Fitch Bursary Holder
Research
I am a classical archaeologist flirting with ceramic petrography. Currently, my main specialisation is Roman and Late Antique pottery from Ancient Thrace, a material which I approach from a typological as well as from an archaeometry point of view. I am also interested in pottery technology, as well as in experimental archaeology, regarding both pottery forming and firing. In Thrace, I study the interaction of Romans and Thracians as reflected in pottery production in the area along the middle stream of the Tundzha River in Yambol Region, Bulgaria, drawing from all these strands of information. Besides pottery, my main specialisation is field survey and geographical information systems (GIS).
Project
The project I am working on at the Fitch Laboratory, Tracing trade networks in Roman Thrace through pottery analysis, examines pottery from two archaeological sites in the Yambol Region – the Roman period rural settlement of Yurta-Stroyno and the Late Antique hillfort of Dodoparon. Selected pottery from both sites, in total counting 155 pottery sherds, together with about 40 geological samples, are being examined by ceramic petrography. Additionally, the elemental composition of the pottery is determined using WD-XRF. During my stay in Athens, data resulting from both types of analysis will be integrated aiming at shedding light on local pottery production and regional and interregional trade during the Roman period and Late Antiquity.