Integrated Macrobotanical and Pollen Results from a Classical Greek Trading Port, Thrace

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Recent excavations at Molyvoti, a large fourth century B.C. settlement on the northern Aegean coast, have uncovered a residential neighborhood of homes and roadways laid out on a Hippodamian grid system. Thousands of carbonized plant remains have been identified from excavated domestic contexts including house floors, hearths, and abandoned wells. Macrobotanical results indicate that residents’ diets relied heavily on cereals such as barley and free-threshing wheat. Cereal processing activities at the site are evidenced by specimens of ground grain and bread fragments from a stone-and-plaster hearth feature. Along with grapes, hazelnut, and fig, the well-preserved contents of an abandoned well contained hundreds of charred conglomerations identified as probable food residues. The macrobotanical record at the site is complicated by the presence of sheep dung associated with courtyard floors, raising important questions about potential fuel sources and the multiple uses of courtyard-kitchen spaces. These results contribute to a growing picture of local and regional economies in Classical northern Greece through the lens of residents’ food choices and routine food preparation activities.