ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF NOVA NADEZHDA (Krum Bacvarov – krum.bacvarov@googlemail.com, Nadezhda Todorova, Georgi Katsarov) The explorations of the Early Neolithic settlement continued. Parts of the four surrounding ditches were explored. A dug out structure was documented, 4.10 m by 1.40 m in size and c. 1.80 m deep, filled with a layer of burned debris, 20 – 80 cm thick. Early Neolithic strata were documented in the Southern Sector and occupation remains that were not burned were excavated: building ditches with postholes, domestic ovens, pits and floor platforms. Nine radiocarbon dates from animal bones discovered in the Southern Sector indicated a relatively short occupation period of c. 150 years: from 5988–5845 to 5842–5709 cal BC. For comparison, the Early Neolithic occupation period documented in the Northern Sector lasted for c. 430 years. A hoard of bones from sheep/goats deserves attention, with two semi-produced pieces and three spatula-chisels among them. Judging from the osteological analysis of the bones from the excavations, the sheep/goats prevailed, while the oxen were significantly less and the pigs were only a few. Hunting was quite important for securing the food of the community and the bones from deer were much more numerous than in other Neolithic settlements. The large number of turtle shells and mussel shells is interesting, too.