ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF KONYOVETS (Rasho Rashev – naim@naim.bg) The last two tumuli, out of the four that are arranged in a quadrangle measuring 175 m by 115 m and oriented to the four cardinal points, were explored. Tumulus No. 2 is the northeastern one. It is 25 m in diameter and 3.50 m in height. Charcoal, animal bones and sherds from the Early Middle Ages were found in the lowest part of the tumular embankment. Probably, these were remains of ritual activities. Tumulus No. 3 is the southwestern one. It is 27 m in diameter and 4 m in height. Charcoal, animal bones and sherds from the Early Middle Ages were found in the lowest part of the tumular embankment. Probably, these were remains of ritual activities. The following structures were discovered in the ground below the tumular embankment: a ritual pit from the Bronze Age, two semi-dug sunken-floored houses containing Early Mediaeval pottery, four farming pits, one of them containing Early Mediaeval sherds, and two trenches from wooden fences, one of them containing Early Mediaeval sherds. Both tumuli thus date to the Early Middle Ages and are commemorative. The pottery found in the tumular embankments date to the 8th – middle of the 9th centuries AD. Before the construction of tumulus No. 3, a small Early Mediaeval settlement existed on the site. The remains from that settlement were traced out on s strip, c. 300 long and c. 100 m wide. The complex of four tumuli was constructed at once, probably during the funeral of the proto-Bulgarian aristocrat in tumulus No. 4.