Pistiros
Encyclopedia
Pistiros was an inland Ancient Greek
Emporium
in Ancient Thrace
. It is now situated in the territory of the city of Vetren
, municipality of Septemvri
, district of Pazardzhik
, between the northern slopes of the Rhodopi Mountain and the foothill of Sredna Gora
Mountain, in the westernmost part of the Maritsa
river valley.
Emporion Pistiros, a name taken from the ancient Greek
inscription discovered in 1990, was founded by Thasian
merchants or colonists from the Pistyros
on the coast of Thrace. It sustained intensive relations with the main economical centers in Aegean Thrace.
Pistiros was founded in the 3rd quarter of the 5th century BC. This would place her founding during the reign of the first kings of the Odrysian kingdom
, Teres I, Sparatocos
or Sitalkes
. Under Amadocus I the emporion already existed and maintained wide trade contacts. Under Cotys I (384 BC–359 BC) and his successors, the Thasian
, Apollonian
, and Maroneia
n traders obtained guarantees, included in the Vetren inscription, concerning the integrity of their life, property and activity. This status coincided with the period of zenith for Pistiros.
The excavations uncovered the East fortification wall with a gate, towers, and a bastion, built of stone blocks on the model of Thasian fortification systems, as well as stone-paved streets, buildings with stone bases, and a well-constructed sewer system. The archaeological excavations outlined the following phases of the site:
That co-existence between the Greeks
and Thracians
rendered them allies to a certain extent. The grave inscriptions of Greeks originating from Apollonia
and Maroneia
, discovered in Pistiros, and the names incised on pottery (graffiti) both of Thracians and Greeks, prove that the people from Pistiros were not homogenous ethnically.
Adjacent to the territory of emporion Pistiros are the Bessoi, the clan-keeper of the Dionysian sanctuary in the Rhodopes. Dionysos as a God, and the Bessi
, on his behalf, patronized and ensured the peaceful life and activity of the emporitai in the Upper Thrace. The oath taken in Dionysos’ name by King Cotys I and his successor, according to the Vetren inscription, represents additional proof for the significance of that cult in the official ideology of the Odrysian state.
The excavations provided much evidence regarding the cult practices in Pistiros. Amongst the artefacts discovered were preserved or fragmented clay altars with various forms and decorations (few of them preserved in situ), cult zoomorphic figurines made of clay or stone, clay anthropomorphic figurines, and miniature objects and portable hearths (pyraunoi). More than 1000 copper and silver coins discovered during the excavations in Pistiros shed light on its internal and external trade contacts. This is the unique numismatic complex discovered during ordinary excavations where the coinage of several Thracian rulers is represented, e.g. Amadocus I, Bergaios
, Cotys I, Amadocus II, Teres II
, Cersobleptes
, Seuthes III
. Here are also found coins from Greek city-states, e.g. Thasos
, Maroneia
, Parion, Thracian Chersonese
, Kypsela
, Enos
, Apollonia
, Messembria, Damastion
, Sermyle, Kardia
.
Teres
450 BC – 431 BC
Moreover the coinage of Ancient Macedonian
and Hellenistic rulers is represented (Philip II
, Alexander III the Great, Cassandros, Demetrios Poliorketes, Lysimachos, Seleucus I, etc.). In 1999 another fundamental discovery was made – a collective find consisting of 552 silver and gold coins issued by Alexander the Great, Demetrios Poliorketes, Lysimachos and Seleucus I.
The inhabitants of this antique centre imported luxury pottery from Attic workshops for their domestic usage. Among the painted pottery discovered in Pistiros, prevailing are vessels of krater and scyphos types, rarer than those of the kylix and pelike types. Scenes of everyday life, mythology, leisure, and games of the Ancient Greeks are depicted on the vessels. Represented in more variety are black glazed, e.g. scyphoi, kanthaoroi, bows and one-handled cups, kylices and various shapes of latter type, lekythoi, and fish plates. The import of luxurious Attic pottery in Pistiros was interrupted about the mid 3rd century BC. This trend is typical for whole Thracian plain.
Among the good number of fragments of amphorae, the greatest number are of those manufactured in Thasian workshops or in those belonging to the peraea of Thasos
. Various patterns of autochthonous pottery – handmade or wheeled – prevail compared to the imported pottery. One could observe entirely preserved vessels, e.g. sealed oenochoai representing scenes of the Dionysian cult – Silenus abducts a menade, a Satyr’s masque.
