Bulgarian coastal fishery from the Upper Palaeolithic till nowadays reveals remarkable evolution in terms of used fishing gears, utilization areas and targeted species. Greek colonization of the Bulgarian coast began at the end of 7th century BCE. At that time more advanced fishing gear were introduced into the fishing industry in Bulgaria. In the newly formed Slavic-Bulgarian state, both in early and middle Medieval periods, fishing developed under the influence of Byzantium, which continued to develop shipping and trade in the western Black Sea cities near Constantinople, as well as places near to the Danube River and in Crimea at the same time. For almost five centuries (1396 - 1878), Bulgaria became a province of the Ottoman Empire. Different types of rents and confiscations of the fish were introduced. After liberation from Ottoman rule, the Bulgarian fishery lost a large share of its significance for the national economy. Fishing continued to be a backward, non-isolated branch of material production, which did not play a significant role in the country‘s economy. Active Black Sea fishing began with the introduction of trawling into the Black Sea fishery in 1921. In 1948, the fishing cooperatives voluntarily disbanded and became part of the state enterprise, together with their assets and liabilities. Until 1990, government efforts focused mainly on large-scale fisheries. It is only after this date that the number of small-scale fishing vessels increased rapidly, now making up the bulk of the fleet. At present, the Bulgarian fleet operates exclusively in the Black Sea and 95.28 % of the Bulgarian vessels are <12 m in length, and most of the vessels use set gillnets as their preferred gear type.
Fishing is a natural occupation for the inhabitants of any maritime town, and Crimean Cherson is no exception. According to archaeological research, fishing was already highly developed from the very beginnings of the town, established during the Greek colonisation period. In the 2nd century BCE, fish was used to produce garum, a fish sauce. This is documented through the many finds of fish vats, large structures in which garum was made, the production of which continued in Cherson at least until the 11th century CE.This paper focuses on the archaeological features that show evidence for the extensive processing of fish in Cherson. Furthermore, it considers the importance of this “industry” for the economy of Cherson, and the probable consequences, given the stable income, for the development and status of Cherson within the Byzantine Empire.
This paper presents an analysis of the environmental conditions for fishing and fish processing in Tanais, southern Russia, on the broader background of the territories surrounding the Sea of Azov. Although historical sources indicate that fishing played a crucial role in the region’s economy during Hellenistic and Roman times, archaeoichthyological sources show that the amount of fish as well as the species represented archaeologically in the area vary substantially. In the authors’ opinion, ecology is the main factor impacting fishing: interregional differences and changing environmental conditions around the Sea of Azov. The region has been divided into three areas according to current environmental conditions, given the similarity between the present-day climate and that of Hellenistic times. This paper discusses the diachronic changes in catches, availability of fish, the impact of climate and changes in the water basins that affect species composition, focusing especially on the Don delta.
In this paper, we discuss possible waterscape exploitation of Razelm-Golovița lagoon system in Antiquity using a new paleo-environmental reconstruction and a revision of relative and absolute chronologies of the evolution of the southern Danube Delta in relation to the historical development of the Greek settlements of Orgame, Caraburun-Acic Suat and Istros. The sites are located in a highly dynamic fluvio-lagoonal environment with diverse physical contexts and complex processes at play, including sedimentary budget, proximity to fluvial mouths, relative sea level mobility, currents, and littoral drift.Through a geoarchaeological perspective of these ancient Greek settlements, we propose a new approach to understanding the factors at play in the territorial exploitation of the natural resources. By conducting a multi-proxy high-resolution analysis of three new sedimentary cores and a study of the micro-ecologies of the ancient colonial territories, we obtained a novel picture of the natural potentialities of the lagoons in Antiquity and the role of eco-determinism and of social and political choices in their exploitation.Furthermore, we investigate the horothesia, a legal document that outlines Istros’ territorial borders, and served as a legal tool for regulating access and control of the lagoon resources. The analysis of this document in relation to the paleo-environmental reconstruction and historical context provides insights into how the cities adapted to the changing environmental conditions and political instability in the region. Ultimately, our research underscores the interconnectedness between the exploitation of natural resources, environmental dynamics, and social and political factors in shaping the development of ancient Greek settlements in the Danube Delta.
