Dr. Katharine Kolpan, University of Idaho

The Milesian Greek colony of Apollonia Pontica (7th-3rd century BC) and its Roman colonial successor, Deultum (1st-4th century BC), were both prosperous trade centers and important Western Black Sea ports. Archaeological evidence, such as imported glass, Attic black-figure pottery, and non-native macrobotanicals, indicates that the local population was engaged in maritime trade with merchants from other cities throughout the Aegean and the Near East, who were likely exchanging their goods for the region’s rich copper and iron ore and the fish from its abundant fisheries. While there is significant evidence that goods traveled around the area, what is less certain is how both colonies’ positions as major trading centers affected migration to Apollonia and Deultum after their initial colonization and, and if so, whether new arrivals were assimilated into the population or were victims of hostility and violence. What little historical data there is suggests that successive waves of migration led to greater instability, however the archaeological evidence has yet to fully address this issue. This presentation will assess the evidence for trade during both the Greek and Roman periods as well as skeletal evidence of violence and healed trauma at Apollonia, while also exploring how current archaeological and osteological methods can be utilized to expand on lingering questions related to migration, assimilation, and the possibility of unrest along the Western Black Sea Coast during Classical Antiquity.