Thrace with its rich ledges succeeds in attracting the interest of the population from Aegean region. Emporion Pistiros, which was created under the tutelage of the Thracian kings, became key centre in the export of metals from Thrace to Ancient Greece. Despite the metal export, workshops for jewellery are organized as well in Thrace
. The crucibles, blowers, cuts, matrixes, moulds, etc., discovered in Pistiros, are evidence for the development of this activity (what activity) in this region. After the burning down of the emporion by the Celts in the early 3rd century BC, on its remains was established a village for manufacturing fibulae and other ornaments made of iron, bronze, silver and gold.
began in 1988. They led to the discovering of a big trade centre – emporion Pistiros – that had had a main part in the economical and cultural life in Ancient Thrace
.
The excavations of emporion Pistiros are done by a team of Bulgarian
, British
(Liverpool University), Polish
, Czech (Prague University), and French
(French School in Athens) archaeologists. The research work is carried out under the scientific guidance of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
in co-operation with the Archaeological Museum “Prof.Mieczysław Domaradzki” – town of Septemvri.
How it was possible to found a strongly fortified Greek city so far inland, even if apparently accessible for small boats on the Hebrus river, needs an explanation. The first idea, expressed by the Professor Mieczyslaw Domaradzki that the city was also a royal residence of the sub-king of the Upper Thrace, has little probability. No palace, nothing like hierarchy known from smaller sites – thurseis, or from Seuthopolis
, has not been uncovered at Pistiros, and M. Domardzki changed his mind soon after the famous inscription was found. Only very few scholars, among them G. Tsetskhladze, still expressed such opinion still in late nineties. The problem of identification of the place as Emporion Pistiros is also the most probable solution, as shown by further survey at the Roman Bona Mansio, some 3 km away. Apparently the city walls of the emporion served as quarry when building the Roman mansio, and a large number of stones used for the construction of Bona Mansio can easily be identified as coming from the emporion city walls: alternative explanations have therefore much less credibility.
The rich archaeological material found in Pistiros is preserved in the Archaeological Museum “Prof.Mieczysław Domaradzki” – town of Septemvri.The archaeological excavations on Pistiros were discussed in a good number of scientific conferences, publications, and exhibitions.
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
Emporium
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
in Ancient Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. It is now situated in the territory of the city of Vetren
Vetren
Vetren is a small town in the Pazardzhik Province, Bulgaria. It is one of the newest towns in the country, as it gained its town status in 2005. The population is 3,355. Vetren is located in a rich agricultural region close to the Trakiya motorway....
, municipality of Septemvri
Septemvri
Septemvri is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, located at the western end of the Upper Thracian Lowland, away to the west from the city of Pazardzhik. It is the administrative centre of homonymous Septemvri Municipality...
, district of Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, Southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality...
, between the northern slopes of the Rhodopi Mountain and the foothill of Sredna Gora
Sredna Gora
Sredna Gora is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to Balkan mountain range and extending from the river Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora is 285 km long, reaching 50 km at its greatest width...
Mountain, in the westernmost part of the Maritsa
Maritsa
The Maritsa or Evros , ) is, with a length of 480 km, the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans. It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, flowing southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains, past Plovdiv and Parvomay to Edirne, Turkey...
river valley.
Emporion Pistiros, a name taken from the ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
inscription discovered in 1990, was founded by Thasian
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia. It is the northernmost Greek island, and 12th largest by area...
merchants or colonists from the Pistyros
Pistyros
Pistyros was an ancient ancient Greek polis on the coast of Thrace. It was founded as a colony of Thasos and itself may have founded Pistiros in inland Thrace.Pistiros has been identified with the remains of a fortified settlement east of Pontolivado located near the Vasova salt lake.The...
on the coast of Thrace. It sustained intensive relations with the main economical centers in Aegean Thrace.
Pistiros was founded in the 3rd quarter of the 5th century BC. This would place her founding during the reign of the first kings of the Odrysian kingdom
Odrysian kingdom
The Odrysian kingdom was a union of Thracian tribes that endured between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC. It consisted largely of present-day Bulgaria, spreading to parts of Northern Dobruja, parts of Northern Greece and modern-day European Turkey...
, Teres I, Sparatocos
Sparatocos
Sparatocos was a king of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace from ca. 450 BC to before 431 BC, succeeding his father, Teres I....
or Sitalkes
Sitalkes
Sitalces was one of the great kings of the Thracian Odrysian state. He was the son of Teres I, and on the sudden death of his father in 431 BC succeeded to the throne...
. Under Amadocus I the emporion already existed and maintained wide trade contacts. Under Cotys I (384 BC–359 BC) and his successors, the Thasian
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia. It is the northernmost Greek island, and 12th largest by area...
