ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR TVARDITSA (Krasimir Velkov – dakras@abv.bg, Tatyana Kancheva–Ruseva, Veselin Ignatov) Parts of the southern and northern halves of the tumulus were explored during the previous eight archaeological seasons. Parts of three circles of stones, each with a diameter of c. 10 m, were discovered. A stone construction, 5.80 – 6.10 m in diameter and up to 80 cm in height, was discovered. It was partly destroyed by grave No. 60 of the 4th – 3rd century BC and by ritual pits Nos. 11 and 23. A pile a stones above the burial of a Thracian aristocrat of the 4th – 3rd century BC was explored. During the previous archaeological seasons, the total number of the graves discovered in the tumulus reached 94: one inhumation burial of the 4th – 3rd century BC, 15 cremation burials of the 2nd – 3rd centuries AD, 78 inhumation burials of the 4th – 5th centuries AD and 24 ritual pits that are earlier than the graves of the 4th – 5th centuries AD. During the archaeological excavations in 2007, an area of 215 sq. m was explored in the northern half of the tumular embankment. Four inhumation burials were discovered: graves Nos. 95, 96 and 97 were entirely excavated and grave No. 98 was partly explored. Two ceramic dishes, a ceramic cup and a necklace of glass beads were found in grave No. 95 and an iron arrowhead was found in grave No. 97. The graves date to the 4th – 5th centuries AD.