EXPLORATIONS OF TUMULI NEAR SIMEONOVGRAD (Anelia Bozhkova – aneliabozkova@yahoo.com, Petar Delev) Piles of sherds, ceramic vessels, lath-and-plaster fragments, terracotta figurines, loom weights and spindle whorls of the 8th – 6th centuries BC were found on the site. Most likely, these are the remains of a settlement or a pit sanctuary. Two tumuli were built up on the same place. Tumulus No. 1 is 3.68 m in height and 28.50 m in diameter. Sherds of the 8th – 6th centuries BC were found within the embankment. A semi-circular wall of boulders was constructed in the northern and southeastern tumular periphery. Three graves were discovered. Graves Nos. 1 and 2 are Christian, secondary and without grave goods. The central grave is a pyre and dates to the 5th century BC. It was dug within the primary small mound heaped in the base of the tumulus. The ashes were placed within an Attic red figure krater, dug under the pyre and used as an urn. A small gold plate and an iron fibula were placed inside the urn, together with the ashes. The funerary construction was covered with a pile of boulders. Tumulus No. 2 is 5.30 m in height and 36 m in diameter. Three graves were discovered. The central grave dates to the 4th century BC and consists of a pyre more than 2.50 m in diameter. It is situated in the tumular center and in the base of the embankment. A silver appliqué was found in the pyre. Grave No. 2 is in the eastern tumular periphery. It is a pit with an inhumation burial and dates to the 4th century AD. Grave No. 3 is in the eastern periphery and in the base of the tumulus. It is covered with tiles and dates to the 5th – 6th centuries AD. More than 10 ceramic vessels of the 8th – 6th centuries BC and of the Classical period, including a stamped Thasian amphora of the 4th century BC, originate from the two tumuli.