[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review]
Few would dispute that excavation and survey lie at the heart of archaeological research. Transforming the results of such work into sustained and comprehensive publication—particularly beyond preliminary or summary reports—is, however, a far more demanding task. The archaeology of northern Greece, and especially of eastern Aegean Thrace, has long been constrained by extended excavation campaigns that have generated a disproportionately small body of published scholarship. Against this background, the publication of the results of the Molyvoti, Thrace, Archaeological Project (MTAP)—a collaborative Greek-American initiative conducted between 2013 and 2015 by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Rhodope and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, represented by Princeton University, and following several years of systematic post-fieldwork analysis—constitutes a welcome and significant contribution to a region still marked by a relative dearth of comprehensive archaeological publication.[1]
Combining excavation with both intensive and extensive surveys, as well as a wide range of environmental studies, MTAP focused on an ancient settlement on the Molyvoti Peninsula along the northern Aegean coast, east of Lake Vistonis, a site first explored by one of the pioneers of archaeological research in the region, G. Bakalakis.[2] Traditionally identified as ancient Stryme, a Thasian colony,[3] the site is referred to throughout the volume as Molyvoti, reflecting the authors’ awareness of the uncertainties inherent in narrow and often unproductive debates over toponymic identification,[4] even if they ultimately accept the attribution (see Part II, ‘The Identification of the City,’ by Nathan Arrington). Instead, the emphasis is placed where it is most valuable: on the material culture, historical context, and broader environmental setting of this significant coastal site.
From a methodological perspective, MTAP adopted a clearly articulated diachronic and multiscalar approach, integrating evidence from prehistory through the Early Modern period and linking intra-site data with results from regional survey. Excavation and survey were conducted simultaneously, fostering a continuous dialogue between urban and rural perspectives and allowing interpretations at different scales to inform one another. Fieldwork focused primarily on a 4th-century BCE building known as the House of the Gorgon, the first fully excavated building at the site. Its complex sequence of construction, destruction, reuse, and abandonment offers insights into urban reorganization during the 4th century BCE, as well as into subsequent Roman and Early Byzantine activity. Equally central to the project is the integration of environmental studies. Geomorphological analysis, pollen data, and the study of botanical and faunal remains reconstruct long-term changes in both landscape and seascape, including shoreline shifts, lagoon formation, and increasing marshiness.
The key issue of course here, and one of the central challenges of any such publication, is how successfully the overall spirit and intellectual coherence of the research are communicated on the page—an issue to which I return in my concluding assessment. The volume is clearly and logically structured, guiding the reader from contextual background to primary data and finally to synthesis—an interpretive task undertaken by Arrington. Part I establishes the intellectual and environmental framework, with chapters on the project’s scope and significance (Arrington et al.) and on the reconstruction of the ancient landscape (Syrides et al.). The introduction situates the site within the broader region of Aegean Thrace, an area often treated as peripheral in Greek archaeology but convincingly presented here as a zone of interaction and connectivity between Europe and Asia, and between land and sea. Most importantly, the authors and editors emphasize the long-term geopolitical and economic significance of Aegean Thrace, tracing patterns of occupation and exploitation from Greek colonization through the Persian, Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern periods. Particularly valuable—and, in my view, central to the project’s overall orientation—is the sustained attention to the region’s environmental diversity, which underpinned agriculture, viticulture, fishing, timber extraction, and mining. Evidence for agricultural production and food processing compellingly demonstrates the close interdependence of settlement and landscape.
Part II turns to the settlement itself, beginning with the discussion of the identification of the city as ancient Stryme (by Arrington), and continuing with Thomas Tartaron’s detailed analysis of the urban survey and Arrington’s presentation of the stratigraphy and architecture from the Archaic through the Early Byzantine periods. The exposition of survey methodology and its practical challenges by Tartaron, together with Arrington’s careful treatment of the stratigraphy in the residential quarters of the city, is especially effective. Both sections are clearly written, well-illustrated (something that runs through the whole volume and is of paramount importance for an archaeological publication), and—if I may stress this—provide exemplary models for the publication of fieldwork from other sites in northern Greece. Given the relative lack of large-scale urban surveys[5] in northern Greece, the methodology developed and presented here is of particular value.
