On the 9th of March, 2026, Dr. Despoina Tsiafaki, director of Research and Head of the Department of Culture and Creative Industries, gave a lecture entitled “Mountains Without Borders: Exploring the Archaeology of Southern Rhodope,” in Hall 2 of the Rectorate of Sofia University.
This lecture presented a synthetic review of archaeological sites identified in the southern Rhodope mountain range, with the aim of bridging the research gap between various archaeological datasets produced on different sides of modern national borders. Although the Rhodope has often been treated as a marginal upland zone, archaeological evidence reveals a dense and varied record of sites, routes, and activity areas from the Archaic to the Imperial period.
By bringing together published and newly documented material (e.g., settlements, fortifications, infrastructure, landscape features), the lecture explored how mountain environments structured mobility, communication, and cultural contact between Aegean and inland Thrace. Methodological approaches from landscape archaeology and spatial analysis were also discussed as tools for integrating fragmented regional data.
Drawing partly on ongoing work within the THRACE-CONNECT project, the talk highlighted the value of cross-border and landscape-scale perspectives for reconstructing ancient connectivity and regional interaction.
For more information: https://uni-sofia.bg/index.php/bul/novini/kalendar/publichna_lekciya_na_d_r_despina_ciafaki_mountains_without_borders_exploring_the_archaeology_of_southern_rhodope
