Food economy and land use during the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman period (1600 BC-400 AD) in Southeast Bulgaria: bioarcheological perspectives

Ancient Thrace was an extensive area that occupied part of south-eastern Europe (mainly modern Bulgaria and Romania) and played a key role as a bridge between Classical Civilisations and the temperate ‘Barbarian’ Europe, becoming a unique interacting world between East and West. It was not an ethnically and culturally homogenous region, but was rather composed of numerous tribes that shared a common material culture. Thracian peoples are notably famous for their gold working. Yet, few is known about their subsistence and daily life. The period comprised between 1600 BC and 400 AD, which encompasses the development of Ancient Thrace and its subsequent incorporation in the Roman Empire, is of prime ecological importance. It was witness to the dramatic increase in human pressure on the environment, consecutive to population growth, and which had a direct and irreversible impact on landscape. Through an innovative integrated approach, combining methods derived from several environmental and archaeological disciplines, our project provides a unique opportunity to document for the first time the Thracian agro-pastoral economy and land use strategies, their evolution through time and their environmental impact. We will for instance, investigate if the successive cultural influences (Greek, Persian, Celt, Roman) also impacted on agropastoral practices or if Thracians tried to adjust their land use strategies to their changing natural environment.