ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PAUTALIA – VELBAZHD – KYUSTENDIL (Yunian Meshekov – meshekov@abv.bg) The site covered an area of 450 sq. m and was situated in the southwestern quarter of Pautalia, to the south of decumanus maximus and close to its cross with cardo 2a. The walls of several buildings of the modern, Revival and Late Ottoman period, dated from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century, were discovered. A mediaeval layer, containing materials of the 9th – 10th centuries and a hearth, was documented. Eight rooms of a large Late Antique building were discovered. The building functioned from the 4th to the 6th centuries AD and had two construction periods. During the second period, it was probably converted to a peristyle building. A floor level of the first building period was explored in a room, 3.80 m by 3.90 m in size. There were traces of fire that occurred during the demolition, which probably happened at the end of the 4th – beginning of the 5th century AD. Most rooms had pavements in opus signinum. The earlier pavement of stone slabs, including a reused Ionic capital, was discovered in one room. The finds include ceramic vessels and coins of Emperors Constantine I, Licinius I, Constantius II, Julian II, Valens, Gratian and Theodosius I.