, Apollonian
Apollonia (Chalcidice)
Apollonia was the ancient chief town of Chalcidice in Macedonia, situated north of Olynthus, and a little south of the Chalcidian mountains. That this Apollonia is a different place from Apollonia in Mygdonia, appears from Xenophon, who describes the Chalcidian Apollonia as distant 10 or 12 miles...
, and Maroneia
Maroneia
Maroneia is a village and a former municipality in the Rhodope peripheral unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Maroneia-Sapes, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 7,644...
n traders obtained guarantees, included in the Vetren inscription, concerning the integrity of their life, property and activity. This status coincided with the period of zenith for Pistiros.
The excavations uncovered the East fortification wall with a gate, towers, and a bastion, built of stone blocks on the model of Thasian fortification systems, as well as stone-paved streets, buildings with stone bases, and a well-constructed sewer system. The archaeological excavations outlined the following phases of the site:
- I phase (second half of the 5th century BC – end of the first quarter of the 4th century BC): foundation of the emporion, building of the fortification system, pavement of the first streets, building of the drainage system.
- II phase (second quarter – end of the 4th century BC): reconstruction in the site’s plan, connected with the reign of King Cotys I, heyday of Pistiros, regulations concerning the statute of Pistiros and its emporitai (Ancient GreekAncient GreekAncient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
,"Εμπορίται") in the Vetren inscription. - III phase (3rd century BC – beginning of the 2nd century BC): burning down and destruction of Pistiros by the Celts in the late 3rd century BC as well as its transformation into a metal production centre.
The Vetren inscription
The inscription in Ancient Greek states
If a merchant brings suit against another merchant (in Pistiros) they shall be judjged among their kinsmen and with regard to whatever is owed to the merchants by Thracians, there shall be no cancellation of these debts.All land and pasture owned by the merchants shall not be taken away from them.He shall not send holders of estates(?) to the merchants.He shall not install a garrison at Pistiros nor will he transfer Pistiros to another.He shall not exchange the land lots of the Pistirians nor transfer them to another.Neither he nor members of his family shall seize the property of the merchants.He shall not levy road taxes on any goods exported by the merchants from Pistiros to Maronea of from Maronea to Pistiros or to the market place Belana of the Praseoi. The merchants shall open and close their wagons.Just as also in the time of Cotys[I swear this oath];Neither i nor anyone of my family will blind or kill a citizen of Maronea;Nor shall i or any member of my family seize the property of a citizen of Maronea,whether he be alive or dead;Nor shall i nor anyone of my family will blind or kill a citizen of Apollonia or Thasos who is living in Pistiros whether he is alive or dead
That co-existence between the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Thracians
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
rendered them allies to a certain extent. The grave inscriptions of Greeks originating from Apollonia
Apollonia (Chalcidice)
Apollonia was the ancient chief town of Chalcidice in Macedonia, situated north of Olynthus, and a little south of the Chalcidian mountains. That this Apollonia is a different place from Apollonia in Mygdonia, appears from Xenophon, who describes the Chalcidian Apollonia as distant 10 or 12 miles...
and Maroneia
Maroneia
Maroneia is a village and a former municipality in the Rhodope peripheral unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Maroneia-Sapes, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 7,644...
, discovered in Pistiros, and the names incised on pottery (graffiti) both of Thracians and Greeks, prove that the people from Pistiros were not homogenous ethnically.
Adjacent to the territory of emporion Pistiros are the Bessoi, the clan-keeper of the Dionysian sanctuary in the Rhodopes. Dionysos as a God, and the Bessi
Bessi
The Bessi were an independent Thracian tribe who lived in a territory ranging from Moesia to Mount Rhodope in southern Thrace, but are often mentioned as dwelling about Haemus, the mountain range that separates Moesia from Thrace and from Mount Rhodope to the northern part of Hebrus...
, on his behalf, patronized and ensured the peaceful life and activity of the emporitai in the Upper Thrace. The oath taken in Dionysos’ name by King Cotys I and his successor, according to the Vetren inscription, represents additional proof for the significance of that cult in the official ideology of the Odrysian state.