The settlement site and polytechnics cemetery of the Classical period at Pichvnari has yielded useful material for the study of ancient history and culture of the eastern Black Sea area. During the whole Classical period, local Colchians and Greek settlers peacefully co-existed in the area. It is clear from the archaeological finds that Pichvnari was the economic, cultural and religious centre of its surrounding chora over a long period.Pichvnari occupied a vast territory, extending to the environs of the Choloki-Ochkhamuri confluence near the sea, in an area of sandy soil. This situation, together with the particular climatic conditions, significantly impeded the survival of organic materials (bone, leather, fabric, wood, etc.). Despite this fact, the materials of Pichvnari cemetery and settlement site still reveal much information.Among various industries, fishing was a major activity thanks to the proximity to rivers and the sea. An especially large stone sinker, weighing 3.8kg, points to the use of very large nets, and thus sea fishing on an industrial scale.Many pebble weights used for sinking fish-nets of an elongated, oval form, with a groove hacked at their widest parts (to attach them to the net) were found. They vary in length between 7 and 11.5cm, and in width between 6 and 8cm. Apart from bronze hooks, various numbers of lead weights for nets were also found. An entire net with sixty lead weights was deposited in one burial. Similar items were found at Tsikhisdziri and Gonio-Apsarus, to the south, not very far from Pichvnari.Undoubtedly, fishing and the production of dolphin oil were carried out on a commercial scale. It is likely that, as in other centres of the Black Sea area, the bulk of salted fish was exported towards the Greek world, where there was much demand.
There is very scarce information regarding fishing and the fish trade for the western part of Pontos-Euxeinos during the 6th and the 5th centuries BC. Circumstantial clues mainly indicate the existence of a fish trade (salted or marinated fish). For instance, numismatic evidence of various iconographical types applied to coins minted in the Greek cities on the Black Sea shores reveal the important presence of marine symbols (for example, different types of fish). Considering the geographic positioning of Istros, these two complementary activities are strongly interconnected by the existence of fish and can be considered real specializations, probably practiced on a daily basis, not only during the archaic period, but later on as well. A monetary token of those especially casted for commercial purposes, discovered not far from the archaic area, stresses once more the probably important role played by fishing/the fish trade in Istros and the space covered by its economic interest. Sturgeon, one of the important species of the Danube and the Black Sea, is represented on this monetary token. Such items, with different symbols depicted on them, are cast in molds, during their late phase of production (as, for example, the wheel, the letter A, the hatchet, etc.), probably during the late 6th - early 5th century BC.
A specific type of stationary fishnet, mainly intended for tunny-fishing, is mentioned in ancient literary sources. It required the assistance of watchers stationed either nearby in dominant position (promontory, hill, high tree…) or as gate-warders perched on top of a high pole on each side of the net’s opening. Particularly well attested around the Pontic area and Propontis in classical antiquity, its use has persisted until modern times in several variants which are reviewed here.
Bonito (Sarda sarda) is an important food source for communities surrounding the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean coasts since archaic times. It is a fast-growing species, reaching adult length in a relatively short time. Fishing it is easy and can be achieved through simple techniques. It is consumed year-round, not only fresh in season, but also salted, a traditional storage method, and bonito brine was a popular and important ancient commodity. Schools of bonito that once stocked the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn during their migration season were historically a prominent symbol of the region. Fish and fisheries hold very strong cultural significance in present day Istanbul, formerly known as Byzantium and later as Constantinople. According to local sales records for the Istanbul fish market of the early 20th century, 1940, with 6 million fish, had the highest bonito sales for the period between 1928 and 1952. In the 1950s, the stock was so healthy that in just one day, 600,000 bonito and 240,000 larger-sized torik (Turkish for adult bonito) were caught. However, after the early 1960s, torik numbers began to decrease gradually and bonito became dominant. Torik were last reported in Turkey in 1991, representing 41 tons. In the last few decades, no bonito spawning stock has been caught during its spring northern migration route to the Black Sea, as stock size and distribution have drastically decreased. The present study reveals the historical story of bonito’s biology, ecology, migration and catches, and links historical information to modern scientific data. Although this species continues to be well-studied, many of the historical anecdotes reported by philosophers, geographers, travellers and writers hold important historical value and help better understand bonito history and its changing trajectories through both time and space.
