ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF RASOVO (Stanislav Ivanov – stanislavivanovarh@gmail.com) The Lomski Val rampart was the third, outer western earthen fortification line of the First Bulgarian Kingdom and was c. 28 km long. It began from the Danube at c. 3 km to the east of the Town of Lom and continued to the south. For the first time, the fortification was described at the end of the 19th century: the ditch was 3 m deep and the rampart was situated to the east of it and was up to 2 m high. According to another description of the beginning of the 20th century, the ditch was 7.50 – 11 m wide and 1.50 – 1.70 m deep, while the rampart was preserved up to 2 m in height. During the 1970s, three cross-sections of the rampart and the ditch were excavated: the ditch was 3 – 3.50 m deep, 10 m wide in its upper part and 2 m wide at the bottom, while the rampart was 10 – 15 m wide and preserved up to 50 – 60 cm in height. In 2019, a destroyed sector of the rampart was explored. The ditch was 2.95 m deep, c. 4.50 m wide and 1.40 – 1.70 m wide at the bottom. Judging from the outlines of its walls, the ditch was probably 6 – 7 m wide at its upper part. Single sherds of the 9th – 10th centuries AD and several bones from a horse, a cow, a sheep and a female wild pig were discovered in the ditch.