The excavations provided much evidence regarding the cult practices in Pistiros. Amongst the artefacts discovered were preserved or fragmented clay altars with various forms and decorations (few of them preserved in situ), cult zoomorphic figurines made of clay or stone, clay anthropomorphic figurines, and miniature objects and portable hearths (pyraunoi). More than 1000 copper and silver coins discovered during the excavations in Pistiros shed light on its internal and external trade contacts. This is the unique numismatic complex discovered during ordinary excavations where the coinage of several Thracian rulers is represented, e.g. Amadocus I, Bergaios
Bergaios
Bergaios or Bergaeus , 400 – 350 BC, was a Thracian king in the Pangaian region. He is known mainly from the several types of coins that he struck, which resemble those of Thasos. Bergaios could mean literally, 'a man from Berge but the legend on the coin is a personal, not a place name.-External...
, Cotys I, Amadocus II, Teres II
Teres II
Teres II was a king of the Odrysians in middle Thrace from 351 BC to 342 BC, succeeding his father, Amatokos II. His rule lasted until the region was taken over by the Macedonian king Philip II....
, Cersobleptes
Cersobleptes
Cersobleptes was son of Cotys, king of Thrace, on whose death in 358 BC he inherited the kingdom in conjunction with Berisades and Amadocus II, who were probably his brothers. He was very young at the time, and the whole management of his affairs was assumed by the Euboean adventurer, Charidemus,...
, Seuthes III
Seuthes III
Seuthes III was a king of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace from ca. 331 BC to ca. 300 BC, at first tributary to Alexander the Great of Macedon....
. Here are also found coins from Greek city-states, e.g. Thasos
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia. It is the northernmost Greek island, and 12th largest by area...
, Maroneia
Maroneia
Maroneia is a village and a former municipality in the Rhodope peripheral unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Maroneia-Sapes, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 7,644...
, Parion, Thracian Chersonese
Thracian Chersonese
The Thracian Chersonese was the ancient name of the Gallipoli peninsula, in the part of historic Thrace that is now part of modern Turkey.The peninsula runs in a south-westerly direction into the Aegean Sea, between the Hellespont and the bay of Melas . Near Agora it was protected by a wall...
, Kypsela
Kypsela
Kypsela was an ancient Greek city located in Thrace , located in the region between the river Nestos to the river Hebros....
, Enos
Enos
Enos or Enosh, may refer to:-People in religious scripture:* Enos , a genealogical figure in the Bible.* The Book of Enos, one of the books that make up The Book of Mormon...
, Apollonia
Apollonia (Chalcidice)
Apollonia was the ancient chief town of Chalcidice in Macedonia, situated north of Olynthus, and a little south of the Chalcidian mountains. That this Apollonia is a different place from Apollonia in Mygdonia, appears from Xenophon, who describes the Chalcidian Apollonia as distant 10 or 12 miles...
, Messembria, Damastion
Damastion
Damastion was an ancient city in the area of central Balkans. Various sites in Serbia and Macedonia and Albania have been considered as the location of this ancient town....
, Sermyle, Kardia
Kardia
Kardia is the 2006 debut feature film of director Su Rynard. It weaves fable, fiction, science, and metaphor to tell the story of Hope, a pathologist who embarks on an unusual journey of reconciliation. Hope discovers that the experimental heart operation she underwent as a child has mysteriously...
.
Teres
Teres
Teres I , was the first king of the Odrysian state of Thrace. Teres, who united the 40 or more Thracian tribes under one banner, was well-known for his military abilities and spent much of his life on the battlefield. He died during a military campaign in 445 BC...
450 BC – 431 BC
Moreover the coinage of Ancient Macedonian
Ancient Macedonian
Ancient Macedonian can refer to:*Ancient Macedonians, inhabitants of Macedon*Ancient Macedonian language...
and Hellenistic rulers is represented (Philip II
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
, Alexander III the Great, Cassandros, Demetrios Poliorketes, Lysimachos, Seleucus I, etc.). In 1999 another fundamental discovery was made – a collective find consisting of 552 silver and gold coins issued by Alexander the Great, Demetrios Poliorketes, Lysimachos and Seleucus I.
The inhabitants of this antique centre imported luxury pottery from Attic workshops for their domestic usage. Among the painted pottery discovered in Pistiros, prevailing are vessels of krater and scyphos types, rarer than those of the kylix and pelike types. Scenes of everyday life, mythology, leisure, and games of the Ancient Greeks are depicted on the vessels. Represented in more variety are black glazed, e.g. scyphoi, kanthaoroi, bows and one-handled cups, kylices and various shapes of latter type, lekythoi, and fish plates. The import of luxurious Attic pottery in Pistiros was interrupted about the mid 3rd century BC. This trend is typical for whole Thracian plain.
Among the good number of fragments of amphorae, the greatest number are of those manufactured in Thasian workshops or in those belonging to the peraea of Thasos
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia. It is the northernmost Greek island, and 12th largest by area...
