ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN DUROSTORUM – DRASTAR (Georgi Atanasov – geoatal@abv.bg) The explorations of the area behind triangular Tower No. 3 on the southern fortification wall continued. Occupation layers of the last decades of the 10th – 11th centuries up to 1 m thick were documented in the Eastern Sector. The Early Byzantine level was reached. Eight midden pits were explored. Pit No. 6 contained material of the Ottoman period. Judging from coins and sherds, Pits Nos. 8 – 13 dated to the 11th century. Pit No. 9 initially was probably a storage pit. It contained a large quantity of sherds of the second half of the 11th century: pots and glazed pottery, including a distillation vessel, animal bones and coins. The explorations in the Western Sector began in 1986 – 1987 when the southern fortification wall with pentagonal Tower No. 2 and triangular Tower No. 3 were discovered. In 2008 a wall built of ashlars was discovered, adjoining the inner side of the fortification wall. In 2013 a wall built of ashlars belonging to a building and tegulae and imbrices from collapsed roof were discovered. Some roof-tiles had signs, mostly the proto-Bulgarian sign: IYI. The building dated to the First Bulgarian Kingdom. Pits Nos. 1 – 4 were explored, containing sherds and coins of the 11th century. A dugout was discovered with a stove built of bricks. Sherds from pots of the 11th century were found there.