Excavations on the site of this remarkable fort in northern Bulgaria (1996–2005) formed part of a long-term program of excavation and intensive field survey, aimed at tracing the economic as well as physical changes which mark the transition from the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages, a program that commenced with the excavation and full publication of the early Byzantine fortress/city of Nicopolis ad Istrum.
The analysis of well-dated finds and their full publication provides a unique database for the late Roman period in the Balkans; they include metal-work, pottery (local and imported fine ware), glass, copper alloy finds, inscriptions and dipinti (on amphorae), as well as quantified environmental reports on animal, birds, and fish with specialist reports on the archaeobotanical material, glass analysis, and querns.
The report also details the results of site-specific intensive survey, a new method developed for use in the rich farmland of the central Balkans. In addition, there is a detailed report on a most remarkable and well-preserved aqueduct, which employed the largest siphon ever discovered in the Roman Empire.
This publication will provide a substantial database of material and environmental finds, an invaluable resource for the region and for the Roman Empire: material invaluable for studies, which seeks to place the late Roman urban and military identity within its regional and extra-regional economic setting.
Acknowledgments (A. Poulter)
Summary and conclusions (A. Poulter)
Introduction (A. Poulter)
1. Area C, the east gate (A. Poulter)
2. Area D, two storeyed houses/barracks south of street 1 (A. Poulter)
3. Area E, The granaries, store rooms, the western defences (A. Poulter)
4. Area G, a 5th century building (A. Poulter)
5. Area H, the church (A. Poulter)
6. Area K, houses/barracks north of street 1 (A. Poulter)
7. Area F, the north-western quarter and the defences (V. Dinchev, translated by A. Poulter)
8. The western aqueduct for Nicopolis ad Istrum (I. Tsurov, translated by A. Poulter)
9. The Roman aqueduct (A. Poulter)
10. The coin finds (P. Guest)
11. Small finds (E. Ghey)
12. The Ironwork (W. Manning)
13. Finds of bone and horn (P. Vladkova, translated by A. Poulter)
14. Rotary querns, rubbing stones and a stone bowl (S. Watts)
15. Vessel glass (A. Cholakova, translated by A. Poulter)
16. Through the looking glass: an analysis of the glass finds
17. The lamps (V. Swan)
18. The prehistoric pottery (T. Hristova, translated by A. Poulter)
19. The Dipinti and Graffiti (R, Tomlin)
20. Late Roman and early Byzantine pottery (V. Swan)
21. The plant remains (P. Grinter)
22. The fish bones (R. Parks)
23. Mammal and bird bones (C. Johnstone and A. Hammon)
24. Human remains (C. Johnstone)
25. Geomorphic investigations in and around the fort and in the flood plain of the river Rositsa (H. Neuman)
26. A new approach to site-specific intensive survey (A. Poulter)
27. The field survey: sites and their interpretation (A. Poulter)
28. The late Roman building and settlement structures in the Rositsa valley: the geophysical results (M. Boyd)
29. The Bulgarian field walking pottery (B. Hurman)
Appendix: the Fabrics and thin-sections