There are limited studies on fishing in the Black Sea during the Archaic period, particularly during the first wave of Greek colonisation. This question, often raised and dealt with through a vague chronology that mixes literary, epigraphic and iconographic sources from different periods, is not well documented through archaeoichthyofaunal data. The archaeological excavations carried out at Caraburun-Acic Suat were an opportunity to look at this question through the site’s inhabitants’ food waste, on a settlement founded during the Archaic period (second quarter of the 6th century BC) and occupied until early 3rd century AD, though with major gaps. A precise picture of the exploitation of fish resources during the Archaic period on a site located opposite the Razelm-Goloviţa lagoon complex, south of the present Danube Delta, was drawn up thanks to a field sampling strategy, coupled with fine sieving of sediments. This paper presents nine archaeological contexts, six dating to the Archaic period and three to the late Classical/early Hellenistic peiod. A total of more than 6,000 remains, recovered from over 1,000 litres of sediment, were counted and analysed. More than 500 remains were taxonomically determined. The remains of cyprinids predominate. Perch and pike are less well represented among the range of species found. Finally, a handful of very poorly preserved sturgeon remains complete the list. This pattern of exploitation/consumption, which began in the Archaic period, repeated itself after a hiatus of around 100 years in the late Classical/early Hellenistic period. The discussion focuses on how archaeoichthyofaunal data shed light on fishing areas invested and on targeted fishing and draws comparisons to nearby and more distant sites of the Mediterranean.
Cıngırt Kayası is a Classical Antiquity settlement from the Pontic region, located within the present-day area of Yapraklı/Fatsa, province of Ordu, in the eastern part of the southern Black Sea region. It is located on a hill with two summits, 200 masl, strategically overlooking the valley and the sea. Excavations conducted predominantly on the summit of Cıngırt Kayası suggest the site was part of a security chain consisting of Phrourion and meant to provide control of and defend the Pontic Region during the reign of Mithradates VI. The settlement was continuously settled during the Roman and Byzantine periods. Excavations carried out at the peak of the settlement, between 2012 and 2014, led to the discovery of the material discussed here. The lead sinkers discovered at the site are interpreted as relating to fishing activities. Pyramidal fishhook weights and folded rectangular fishing net weights, belonging mostly to the Hellenistic period, were also uncovered during the excavations. Cıngırt Kayası’s proximity and access to sea, its geographical position, together with the presence of fishhooks, lead sinkers used with fishhooks and on nets clearly suggest the practice of fishing. There have been limited archaeological excavations in the eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey. Consequently, this study aims to share one of the first findings of lead sinkers from Cıngırt Kayası and to contribute to studies on fishing in the Black Sea basin.
Studies of trade between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean have traditionally been focused on the export of grain, slaves and processed fish. Grain exports from the Black Sea to Athens are frequently mentioned in the textual sources, as are slaves (e.g., the Scythians who served as a police force in Athens). The trade in fish products (salted fish and garum) is occasionally mentioned in the texts, but the archaeological evidence is somewhat self-contradictory. Extensive fish-salting installations have been excavated along the northern Black Sea coasts, but the numbers of amphorae associated with the finished product are negligible by comparison.This paper attempts to trace the dynamics of the Black Sea trade over time and proposes a model that is consistent with some of the apparent contradictions in our present evidence, taking the concept of “spheres of exchange”, as its point of departure. According to the model, the export of fish products from the Black Sea was not primarily driven by the Aegean demand for fish products, but by the demand for prestige goods such as oil and wine among the Pontic elite. Exports were needed to pay for imports, and to balance a decline in the export of slaves (and possibly other commodities as well) in the last century BCE and under the pax Romana, the volume of Pontic fish-salting had to be increased, regardless of its economic competivity.It is also proposed that fish products were not as a rule exported by Pontic merchants, but acquired at the production site by Aegean wholesalers, a business model not unlike the Italian mercanti di campagna of the 19th century. This would explain the scarcity of Pontic fish sauce amphorae in the archaeological record.
