Via Pontica was an ancient

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

along the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, starting from

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

and passing through

Deultum Develtos ( el, Δεβελτός, Δηβελτός, Δεουελτòς, Δεούελτος, Διβηλτóς) or Deultum was an ancient city and bishopric in Thrace. It was located at the mouth of the River Sredetska on the west coast of Lake Mand ...

(today

Debelt Debelt (Bulgarian: Дебелт) is a village in Burgas Province in southeastern Bulgaria. It is located in the municipality of Sredets. History Debelt is located near the ruins of the city of Develtos. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, ...

), Aquae Calidae (today an outlying neighborhood of

Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a popu ...

), Apollonia,

Mesembria Mesembria ( grc, Μεσημβρία; grc-x-doric, Μεσαμβρία, Mesambria) was an important Greek city in ancient Thrace. It was situated on the coast of the Euxine and at the foot of Mount Haemus; consequently upon the confines of Moesi ...

, Odessos, Byzone, and

Kaliakra Kaliakra ( bg, Калиакра; ro, Caliacra) is a cape in the Southern Dobruja region of the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, which ends with a long and narrow headland east of Kavarna, northeast of Varna and southwest of Mangalia. The ...

(today in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

); and then through Kallatis, Tomis, and Istros (today in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Bird migration route

Today the name "Via Pontica" is given to Europe's second largest bird migration route, through the western part of the

Black Sea Biogeographic Region The Black Sea Biogeographic Region is a biogeographic region of land bordering the west and south of the Black Sea, as defined by the European Environment Agency . Extent The Black Sea Region is a coastal strip of land wide that runs along the c ...

. The migrating birds use the coastal lakes, marshes and lagoons behind the shoreline, and some spend the winter in these wetlands. The

Danube Delta The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...

is the best known of the wetlands. For the first time in ornithology the term "Via Pontica" was used by the Bulgarian ornithologist

Nikolay Boev Nikolay Krumov Boev (8 May 1922 - 12 November 1985) was a Bulgarian zoologist who worked at the National Museum of Natural History (Bulgaria) at Sofia. He specialized in ornithology, but also worked on mammals and was a pioneer of wildlife conservat ...

(1922-1985) to denote the Western Black Sea migratory way of birds.

Archeology Project in Bulgaria

In 2010

Bozhidar Dimitrov Bozhidar Dimitrov Stoyanov ( bg, Божидар Димитров Стоянов, 3 December 1945 – 1 July 2018) was a Bulgarian historian, politician, and polemicist in the sphere of Medieval Bulgarian history, the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria and ...

, director of the National Historical Museum, and

Simeon Dyankov Simeon Dyankov ( bg, Симеон Дянков, also Djankov; born July 13, 1970) is a Bulgarian economist. From 2009 to 2013, he was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Bulgaria in the government of Boyko Borisov. Prior to hi ...

, Deputy Prime Minister, started the Via Pontica project of restoring twenty ancient fortifications along the

coast. These start from the southernmost point of

Rezovo Rezovo ( bg, Резово, ) is a village and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, part of Tsarevo Municipality, Burgas Province, in the coastal Strandzha geographical region. Geography The village is in Strandzha Nature Park. Lying at the ...

and span the whole Bulgarian coastline to

. As a result of this work, several new archeological sites have been uncovered, including the Akra fortification near

Apollonia, Thrace Sozopol ( bg, Созопол , el, Σωζόπολη, translit=Sozopoli) is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the ...

, now

Sozopol Sozopol ( bg, Созопол , el, Σωζόπολη, translit=Sozopoli) is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the ...

References

Pontica Roman Thrace Roman sites in Bulgaria Roman sites in Turkey Roman roads in Romania {{Europe-road-stub