Introduction: Petar Popović and South-Eastern European Archaeology

Abstract

It is a rare occasion that one researcher’s career in archaeology including published results, extensive fieldwork and professional contacts, can inspire a volume with such vast, diachronic and diverse topics as is the case here. Namely, the bibliography of Petar Popović (see Bibliography of Petar Popović in this volume) contains numerous papers, chapters, and books focused on numismatics; (e.g., Popović 1983; Поповић 1987; Borić-Brešković, Popović 2006), ancient Celts and Scordisci, their cultures, migrations and contacts (e.g., Jovanović, Popović 1991; Popović 1992a; 1992b; 1992c; 1993; 1994; 1996a), the Balkan Bronze and Iron Ages (e.g., Vukmanović, Popović 1982; Popović, Vukmanović 1992; Popović 1996b), Kale–Krševica (e.g., Popović 2006; 2012), etc. These publications reveal his main scholarly interests in social, cultural, and economic aspects of the interrelations between the Paleo-Balkan communities and the Greek and Roman worlds. Beginning in the 1960s, Popović participated in numerous local and multinational excavation projects targeting some of the most prominent archaeological sites in Serbia and former Yugoslavia (e.g., Padina, Gomolava, Vinča, Bosut, Kadića Brdo, Faros, Issa). As a result, along with abundant friendships, fruitful discussions, and international contacts, he also became an indispensable participant in most regional archaeological interpretative endeavours focusing on problems beyond the Iron Age and numismatics. Having all this in mind, the three editors along with all of the authors, who are Petar’s friends and colleagues, have happily decided to publish this volume as a birthday present to him. Our scholarly goal is to provide space for some new answers to the archaeological questions Petar Popović is interested in. Since his interests remain vast and focused on still very current topics, connecting the two is not a difficult task.