ST. SOPHIA BASILICA (Yunian Meshekov – meshekov@abv.bg) Three graves belonging to the necropolis of Serdica were explored under St. Sophia Basilica. Grave No. 1 situated under the northern part of the transept was built of fragmentary bricks bonded with mortar. The burial chamber had a preserved length of 1.50 m and was 40 cm wide and 40 cm deep. It was covered with bricks. An iron nail from a coffin was found inside the chamber. The grave was partly destroyed during the construction of the transept. The skeleton of the deceased was partly preserved and belonged to a man rested with his head to the west. There were no grave goods. Grave No. 2 was situated under the western wall of Church No. 1 (the so-called martyrium) and its extension built after AD 313. The grave was constructed of fragmentary bricks bonded with mortar. It was covered with two stone slabs. The burial chamber was 1.75 m long, 90 cm wide and 40 cm deep. The skeletons belonged to a family: a man and a woman under the age of 45 years, a child four – four and a half years old and a baby under one year old. The deceased were rested with heads to the west. There were no grave goods. Grave No. 3 situated under the southern part of the transept was built of fragmentary bricks bonded with mortar. It was covered with two stone slabs. The burial chamber had the preserved length of 1.30 m and was 45 cm wide and 35 cm deep. A woman rested with head to the west was buried in the grave. There were no grave goods. During the construction of the basilica the grave was not destroyed, but it was preserved in situ and the new construction was done in order to preserve it. However, the builders had destroyed another later grave and had collected the bones of a deceased man and reburied them in grave No. 3. The three graves dated to the late 3rd or the beginning of the 4th century AD, in the period before the construction of Church No. 1.