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In 1985, archaeologists from Bulgaria and Britain began a collaborative work with the initiation of two complementary projects. The first one was entitled ‘The Roman and late Roman city; Nicopolis ad Istrum’ (1985–1992) when the archaeological research of both teams was concentrated upon the Roman city and its late antique successor. The ‘City of Victory’ was founded by the emperor Trajan and is one of the largest archaelogical sites in the Balkans. The second programme represents a continuation and an expansion of the first and was entitled ‘The city and the village in the Roman and late Roman Empire: Nicopolis ad Istrum and nucleated settlement in its territory’ (1996–2002). It initiated work on the site of the late antique fortified settlement near the village of Dichin. Nicopolis, like the other cities in Thrace, was organized according to the Greek model, on similar lines to those found in the cities of Asia Minor. This influence is reflected in the character of the town, its plan, its agora and in its principal buildings.

After excavations carried out on the site of Nicopolis ad Istrum in Bulgaria, the results were used to reconstruct the city's physical and economic character from its foundation under Trajan down to the end of the sixth century. The incentive for the subsequent programme, ‘The Transition to Late Antiquity’, was the discovery that the city was replaced by a very different Nicopolis, both in layout and economy, during the fifth century. A site-specific survey method was developed to explore the countryside. The survey discovered that the Roman villa economy collapsed late in the fourth century. The excavations on the site of the late Roman fort at Dichin provided an unexpected but invaluable insight into the regional economy and military situation on the lower Danube in the fifth and sixth centuries. The results of both these two research projects are summarized and an explanation proposed as to how and why there was such a radical break between the Roman Empire and its early Byzantine successor on the lower Danube.

The second half of the third century marks an important period in the history of Lower Moesia and the Balkans. It coincides with the economic and political crisis which spread across the Roman Empire and affected all levels of society. This chapter reviews the evidence for the character of the agora in Nicopolis ad Istrum during the late Roman and early Byzantine periods. First, it explains the historical context and then describes the epigraphic finds — which cease with the reign of Aurelian. It also details the coins that were discovered and their implications for continued use of the agora during the fourth century and on into the fifth and sixth centuries. Even so, archaeological excavations have demonstrated that there is no reason to believe that the agora served its original purpose beyond the middle of the fifth century, when flimsy structures were erected over the remains of the former civic centre. Occupation is still attested during the first half of the sixth century before the remaining buildings were destroyed by fire.

The story of Nicopolis ad Istrum and its citizens exemplifies much that is common to the urban history of the whole Roman Empire. This chapter reviews the history of Nicopolis and its transition into the small fortified site of the fifth to seventh centuries and compares it with the evidence from the Near East and Asia Minor. It argues that Nicopolis may not have experienced a cataclysm as has been suggested, and that, as in the fifth and sixth century west, where landowning elites showed a striking ability to adapt and survive, there was an important element of continuity on the lower Danube, which in turn may account for the distinctive ‘Roman’ element in the early medieval Bulgar state. It also suggests that the term ‘transition to Late Antiquity’ should be applied to what happened at Nicopolis in the third century: what happened there in the fifth was the transition to the middle ages. This chapter also describes late antique urbanism in the Balkans by focusing on the Justiniana Prima site.

This chapter describes the methodology and results of the environmental archaeology research programme at Nicopolis ad Istrum in the Balkans. The aims of the research programme were: to determine the use of the major domestic animal and plant species and to explore what husbandry practices may have been employed; to examine the changing role of domestic versus wild resources; to reconstruct the likely natural environment close to Nicopolis, using the presence of particular species and their known habitats. This chapter presents examinations of epigraphic and documentary evidence found at the site, including coins and animal footprints. A large quantity of bio-archaeological data was collected, including bone fragments of mammals, birds, and fish; moderate quantities of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine mollusca; and large quantities of cereals, pulses, edible fruits, and nuts, as well as wild plants.

The Roman city of Nicopolis ad Istrum and its territory lie in north central Bulgaria. Although the exact extent of the ancient city's territorial jurisdiction is unknown, in general terms the location of its fertile heartland is readily identifiable. The hinterland of the city was within the Roman province of Thrace from the foundation of Nicopolis c.AD 108 down to c.AD 193 when it was transferred to the province of Moesia Inferior. It comprised three distinct regions with different geographical characteristics. The southern part included the upland slopes of the Turnovo hills. The middle region, where the city was located, included the river valleys of the Rositsa and part of the Yantra while the third formed part of the agriculturally fertile light soils of the Danube basin. Within this area, survey has identified more than 300 settlements, dating from the first to the sixth centuries AD, all of which have been recorded as part of the national programme for the identification and description of ancient settlements.

A field survey was undertaken to understand the date and character of villas and villages within the territory of the ancient town of Nicopolis ad Istrum in Bulgaria. The principal aim was to discover whether there had been a major dislocation in the traditional Roman settlement pattern which might explain the radical changes that affected the layout, function and economy of the city during the late fifth and sixth centuries AD. The work was principally directed towards villas because, as in other provinces, it was the villa-owning class which supported the city financially and, as the ruling elite, was responsible for urban administration; numerous second- to third-century tombstones from the city's territory, evidently set up on villa estates, record the role played by the landed class in the organization of Nicopolis, either as members of the assembly (bouleutes), or as magistrates. This chapter describes the survey methodology, developed for the Transition to Late Antiquity. It originated in a surprisingly successful survey which discovered a new early Byzantine ‘city’ in north-eastern Greece.