CHERVEN (Svetlana Velikova – svetlanavelikova@abv.bg) The excavations of Church No. 16 continued. It was 13 m long and 7 m wide; its walls were 80 – 90 cm wide, built of ashlars bonded with mortar and preserved up to 1.60 m in height. A number of fragmentary bricks that were discovered indicated that there were rows of bricks in the upper parts of the walls. Traces from fire were documented. The façades of the church were decorated with pseudo-constructive niches, 1.30 m wide and 10 cm deep, while the pilasters between them were 80 cm wide. Traces from frescoes were preserved on the inner side of the walls. Graves Nos. 11 – 20 were discovered around the church. Eleven bodies of babies and children were found in some of the burial chambers and between them. Graves No. 9 and No. 10 cut into the rock were discovered in the nave of the church. They contained a large number of human bones, situated above the bodies of the deceased, indicating that the burial chambers were reused many times. A gold finger-ring was discovered in grave No. 9. The finds from the excavations included 366 coins (194 belonging to a hoard), gilded earrings, silver and bronze buttons, belt buckles, a clasp for a book, appliqués, tools and sherds from the 12th – 16th centuries. Church No. 16 was built during the first decades of the 14th century, while during the Early Ottoman period it was probably reused as a house and a warehouse.