Thirty Years of Interdisciplinary Research at the Site of Pistiros

Abstract

The Thracian land was a very attractive place for the ancient Greeks and their economic expansion. At the end of the 5th century BC, the Greek inland emporion, known as Pistiros, was founded on the upper Maritsa River in inner Thrace, today south‑central Bulgaria. More than twenty‑five years of successful international cooperation of archaeology with environmental sciences has revealed the existence of a very important commercial centre with connections in the Thracian and the Aegean regions. The study summarizes the current state of research on the urbanized settlement and the river port. The environmental investigation, including the combined archaeobotanical and chemical analyses of organic residues in ceramics assessed here, as well as geomorphological research, contribute to a better understanding of the socio‑economic development of this unique archaeological site in Thrace.