ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR BANSKO (Vladimir Baryakov – vlbaryakov@mail.bg) Walls from buildings constructed of cut stones bonded with mortar and 65 cm wide were discovered in the northeastern part of the site. Tegulae and bricks, which collapsed during a fire, were found. A layer with traces from fire, 20 – 30 cm thick, was discovered. The finds included pottery, an iron hoe, a small axe, a pickaxe, a sickle, wedges, chisels, a pair of scissors, nails, clamps, latches for doors and windows, knives, arrowheads, spearheads, a cross, fragments from small glass vessels and from windows. A wall, 1 m wide, probably part of the inner fortification wall, was discovered in the northwestern part of the site. A small bronze plate, probably a buckle, with an inscription that reads: εὐλογ(ε)ίτω κύριος κόσμου, was found. Bronze coins of the 3rd – 4th centuries AD and the 6th century AD were found during the excavations. A coin hoard of 17 nummi with face value “K” and “M” minted by Justinian I was discovered. The fortress was probably burned at the end of the 6th – beginning of the 7th century AD, maybe during the Slavic invasions in the Byzantine Empire. Ottoman coins and coins minted by the Italian city-states were found, too.