Lyudmil Vagalinski

This is an edited volume of papers delivered at a conference ”Heraclea Sintica: from Hellenistic polis to Roman civitas (4th c. BC — 6th c. AD)“, which took place on September 19-21, 2013 in Petrich, Bulgaria.

CONTENTS:
L. Vagalinski, E. Nankov. Preface
E. Nankov. In Search of a Founder and the Early Years of Heraclea Sintica
M.-G. Parissaki. Reconstructing the Tribal History of the Middle Strymon Valley: The Impact of the Muletarovo Inscription
G. Mitrev. On the Borders and Urban Territory of Heraclea Sintica
D. Garbov. Roman and Early Byzantine Rural Landscapes along the Middle Strymon: A Preliminary Overview
L. Vagalinski. Recent Archaeological Data about Heraclea Sintica
I. Cholakov. Handcraft Production in Heraclea Sintica (On Archaeological Data)
S. Alexandrova. The Black-Slipped Pottery from Heraclea Sintica (1st — 4th c. AD)
S. Neykova. Scientific and Ethical Approaches to the Restoration of Terracotta Finds from Heraclea Sintica
S. Ivanov, Sv. Filipova. Numismatic Data from the Archaeological Excavations at Heraclea Sintica Located on the Hill of Kozhuh, Petrich Municipality
E. Paunov. The Bronze Coinage of Heraclea Sintica
J. Bozhinova. Hellenistic and Roman Necropolis near the Village of Rupite, Petrich Municipality
M. Andonova. The Coins from the Necropolis ”Metlata“ near the Village of Rupite (F. Muletarovo), Municipality of Petrich
E. Nankov, D. Stoyanova. Stone Door of a Roman Tomb from the Necropolis of Heraclea Sintica
M. Koleva. Towards Roman Provincial Art: Small Pieces from Heraclea Sintica
R. Milcheva. Roman Gravestones with Portraits from the Middle Struma Valley

This poster presents the results of the second season of the American Research Center in Sofa’s (ARCS) feld school excavations at the ancient Macedonian site of Heraclea Sintica, located near the village of Rupite in southwest Bulgaria. An inscription discovered in 2002 preserves the granting of city status to the Heracleans under Galerius and defnitively identifes the site at Rupite as that of Heraclea Sintica, a city previously known from ancient literature and coinage. Located at the juncture of the ancient Strymon and Pontos Rivers, Heraclea Sin- tica was the second city of the Roman province of Macedonia Prima; it was likely founded in the Early Hellenistic period and occupied through the late fourth cen- tury C.E. The ARCS feld school joins the excavations of the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, underway since 2007, in the frst American-Bulgarian joint archaeological project. The 2013 ARCS excavations concentrated on the area adjacent to a Late Roman terracotta workshop, hoping to clarify phases of occupation, urban layout, and the use of urban space. This season’s excavations concentrated on the northwest corner of a stone building of uncertain function and forwarded our research goals through the exposure of two occupation layers, deposited in rapid succession over a major destruction layer. This sequence promises to add nuance to the current understanding of the occupation sequence, which has been previously divided according to four major periods. While conclusions are still preliminary, fnds have confrmed the prominence of local terracotta production and have revealed, for the frst time, the presence of high-quality interior decoration, including mosaics, painted plaster, and marble ornament.