. Various patterns of autochthonous pottery – handmade or wheeled – prevail compared to the imported pottery. One could observe entirely preserved vessels, e.g. sealed oenochoai representing scenes of the Dionysian cult – Silenus abducts a menade, a Satyr’s masque.
Thrace with its rich ledges succeeds in attracting the interest of the population from Aegean region. Emporion Pistiros, which was created under the tutelage of the Thracian kings, became key centre in the export of metals from Thrace to Ancient Greece. Despite the metal export, workshops for jewellery are organized as well in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. The crucibles, blowers, cuts, matrixes, moulds, etc., discovered in Pistiros, are evidence for the development of this activity (what activity) in this region. After the burning down of the emporion by the Celts in the early 3rd century BC, on its remains was established a village for manufacturing fibulae and other ornaments made of iron, bronze, silver and gold.
Archaeological excavations
The excavations of the archaeological site on the left bank of MaritsaMaritsa
The Maritsa or Evros , ) is, with a length of 480 km, the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans. It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, flowing southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains, past Plovdiv and Parvomay to Edirne, Turkey...
began in 1988. They led to the discovering of a big trade centre – emporion Pistiros – that had had a main part in the economical and cultural life in Ancient Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
.
The excavations of emporion Pistiros are done by a team of Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
, British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
(Liverpool University), Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, Czech (Prague University), and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
(French School in Athens) archaeologists. The research work is carried out under the scientific guidance of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy is autonomous and has a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members...
in co-operation with the Archaeological Museum “Prof.Mieczysław Domaradzki” – town of Septemvri.
How it was possible to found a strongly fortified Greek city so far inland, even if apparently accessible for small boats on the Hebrus river, needs an explanation. The first idea, expressed by the Professor Mieczyslaw Domaradzki that the city was also a royal residence of the sub-king of the Upper Thrace, has little probability. No palace, nothing like hierarchy known from smaller sites – thurseis, or from Seuthopolis
Seuthopolis
Seuthopolis was an ancient hellenistic-type city founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III, and the capital of the Odrysian kingdom. The city was founded sometime from 325 BC to 315 BC...
, has not been uncovered at Pistiros, and M. Domardzki changed his mind soon after the famous inscription was found. Only very few scholars, among them G. Tsetskhladze, still expressed such opinion still in late nineties. The problem of identification of the place as Emporion Pistiros is also the most probable solution, as shown by further survey at the Roman Bona Mansio, some 3 km away. Apparently the city walls of the emporion served as quarry when building the Roman mansio, and a large number of stones used for the construction of Bona Mansio can easily be identified as coming from the emporion city walls: alternative explanations have therefore much less credibility.
The rich archaeological material found in Pistiros is preserved in the Archaeological Museum “Prof.Mieczysław Domaradzki” – town of Septemvri.The archaeological excavations on Pistiros were discussed in a good number of scientific conferences, publications, and exhibitions.
Publications
- Домарадски, М., 1991, "Том I. Емпорион Пистирос: Трако-гръцки търговски отношения" ИК "Беллопринт" - Пазарджик, 1991 г.;
- Домарадски, М., 1994 г., "Изложба цар Котис I. Тракийската държава. Емпорион Пистирос", каталог, гр. Септември, 1994 г.;
- Домарадски, М., Танева, В., 1998 г., "Том II. Емпорион Пистирос: Тракийската култура в прехода към елинистичната епоха", гр. Септември, 1998.;
- Bouzek, J., Domaradzki, M., Archibald, Z., eds. 1997: Pistiros I, Excavations and Studies, Prague;
- Bouzek, J., Domaradzka, L., Archibald, Z., eds. 2002: Pistiros II, Excavations and Studies, Prague;
- Bouzek, J., Domaradzka, L., eds. 2005: The Culture of Thracians and their Neighbours: Proceedings of the International Symposium in Memory of Prof. Mieczyslaw Domaradzki, with a Round Table "Archaeological Map of Bulgaria", BAR International Series 1350;
- Domaradzki, M., Domaradzka, L., Bouzek, J., Rostropowicz, J., eds. 2000: Pistiros et Thasos: Structures economiques dans la peninsule balkanique aux VII e — II e siecles av. J.-C., Opole;
- Bouzek, J., Domaradzka, L., Archibald, Z., eds. 2007: Pistiros III, Excavations and Studies, Prague.
External links
- Emporion Pistiros Excavations Official web site
- MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies. International Hellenic University-School of Humanities