ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR SAMOKOV (Veselin Hadzhiangelov – vhajiangelov@yahoo.com, Anastasia Cholakova) The area to the south of the basilica, in front of its entrance, was explored in Sector 2 (Early Byzantine basilica extra muros). A wall, constructed of boulders bonded with mortar and 60 cm wide, was discovered. It is an extension of the western wall of the basilica, oriented to the southeast. Its function was to terrace the terrain. Pottery, iron objects and a fragmentary glass church-lamp of the 5th – 6th century AD were found in the debris in front of the entrance of the basilica. The exploration of building No. 1, situated close to the fortification wall, continued in Sector 1B (fortification wall and adjacent buildings). The building has a trapezoidal layout and measures c. 9 m by 18 m. Its walls were constructed of uneven stones bonded with mortar or mud. Ceramic and mud bricks were used in some places. The roof was covered with tiles. A layer of debris was discovered, containing pottery, including red-gloss pottery of the end of the 3rd – 4th centuries AD, and finds up to the 6th century AD. A layer with traces of fire, 40 – 50 cm thick, was reached in the central part of the building. It was situated above the floor level and contained charcoal, mud bricks, fragmentary wattle-and-daub and pottery. According to the coins, the building was burned in the beginning of the 5th century AD. After the fire, the building was partly reused. Pieces of iron slag were found, indicating of the existence of a forge. Building No. 2, constructed of uneven stones bonded with mud, was documented to the south of Building No. 1. There was a street, c. 2.30 m wide, located between both buildings. The street led to the fortress gate that was explored in 2006. The finds from Sector 1B include 52 bronze coins of the 2nd – 6th centuries AD, iron fibulae of the Viminacium type and pottery, including grey Macedonian terra sigillata dated to the end of the 4th – first half of the 5th centuries AD.