The proposed dissertation aims to synthesise and analyse the information gathered in recent decades on the development of settlements during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age along the middle courses of the Maritsa and Tundzha rivers. The study focuses on identifying patterns in the general characteristics of the occupied spaces during these two periods. Understanding the nature of settlement structures in this region is crucial to understanding the wider cultural transformations that took place in the context of the so-called ‘Dark Ages’. This period was marked by major ethnic shifts and socio-cultural upheavals in the Bronze Age societies of the eastern Mediterranean. It also witnessed the decline of royal institutions in the Mycenaean world and Near Eastern civilisations, as well as the introduction of iron, a new metal that had a ‘democratising’ effect on society. One of the most significant aspects of the cultural and historical development of the early Thracian communities is the transformation of their settlement traditions, which began at the end of the 3rd millennium BC and continued until the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. This is reflected in the abandonment of mounds as the primary form of clan-tribal dwellings, indicating a shift in the way these communities organised their living spaces.