ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF ORYAHOVO (Stanislav Iliev – utah1912@abv.bg) The dolmen was published in 1901 for the first time, alongside with three other destroyed monuments. The dolmen belongs to an extensive necropolis, which has an area of c. 2 ha in Eshmedzhika and Bayamlaka localities. It is not possible to specify whether the dolmen was covered with a tumular embankment. There is an elevated circular area around the dolmen, which is c. 30 cm in height and 16 m in diameter. Three slabs of the dolmen are preserved, two of them longitudinal. The northern slab is 2.50 m in length and 1.20 m in height, and the southern one is 2.60 m in length and 1.40 m in height. The western transverse back slab is 1.10 m in length and 1.08 m in height. The covering slab and the transverse entrance slab of the dolmen are missing. There are a number of holes, 5 – 8 cm in diameter and 2 – 6 cm in depth, on the inner side of the southern longitudinal slab. An outer mantle of stones, which has an almost circular layout, 4 – 5 m in diameter, and surrounds the dolmen, was discovered at 20 – 35 cm in depth. Hand-made pottery of the Early Iron Age (11th – 6th centuries BC) was found. The dolmen dates to the same period.