late antique itineraries as Bona Mansio, 2 km north–east of the river port
at Adjiyska Vodenitsa (Hadji’s water mill), near Vetren, a small, pictur-
esque, modern town in the foothills of the Sredna Gora (Fig. 5.4). The
local geography of the western end of the Thracian Plain in central
Bulgaria has been altered by radical changes in the riverbed of the
Maritsa (Hebros) River, which have resulted in aflat alluvial plain.
This gives little hint of the ancient activities that took place on its
banks. The late antiquemansiowas positioned on a spur overlooking
the Roman road between Byzantion and Serdica, on the northern bank of
the river. Below these foothills, successive braids have formed when the
river has cut a new course. These successive cuts have destroyed ancient
riverside structures, including much of the pre-Roman settlement at
Adjiyska Vodenitsa, whose remains continue to be eroded by the
river.^98 The surviving traces of an urban centre are preserved on either
side of the eastern gateway, together with adjoining sections of a
Fig. 5.4.Adjiyska Vodenitsa, identified with ancient Pistiros: approach to the
eastern gateway from inside the city (looking north-east). The square external
tower is behind the western threshold slab of the city gate in the centre, the roadway
on its right, and the northern stretch of the fortification wall on the centre left
(^98) Chiverrell and Archibald 2009.
232 Regionalism and regional economies