Fig.2. Cereals in pollen diagrams and archaeobotanical data: * <

déments in the area of Lake Varna - settlement period 2 (Bozhilova/Beug 1994). Palaeoethno­botanical finds show that Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum, Hordeum vulgare and //. vulgare var. nudum were cultivated in that area (Fig.2). The Early Eneolithic period is well represented in the pollen diagrams from Lake Shabla-Ezeretz (Filipova 1990) and Lake Durankulak (Bozm-LOVA/FiLIPOVA 1986) as the total amount amount of Cerealia pollen in the first lake reaches 159r. Microfossi] finds indicate the présence of seeds of weeds due to the specific way ofcollecting the spikes of these along with part ofthe stein.

The dcvclopment of tools during the Bronze Age allowed the felling of larger trees and the extension of the cultivated fields as a resuit of more efficient harvesting methods (Velkov 1979). Barles. oatS, soft wheat as well as einkorn and T. dicoccum were cultivated in the fertile area of Thracia (Ciiakai.ova/Bozhilova 1984). Pari ol the population also migrated to the mountain slopes, as shown by the présence of 5% Cerealia pollen m the diagram from Kupena (Fig. 4). This also means that the arable fields in the Western Rhodopes were located not far away from the sites investigated, i.e. the peat-bogs Belia Kanton (1490 m a.s.l.) and Kartala (1690 Iii a.s.l.) (Panovska/Bozhilova1994).

Small percentages of Cerealia pollen are found in the profiles from a peat-bog in Male-shevska Mts. (1780 m a.s.l.) (Ton kov/Bozhi lova 1992h) and from Tschokljovo Marsch, Konjavs-ka Mts. (870 m a.s.l.) (Tonkov/Bozhii.ova 1992a) (Fig. 3). Looking again at the area of lower élé­vation, we can suggest that agriculture played a fairly important part in the economy ofthe hu­man Settlements there during the Bronze Age as compared with the mountainous areas (Fig. 2). The palaeoethnobotanical data indicate that finds ofeharred seeds of Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum are most numerous at lower éléva­tion.

Pollen ofthe Cerealia-lype was also identified in diagrams from Lake Srebarna in the Danube valley (Lazarova 1995) (Fig. 3).

During the time of the Roman colonisa­tion in the Balkans, especially in the eastern part of Thracia and Mocsia, the destruction of the Landscape took place because of the över-exploitation by woodland felling. grazing and

other forms of land use. The soil was very rich in these area and the agricultural techniques had already reached a high standard and it was managed in différent ways in connection with the soils, the variety of crops and the local con­ditions. The three years field rotation system (winter cereals-summer cereals-fallow land) was widespread (Dennell 1974). Another type of farming was in the mountainous areas where the territory was periodically abandoned after several years.

The Iron Age is marked by a considérable increase in the amount o£Cerealia pollen in dia­grams from the mountainous and lowland ar­eas (Fig. 3), particularly duc to the use of iron tools, with a subséquent increase in the crop production.

Agriculture was practised widely in the lower parts of the Western Rhodopes Mts. in historical times as shown by the palynological sites in the

Fig.4 CEREALIA-POLLEN EVIDENCE FROM POLLEN DIAGRAMS (AP + NAP = 100%)

Hordeum type Seeale

6%

4% 2% 0% 2% 4%

6% 4% 2% 0% 2% 4% 6%

4% 2% 0% 2% 4'

6%

8 li

— o

IRON AGE

ENEOLITHIC NEOLITHIC

Smolyan area (van HuiS, unpubl.) The report of Berg (1973-1974) testifies to the existence ofar-able cultivation in the Western Rhodopes Mts. even at around 2000 in a.s.l. during his visit of this area.

One ofthe pollen diagram from the South­ern Ruin Mts. (Popovi l.ivadi, 1400 m a.s.l.) is enormously rieh in pollen of Hordeum (18%) and Seeale (up to 37c) during the Hellenistic/ Thracian and Roman periods (PANOVSKA et ai.. 1995).

Pollen of Seeale is present in the diagrams from the Rila Mts. and Sredna Gora Mts. from the Iron Age onwards (Fig.3), probably as a re-sult of wind transport. Seeale is present in small quantitics compared with wheat and barley. It is an allogamous plant and should be well repré­sentée! in the pollen spectra but the fields culti­vated with rye must have been rather small.

Palaeoethnobotanical finds of Secale seeds date back mainly to the Middle Age and only sporadically to the F.neolithic period or the Bronze Age (LisiTSiNA/FiLiPOViCH 1980). The authors think that this plant was present as a weed among the rest of the cereals, but up to now pollen of Secale has been found in pollen diagrams from the coastal area, as well as from the mountains very rarely before the Bronze-Age (Bozuiiova/Bf.lg 1992; 1994).

We should also inclucle pollen of Triticum du-rum in the Cerealia pollen type for the Middle Ages. This species should be considered a fairly new one comparée! with the other wheats.

The présence of Cerealia pollen in modem surface samples from the mountainous areas with proportions below 1% is a resuit of long-distance transport, on account of the extensive cultivation of cereals, concentrated in the plains and the lowlands. The most widely cultivated species in Bulgaria loday at élévations below 1000 m is Triticum aestivum while T. durum is cultivated too though in smaller quantifies. The cultivation of einkorn is highly restricted. T di-coccum has most probably already disappeared. Rye is cultivated nowadays mainly in small fields in the mountainous areas.

References