ST. JOHN PRODROMOS MONASTERY (Kazimir Popkonstantinov, Tsonya Drazheva, Rossina Kostova – korina68bg@yahoo.com) A burial of a man, 20 – 25 years old, was discovered in the exonarthex of St. John Prodromos Church. The deceased lay in a wooden coffin with iron nails. The grave goods included an unguentarium, a spherical gilded bronze button, remains of gold-lace cloth, a pair of spurs and an iron hobnail. Partly preserved burial, most probably of a man, 35 – 45 years old, was discovered to the south of the first grave. The deceased were not monks, but probably they were donors to the monastery after it was restored in the middle of the 13th century. A marble capital decorated with a cross in relief, a fragment of a marble funerary slab with Greek inscription dated to the first half of the 14th century and a small marble column from a window were found to the east of the three apses of the church. Explorations of the basilica began. Sondage No. 1 was carried out between the second bricks-built column of the southern row of columns and the southern nave. An additional column, constructed of well-cut stones, bricks and roof-tiles bonded with mud, adjoined the bricks-built column. Both columns were built on a stylobate. A burial chamber with reburied human bones was discovered. Sherds, fragments of glass vessels and fragmentary frescoes were found under the altar apse of the basilica. Another apse of an earlier church was discovered below and it was partly reused during the construction of the later apse. The rooms situated along the western surrounding wall of the monastery were rediscovered. Room No. 2 measured 11.10 m by 6.08 m and it was not accessible from the inner yard of the monastery, but only from the outside. There was a niche in its southern wall and a platform paved with bricks was situated in front of the niche. There was a stove in the northeastern corner of the room with a chimney incorporated into the eastern wall. Rooms Nos. 11, 12 and 13, each of them 3.10 m by 2.80 m in size, were explored to the west of the northern gate of the monastery. Two bronze stamps used for decoration of leather binding of manuscripts and a bronze clasp of a book were found in Room No. 13. Nails, hinges from doors and windows, clamps and keys were also found.