The present volume contains the proceedings of the conference Fishing and Greek Colonisation in the Black Sea during Antiquity. A geographical and regional approach, held at Aix-en-Provence, in the Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme on 3th-4th June 2021. This event was organised on behalf of the Centre Camille Jullian (UMR 7299, CNRS-Aix-Marseille University) and the musée du Louvre (Paris).Since 1999, the Centre Camille Jullian has studied and conducted research on fishing and the processing of its products in the western Mediterranean during protohistoric and ancient periods (see for instance Stern-berg, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2019; Botte, 2009; Faget & Sternberg, 2015). More recently, this work has been extended to the Atlantic coast (Ephrem, 2014). At the same time, two joint-archaeological Missions in Bulgaria (Apollonia Pontica) and Romania (Orgame), part of a research programme devoted to the Black Sea (PI Alexandre Baralis), have led to precious and fruitful collaborations. Successively funded by the French National Research Agency (“Pont-Euxin”, grant No. ANR-09-RPDOC-021-01), the French Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs and the musée du Louvre, these excavations have contributed to bring the Pontic area into questions concerning the exploitation of ancient marine resources (Baralis & Lungu, 2015, 2021; Baralis & Panayotova, 2015; Baralis et al., 2016).The editors of this volume are deeply grateful to the successive directors of the Centre Camille Jullian – Jean-Christophe Sourisseau and Giulia Boetto –, of the Louvre Museum – Jean-Luc Martinez and Laurence Des Cars – and of the Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities – Françoise Gaultier and Cécile Giroire. The conference was originally scheduled for March 2020, but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to June 2021. In these particularly difficult circumstances, both our institutions and colleagues always found solutions to the obstacles encountered.
The research presented here focuses on sinkers found during the excavation of the “O-Western” sector by the archaeological mission of the State Hermitage Museum in the course of 15 field seasons (2004-2018). The sample consists of 167 artefacts made of various materials: stone (local limestone, green shale, marble, etc.), ceramics and metals (lead and iron). Some of these items were produced locally, but some ceramic sinkers were brought to the apoikia from the metropolis (probably along with nets). For fishing sinkers, imported rocks were also often used. Statistics show the sinkers are unevenly distributed across different contexts and strata pertaining to various stratigraphic periods. Most of these uneven distributions can be explained by the fluctuating levels of population and economic activity during these periods.
The image of the crustacean is one of the first symbols to appear on Apollonia Pontica’s silver coins along with the main parasemon – the anchor. In Apollonia, the image of a crustacean appears on its coins in the period between the 5th and 3rd c. BC. The symbol of the crustacean is not very clear and has different explanations – some scholars interpret it as a freshwater crayfish, others as a lobster. The aim of this article is to present another hypothesis. The origin of the image of the crustacean could be associated with Upogebia, a decapod genus of mud shrimp, most probably of the Upogebia pusilla (or litoralis) species or the so-called ghost shrimp (Callianassa tyrrhena / C. candida / C. pontica / C. pestae). Both species are quite common in the Black Sea coast, as well as in the Mediterranean and the European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. Nowadays they can be found throughout the Burgas Gulf, as well as in the waters of Sozopol, including Gradina Bay, where its population is quite dense. These shrimps bear a remarkable resemblance to the crustacean engraved on the coins of Apollonia. How did the ancient mariners of Apollonia know about them and how did they use them? However, why would the city government choose the Upogebia or mud shrimp as the city’s parasmon? The current paper asks these and other questions and presents some hypotheses as possible answers.
Zooarchaeological materials from three important archaeological sites in the northern Black Sea region were investigated: Olbia Pontica and Borysthenes (Mykolaiv region), and the Belozerskoye settlement (Kherson region). In total, 15,603 animal remains were analysed. Most of the ichthyological material came from excavations in the archaeological site of Olbia. Fishing in Olbia Pontica dates back to the time of its foundation, the end of 7th - the beginning of the 6th c. BC. Twenty-two species of fish are represented in the sample. Additionally, fishing tools from Olbia are described. Fishing tools were locally produced – specially made ceramic sinkers, with one or two holes, amphora sherds and flat stones with notches, rounded or irregular-shaped small limestones, loom-weight shaped sinkers and lead sinkers. For fishing, special bronze hooks were used throughout a large chronological span. Raw stones with notches cut into the centre of the edges were used like anchors for fish-boats Locally produced fish-plates, both in grey and red clay, were popular in Olbia from the end of 6th to the second half of 4th c. BC.
