What's Down the Hole? Archaeobotanical evidence on plant subsistence and vegetation during the Hellenistic period at an archaeological site near Voditza village, north-eastern Bulgaria

Abstract

The archaeological site 5012-West in the territory of the village of Voditza, Targovishte Region, north-eastern Bulgaria, is interesting because of its features and wide chronological range. From an area of 7000m², a total of 116 structures from various chronological periods have been excavated. However, pits from the Hellenistic Period (late 3rd to early 1st century BC) are most numerous and provide invaluable archaeobotanical evidence on plant subsistence and local vegetation. The archaeobotanical remains have been recovered from flotation samples, collected from pitfills. The archaeobotanical assemblage comprises carbonised remains from several annual cereal crops – hulled and free-threshing wheats, naked barley (Hordeum vulgare var. nudum L.), millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), oat (Avena sativa L.) and chaff. The weedy flora is represented by annual ruderal and synanthrophic species such as goosefoot (Chenopodium album L.), bedstraw (Galium aparine L.), knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare L.), and wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.). Based on the discovered plant remains, we can only propose a partial reconstruction of the agricultural practices and local vegetation cover. However, the collection of samples from specific contexts – storage facilities and pits, provided an opportunity to observe the 'secondary environment' of the utilised plant resources and to identify possible depositional processes. Thus, taphonomic and contextual analyses gave us important insights into the behavioural factors that affected the composition of the archaeobotanical assemblage.