Archaeology of landscape: field survey in the Valley of Hadzhiiska, Byala and Aheloy River

Abstract

In the autumn of 2020 and spring of 2021, archaeological and geological field surveys were conducted within the Nessebar and Pomorie municipalities, as part of the project “Archaeology of Landscape: Patterns of Reconstruction of the Ancient Environment.” The project aims to reconstruct the landscapes of the Southern slopes of The Emine Stara Planina Mountain during Antiquity, as well as investigate human impact on the environment and archaeological sites. During the surveys, 102 new archaeological sites were discovered (see Fig. 1). Two sites date back to the Late Chalcolithic period, four to the Late Bronze Age, and nine small settlements to the Early Iron Age. These settlements were located along the banks of the Aheloy River and Hadzhiiska River. The majority of the sites (51 settlements) date back to the second half of the 1st millennium BC. Eleven settlements were dated to the Archaic and Classical periods, and ten to the Hellenistic period. Thirty sites did not yield enough diagnostic artifacts, and thus were largely dated to the second half of the 1st millennium BC. The Early and Late Roman periods, as well as Late Antiquity, were represented by a total of 54 sites, with 13 sites from the Roman period and 41 from Late Antiquity. However, this remains a conditional division, as some of the sites from Late Antiquity could potentially date back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The Medieval period was represented by 46 sites, with three sites dating back to the earliest part of the period (8-10th century). These sites contain pottery from the First Bulgarian Kingdom, while eleven sites belong to the 10th-12th centuries, and eighteen sites to the 13th-14th centuries.