of radical change over the entire period investigated (sixth centurybcto
second centuryad). Since particular technologies are linked to wider
cultural patterns, there is no reason to believe that the social and economic
structures of the extractive industries and associated smithing technolo-
gies, as well as the identities of the craftsmen involved in these processes,
underwent any significant changes during the course of antiquity.^91
Slags from iron working have been identified in a number of different
zones between Rhodope and the north Aegean coast—north-east of
Siderokastro, at Faia Petra; at Ano Vrondou and Panorama, two villages
c.30 km north-east of Serres, and at Katafyto, 7 km north of Ano
Vrondou, as well as other locations in the Vrondou valley and nearby
at Vathytopos; at Domatia, 24 km south-west of Kavala; at Angistron,
c.33 km north-west of Serres, close to the modern border with Bulgaria;
at Kimmeria, 2 km north of Xanthi; at Thermes, close to the Greek-
Bulgarian border; at Komaros, 5 km north of the ancient city of Zone
(formerly known as Messemvria); on Mount Menoikion, near Nea
Zichni (ancient Gazoros); and in and around Mount Pangaion. Although
the slags at most of these sites have formerly been identified as of
Ottoman date, metallurgical analysis of iron tools and weapons in the
region makes it likely that some of them can be associated with much
older exploitation from thefirst millenniumbc, as well as from Roman
imperial times. Some of the earliest iron products from the region were
discovered in ninth-centurybcdolmen burials at Roussa, in Rhodope,
while an early sword was found at Vafeika, 1 km north of Xanthi.
Northern Greece and adjacent regions of the central and east Balkans
are unusually rich in minerals, particularly metals. Gold, silver, lead, and
copper are the most widely known deposits; but zinc, arsenic, iron,
manganese, and nickel also occur, often in close proximity. The exploit-
ation of radioactive magnetite-bearing sands has been documented on
Thasos, in the Kavala area, and in the Vrondou mountains, as well as in
the area of Alexandroupolis, and has also been recorded along the west
Pontic coast of Thrace. The manganese-bearing ferrous ores of the
Symbolon range represent a particular local technological variant.
Haematite, one of the commonest iron-bearing ores, was more widely
exploited.^92
Kostoglou explored three case study areas, Abdera, Kalyva, and Zone,
both in terms of the evidence that the physical remains at the three sites
provided about the social character of these settlements and in terms of
the scientific evidence that analysis of iron tools could offer. One of the
(^91) Kostoglou 2008, 80. (^92) Kostoglou 2008, 56–7.
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