The bulk of the volume is devoted to the systematic publication of material culture. The chapters are organized by object type and chronology and include fine and cook wares, transport amphoras, pithoi, louteria, figurines, lamps, metal objects, textile tools, roof tiles and antefixes, graffiti and inscriptions, and coins. These contributions, authored by a team of specialists, are notably strengthened by the substantial involvement of Greek archaeologists actively working in the region whose expertise and close familiarity with the local archaeological record play a crucial role in the quality and authority of the publication. The resulting detailed catalogues render the evidence transparent and accessible, ensuring the volume’s long-term value as a reference work. It is true that, in many cases, fuller contextual analysis and interpretive synthesis within the individual artifact chapters is limited, so that they serve primarily as catalogues; however, this appears to be a conscious editorial choice in favor of comprehensive documentation.
The relative lack of interpretive analysis in the individual artifact chapters is effectively remedied by the synthesis provided by Arrington in the concluding chapter (Part IV), where he integrates the project’s findings and situates Molyvoti within broader debates in Greek archaeology. Occupation at the site begins in the second half of the 6th century BCE, with major urban development occurring in the Classical period and a substantial reorganization around 375 BCE. The 4th century BCE represents the height of the settlement, characterized by planned urban infrastructure, fortified walls, harbors, and vibrant economic activity. Evidence from the House of the Gorgon—including indications of violent destruction—illuminates episodes of conflict and instability in the mid-4th century BCE, plausibly linked to the campaigns of Philip II. The site, however, does not experience abrupt abandonment; rather, it shows partial reoccupation before a gradual decline in the early 3rd century BCE. Significantly, the abandonment of the urban center did not imply the desertion of the surrounding landscape. Survey data demonstrate continued Hellenistic activity in the countryside, followed by Roman and Early Byzantine rural installations. In Late Antiquity, the region was reintegrated into broader economic networks in the wake of Constantinople’s rise, functioning as a productive hinterland rather than as an urban nucleus.
The central question, and indeed the key focus of this review, is whether the rigor and carefully considered strategy that underpinned the Molyvoti project are clearly conveyed in the publication. Does the volume succeed in transmitting to the specialized reader not only the data, but also the intellectual questions, methodological decisions, and interpretive dynamics that shaped the project’s approach to the site? On this point, the editors and authors largely succeed. From the detailed presentation of excavation and survey methodology in Part I and Part II, through the systematically cataloged material culture in Part III, to the synthetic interpretation in Part IV, the volume communicates the deliberate, diachronic, and multiscalar framework that guided the project. Particularly impressive is the way Arrington’s concluding chapter demonstrates how seemingly discrete data—from stratigraphy to coins, loomweights to amphoras—can be read together to illuminate urban development, economic networks, and Greek-Thracian interactions, effectively revealing the reasoning behind choices of focus, excavation areas, and analytical emphasis.
Personally, I find the volume’s analysis of connectivity particularly compelling. Molyvoti emerges as deeply embedded in both maritime and terrestrial networks, with especially strong links to the eastern Aegean and Asia Minor, as well as to inland Thrace and the wider Balkans. These findings challenge older assumptions that the Rhodope Mountains functioned as a barrier, instead emphasizing sustained north-south interaction over long periods of time.[6] The volume also offers a nuanced reassessment of domestic space through the House of the Gorgon and addresses Greek-Thracian interaction, carefully acknowledging the methodological challenges of identifying ethnicity while demonstrating evidence for contact, coexistence, and exchange.
Equally important is the way the volume frames Molyvoti as a resilient and adaptable settlement, responsive to shifting political, economic, and cultural conditions. By integrating environmental studies, settlement archaeology, and detailed material analysis, it challenges simplistic narratives of marginality or decline in Aegean Thrace—a pitfall that is all too common in regional interpretation. Its careful methodology, transparent presentation of data, and thoughtful synthesis make the publication a major contribution to the archaeology of northern Greece and to broader debates concerning Greek colonization, connectivity, and landscape use. One can only look forward to the publication of the remaining excavation results.
