ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS ON ADA TEPE HILL (Krasimir Nikov – k_nikov29@yahoo.com, Hristo Popov, Plamen Georgiev) Sector No. 1 on the southern slopes of the hill was occupied from c. AD 350 to c. AD 625. Four farms were explored, consisting of houses, farm buildings, circular yards 6.80 – 15 m in diameter, dolia, ovens and midden pits. A combination of timber material and stones was used in the construction of the buildings and the fences. The finds included pottery, tools, fibulae and coins from Constantius II to Justin I. two Christian cemeteries were explored, consisting of 14 and 20 cist graves, which belonged to the occupants of the farms. In the southern part of Sector No. 1, remains from buildings and finds of the 4th – 6th centuries AD and of the 3rd – 2nd centuries BC were discovered close to a spring. In Sector No. 5 on the western slopes of the hill, a tailing was explored up to 2.20 m thick and querns, stone pestles and sherds of the 15th – 12th centuries BC were found. In Sector No. 6 on the western slopes, remains from two work platforms and ramshackle buildings were explored, related to processing the gold ore. Querns and ceramic vessels of the 15th – 12th centuries BC were found in situ and fragmentary small rock pieces from the ore processing were discovered.