Archaeology of the Pontic Coast Coastal Fortresses, Settlements and Harbour Zones in the Province of Moesia Secunda (original) (raw)

The present study is a continuation of the book entitled ‘Mare Ponticum. Coastal Fortresses and Harbour Zones in the Province of Haemimont, 5th - 7th Centuries' issued in 2018. It largely follows the structure and methodology of the previous study. The emphasis is laid on the history of fortresses, settlements and harbour zones in the coastal area of the province of Moesia Secunda. The description of early Christian temples built outside the fortress walls, but near small bays and river mouths, have also been included in the present text. Territorially, the new study covers a relatively small coastal area locked between the mouths of the Batova and Dvoynitsa rivers, which area is the eastern coastal border of the province. Structurally, the book contains separate chapters that deal with issues related to the southeastern, northeastern, and eastern borders of the province of Moesia Secunda; the modern geographical division of the territory, the features of the investigated coastline and the shallow water (coastal) zone; the description of fortresses, settlements, temples and harbour zones. In the concluding part, some problems and trends in the study of both land and underwater sites are presented. The book, in addition to a summary of already known data yielded by the written sources and conducted archaeological surveys of the sites, includes also new unpublished data and materials from the author’s own surveys carried out in the 2023-2024 period. What I have in mind here refers to the underwater surveys in the water area of Cape Killik to the mouth of the Kamchia River; the geophysical surveys at Cape Killik and the sunken island at the mouth of the Kamchia River; the underwater research in the Eski Baalak Bay at Cape Galata; the underwater surveys in the harbour zone of the Kastritsi fortress and the field-walking in the area of the villages of Kranevo, Bliznatsi, Shkorpilovtsi and the town of Byala. The book also contains descriptions of archaeological materials stored in the depositories of the museums in Byala and Varna an