Authors and titles
PART I: INTRODUCTION
- Nathan T. Arrington, Domna Terzopoulou, Marina Tasaklaki, and Thomas F. Tartaron — The Molyvoti, Thrace, Archaeological Project: Scope and Significance
- Georgios Syrides, Konstantinos Vouvalidis, Olga Koukousioura, Katerina Kouli, Panagiotis Tsourlos, Elina Aidona, Konstantinos Albanakis, Vasilios Kapsimalis, Dimitrios Oikonomidis, Georgia Karadimou, Christos Domakinis, and Christos Pennos — The Ancient Landscape
PART II: THE SETTLEMENT
- Nathan T. Arrington — The Identification of the City on the Molyvoti Peninsula: The Case for Stryme
- Thomas F. Tartaron — The Urban Survey of the Classical–Hellenistic City
- Nathan T. Arrington — Stratigraphy, Architecture, and Contexts: Archaic–Hellenistic
- Nathan T. Arrington — Stratigraphy, Architecture, and Contexts: Roman–Early Byzantine
PART III: MATERIAL CULTURE
- Nathan T. Arrington and J. Michael Padgett — Fine Ware: Classical–Hellenistic
- Nicholas Hudson — Fine Ware: Roman–Early Byzantine
- Georgios Makris — Fine Ware: Byzantine–Early Modern
- Nicholas Hudson — Cook Ware: Roman–Early Byzantine
- Mark Lawall — Transport Amphoras: Archaic–Hellenistic
- Nathan T. Arrington and Nicholas Hudson — Pithoi
- Hannah Smagh — Louteria
- Katerina Tzanavari — Figurines
- Maria Chrysafi — Lamps
- Ioannis Bellas— Metal Objects
- Jessica L. Lamont — Textile Tools
- Elena Cuijpers — Roof Tiles and Antefixes
- Simon Oswald — Graffiti, Dipinti, and Inscriptions on Small Objects
- Marina Tasaklaki — Coins
PART IV: CONCLUSION
- Nathan T. Arrington — Implications
Notes
[1] An exception is the publication of Zone, see P. Tsatsopoulou-Kaloudi, Cl. Brixhe, Ch. Pardalidou, S. Iliopoulou, K. Kaloudis, M. Galani-Kirkou, A. Zournatzi, P. Tselekas, R. Veropoulidou, and D. Nikolaidou (2015), Αρχαία Ζώνη I: Το Ιερό του Απόλλωνα/ Archaia Zone I: To Iero tou Apollona, Komotini.
[2] G. Bakalakis (1958), Προανασκαφικές Έρευνες στη Θράκη, Thessaloniki, pp. 91–94.
[3] M. Tiverios (2008), ‘Greek Colonisation of the Northern Aegean’, in G. R. Tsetskhladze (ed.), Greek Colonisation: An Account of Greek Colonies and Other Settlements Overseas II, Mnemosyne, Supplementa 193, Brill: Leiden/Boston, pp. 85–86.
[4] For different views on the identification see Tiverios 2008, p. 85, fn. 423.
[5] See, however, the APAX Project, which has systematically mapped the chora of Abdera through a multiscalar and multitemporal approach: E. Kefalidou, M. Georgiadis, A. Garcia-Molsosa, A. Mayoral, H. A. Orengo, and K. Kallintzi (2022), ‘The Archaeological Project of Abdera and Xanthi (APAX): Preliminary Update on the Survey Program’, in A. Avramidou and J. C. Donati (eds), Surveying Aegean Thrace in the Digital Era. Proceedings of the Workshop held for the Research Project Archaeological and Geophysical Research at the Peraia of Samothrace (HFRI-FM17-750), Democritus University of Thrace: Komotini, pp. 99–108.
[6] The late Nikos Efstratiou was among the pioneers who recognized the importance of connectivity in this region, particularly between the Aegean coast and the Rhodope uplands: N. Efstatiou (1993), ‘The Archaeology of the Greek Uplands: The Early Iron Age Site of Tsouka in the Rhodope Mountains’, BSA 88: pp. 135–171.