intellectually challenging at the level of reconstructing the processes at work before, during and long after the official sack of Rome, and are as much focused on the succeeding transition to the medieval world as on the build-up to imperial decay and collapse. This chapter presents a grassroots case-study examination of the transformation of society in town and country in central Greece, founded on a regional survey project that has been running for 25 years. From the arrival of Roman control, through Late Antiquity and into the resurgence of strong state control emanating out of Byzantium in the eighth-nineth centuries AD, this chapter tries to set the patterns, provisional interpretations and questions which have arisen from the sequence in this region into wider debates around the Mediterranean concerning the contribution of regional archaeological surveys to the late antique-early medieval transition.

Geophysical Survey and Rural Settlement Architecture on the Lower Danube at the Transition to Late Antiquity

One of the key aims of the ‘Transition to Late Antiquity’ research programme has been to collect a systematic data sample in order to examine local patterns and disparities at a regional level. In this project, an understanding of inter- and intra-settlement patterns of occupation is primarily acquired by calculating total density distributions of surface material, but for the examination of individual architectural units and the relationships between them, a geophysical survey has been used because of its particular ability to provide detailed information about subsurface features over a large area without excavation. This chapter describes the approach and methodology employed in the geophysical surveys carried out to assess rural settlement patterns in Bulgaria (lower Danube) as part of the ‘Transition to Late Antiquity’ research programme. Examples of particular surveys — which in general have proved remarkably successful — are used to illustrate the results.