It has long been recognised that individuals and groups participating in fishing and mariculture activities played a significant role in wider systems of mobility and migration across the Black Sea in antiquity and prehistory. Yet, it is less understood how this movement related to wider patterns of settlement in the region particularly between the Archaic and Hellenistic periods. This paper explores these issues by applying theoretical and methodological frameworks developed in contemporary migration studies to the case study of the Lower Buh region of modern Ukraine. This area, extensively surveyed in the second half of the 20th century CE, provides a dataset which can be analysed using approaches such as migration trajectories, capital and drivers to approach such questions as why did fishing peoples move? How did these patterns of movement change over time and in response to endogenous and exogenous circumstances? And what effect did this have on wider patterns of movement and settlement in the region?
This paper explores the relationship between ancient Greek colonies in the Dobrogea region and their hydro-geological environment, focusing on the cities of Istros, Tomis, and Callatis. Drawing on ancient literary sources, epigraphy and modern cartography, and hydro-geological studies, this paper presents a descriptive and qualitative analysis within the hinterlands of ancient Greek colonies, and discusses the relationships between geography, hydrology, and halieutic potentialities in the ancient Greek colonies. Nonetheless, interdisciplinary studies crossing palaeo-environmental reconstructions and archeo-ichthyology are necessary for a better understanding of water and fish resource management practices in the Dobrogea region in Antiquity.
Sinop (ancient Sinope) was one of the earliest Ionian Greek colonies around the Black Sea and the earliest on its Anatolian coast. The Sinop kale site is set atop a 15-meter cliff above the shore and affords an unobstructed view of the coast in all directions. Fishing in this region depends on the annual migrations of the major Black Sea fish species. These spawn in the shallow waters along the north coast and migrate in highly predictable cycles around the sea. The seasonal mobility patterns of Black Sea fish populations have driven fishing communities to adopt mobile settlement strategies that may have led to incipient trade networks in the region.Excavations in pre-colonial strata of Sinop Kale documented a bone fish-hook and fish bones, consistent with our hypothesis that it was an intermittent fishing camp. An Early Iron Age one-handled globular pot contained numerous anchovy vertebrae and scales. Finds of terrestrial animal bones may suggest exchange between outside transient fishermen and indigenous communities. Iron Age wares suggest connections with the west and north coasts of the Black Sea and the Bafra plain, ca. 100 km to the east.We propose that the fragmentary architecture and associated ceramics suggest that Sinop was an early node in a mobile fishing network in which fishermen took advantage of seasonal opportunities. It is likely that mutually beneficial relationships with inland communities were established as early as the Early Bronze Age (mid-late 3rd millennium BCE) and that this accounts for a limited spread of non-local ceramics recorded in the Sinop Regional Archaeological Survey. These early interactions intensified during the early 1st millennium BCE forming the platform for the subsequent colonial economy.
Northward of the city of Istros lies a marshy landscape shaped by the alluvial deposits of the Danube making up the distal margins of its delta. In this compartmentalised space, which Polybius and Strabo mention, stood one of the oldest Greek settlements in the Black Sea, founded in the middle of the 7th century BC on the Cape Dolojman. Archaeological surveys carried out on the banks of the Goloviţa lagoon revealed the development of a set of secondary settlements at the beginning of the 6th century BC, the status of which still remains uncertain for the Archaic period. Nevertheless, during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, they constituted the northern chora of Istros, by which the city asserted with force its legitimacy on this vast area at the beginning of Roman times. Since 2011, one of these sites, Caraburun-Açic Suat, has been at the heart of the multidisciplinary research programme, associating the Musée du Louvre, the University of Aix-Marseille (Centre Camille Jullian), the Institute of South-East European Studies (Romanian Academy) and the Institute of Eco-museum research (Tulcea). Excavations on these sites shed a light on the economic and social strategies the Greek communities developed at the very beginning of colonisation in this specific environment where fishing activities seem to have played an important role. Through the fishing tools discovered at Caraburun-Açic Suat, this paper outlines the fishing techniques in the laguna from Archaic to Hellenistic times.
Carried out in the framework of the Franco-Bulgarian archaeological mission at Apollonia Pontica, the study of the settlement of Malkoto Kale aimed at a better understanding of the impact of the foundation of the Greek city on the Thracian settlement pattern. In 2020, reopening a trench excavated in 1973, excavations uncovered archaeological contexts rich in faunal remains. The archaeozoological study provides the first publication on fish bones in an Early Iron Age context of the South-Western Black seashore. It brings to light the fishery practices of the local population before the arrival of Greek settlers in the area. As such, it constitutes an important contribution to our understanding of Early Iron Age diet in the Balkan Peninsula.
