Rare 1,500-Year-Old Knife Set Found Together in Hadrianopolis Reveals Deep Roots of Animal Husbandry

Archaeologists working at Hadrianopolis often referred to as the “Black Sea’s Zeugma” have uncovered a rare knife set found together in a single context, offering new insight into daily life in Late Antiquity.

The discovery was made in a kitchen area within the Bath Complex, where four iron knives of similar type but different sizes were found alongside a sharpening stone. Initially recovered in nearly 250 fragmented pieces, the knives were later restored in the laboratory, revealing their original forms as a functional set.

A rare set pointing to livestock-based activity

What makes the find particularly significant is that the knives were recovered together as a complete group, rather than as isolated tools. According to excavation director Prof. Dr. Ersin Çelikbaş, this context provides a clear clue about how they were used.

“Finding these tools as a set in the same context suggests that the people living here were likely engaged in animal husbandry,” he said.

The interpretation aligns with previous archaeological evidence indicating that livestock production played a central role in the local economy during the Late Roman–Early Byzantine period.

A small stone with a deeper timeline

The sharpening stone discovered alongside the knives adds another layer of significance. Identified as a type similar to the locally known “kösele stone,” it suggests that this material, widely known from later historical periods, may have been in use much earlier than previously documented.

Evidence of long-term continuity

Stratigraphic analysis dates the knife set to the 5th–6th centuries AD, pointing to a well-established system of production and daily routines in Hadrianopolis.

Taken together, the knives and sharpening stone indicate that animal husbandry in the region was not a temporary activity but part of a long-standing tradition that appears to have continued for over 1,500 years, extending into the present-day practices of Eskipazar.

Cover Image Credit: İHA