EXPLORATIONS OF A ROMAN MANSIO NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GRANICHAK (Dobrin Antonov, Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@mail.bg) Several buildings around an inner yard were discovered during the previous excavations. The biggest one has an apse and a hypocaust. The mansio existed during the 4th century AD, according to the archaeological material found. The aim of the exploration was to trace out the borders of the architectural complex. Walls of premises and coins minted by Probus and by Constantine the Great and his sons were discovered in a sondage in the northeastern corner of the site. Different materials, including a coin of Valens, were found at the entrance of the apsed room and within the hypocaust. Three rooms adjoined to each other and ending with an apse were discovered close to the river. They were built of roughly cut stones bonded with mortar. The flooring plaster made of broken bricks and mortar is preserved in some places. These rooms were related to the entire architectural complex and most likely were baths. The wall of the apse is 84 cm in width. Room No. 1 is situated to the south of the apse and measures 3.35 m by 3.12 m. Its entrance is from the west and is 1 m in width. The preserved wall is 70 cm in width. Room No. 2 is situated to the south of room No. 1 and measures 3.40 m by 2 m. Its entrance is from the south and is 60 cm in width. The preserved wall is 80 cm in width. The wall of the whole building is preserved up to 90 cm – 1 m in height. A coin minted by Constantius II was found.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GRANICHAK (Dobrin Antonov, Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@mail.bg) The explorations of the mansio that existed in the 4th century AD continued. The western surrounding wall of the mansio makes a right angle and continues to the east. It is preserved at 70 m in length and marks the northern end of the mansio. The area between the eastern wall of the baths and the western surrounding wall of the mansio was explored. A layer with ancient debris thick up to 30 cm was discovered. Part of Room No. 3 of the baths was explored at 4 m in length and 3.60 m in width. The floor was constructed of mortar and broken bricks. The room adjoins the surrounding wall of the mansio and most likely it was built later than the baths. The banquette and the northwestern corner of its wall were discovered. The explorations of Rooms Nos. 1 and 2 of the baths were concluded. Room No. 1 measures 3.35 m by 3.12 m and Room No. 2 measures 3.35 m by 2 m. The area outside the western wall of the baths was explored. The hypocaust of the central building of the mansio was explored.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS OF ROMAN MANSIO NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GRANICHAK (Krassimira Luka – bularchaeo@gmail.com, Sara Tatarova) The area of the site is over 2800 sq. m. The stratum consists of a layer of debris from the walls of the buildings and their roofs, which is 50 – 60 cm in thickness. In 2001 – 2004, a single-apse building with parallel side rooms arranged in a line was discovered in Sector I. The building is constructed of partly cut stones bonded with mortar and has a hypocaust floor. In 2007, the exploration of the hypocaust in room No. 1 continued. The wall plaster under the floor level of room No. 1 was placed before the construction of the hypocaust. The suspensura of the hypocaust are up to 25 cm thick and are constructed of uneven stones and fragments of building ceramics bonded with mortar. The floor of the room consists of a plaster of mortar placed over the suspensura. An entrance in the western surrounding wall of the architectural complex was registered in Sector II. The finds from the site include belt appliqués, fragments of building ceramics with stamps that read DDNNAVCRAT, which were produced in Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiaria, and coins of the 4th century AD.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GRANICHAK (Sara Tatarova – sara_tatarova@abv.bg) The explorations were concentrated in rooms Nos. 6 and 7 of the complex near the administrative building and the entrance of the outer surrounding wall. A layer of debris from the roofing construction, c. 15 cm thick, was discovered over the floor of Room No. 6. Fragments of roof tiles with stamps that read DDNNAVCRAT were found. A layer of debris, consisting of fragmentary roof tiles, bricks and mortar, up to 60 cm thick, was discovered in Room No. 7. A room adjoining the outer surrounding wall, 4.80 m by 5 m in size, was discovered during the exploration of the entrance of the outer wall. A layer of debris, consisting of fragmentary bricks, roof tiles and mortar, was documented. The wall has traces of plaster, up to 4 cm thick.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GRANICHAK (Sara Tatarova – sara_tatarova@abv.bg) The outer surrounding wall in Sector II, Trenches R3 and Q3, was 60 cm wide. The explorations of Room No. 7 of Building No. 1 with an apse began in 2004. The western and the southern walls were discovered. A layer with debris was explored. Coins of the second half of the 4th century AD, nails and stamped building ceramics were found. In 2009 the layer with debris was thoroughly explored. It was 90 cm thick and consisted of fragmentary building ceramics and mortar. Significant part of the building ceramics had stamps that read: DDNNAVCRAT. A layer with traces from fire, up to 10 cm thick, was documented in the room. The northern wall was 50 cm wide and an entrance with a step 60 cm long was located. The finds in the room (coins and a fibula) allow us to date it to the second half of the 3rd – 4th centuries AD.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GRANICHAK (Sergey Torbatov, Ivailo Krumov – muzeibelogradchik@abv.bg) The Late Roman mansio located on the road between Ratiaria and Naissus was discovered in the beginning of the 1960s. Sondage A was carried out across the surrounding wall of the architectural complex and covering the room adjoining the wall. Two earlier floors of trampled clay were documented under the floor of mortar plaster of the final occupation period of the room. Late Roman sherds and two coins of Constantius II were found. Rooms Nos. 11 – 14 were explored in the northwestern corner of the architectural complex, to the north of Room No. 4. Floors of mortar plaster were explored in Rooms Nos. 11, 13 and 14. The finds discovered in the rooms comprised Late Roman sherds, fragmentary tegulae with stamps, hobnails, a bronze plate from lorica squamata and seven coins, the latest one of Honorius minted in AD 410 – 423 and dating the end of the existence of the architectural complex. Sondage B was carried out in Room No. 6 and a coin of Constantius Gallus was found. During the existence of the architectural complex, the tiles on the roof were entirely replaced. A large quantity of roof-tiles was reused as pads in the mortar floors in Rooms Nos. 13 and 14 and a midden of broken roof-tiles was discovered near the western surrounding wall of the architectural complex. The repair occurred most probably in AD 364 – 367 during the joint reign of Valentinian I and Valens. After the repair, the roof-tiles with stamp that read: DDNNAVGRAT appeared in the mansio. So far this particular stamp is attested on 131 roof-tiles and it is not known in other Late Antique archaeological sites.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GRANICHAK (Sergey Torbatov, Bilyana Ivanova – muzeibelogradchik@abv.bg) The explorations of the western part of the Late Roman mansio were completed. There was no entrance between Rooms Nos. 9 and 4. Room No. 9 and the complex to the north – northeast of it were added to the main architectural structure. A midden pit was explored under the foundation of the mortar floor of Room No. 9, containing fragmentary bricks and roof-tiles, sherds and two coins of AD 364 – 367, which were _terminus post quem_ for the second construction period. A fragment from tegula with a stamp that reads: DDNNAVGRAT, and a handle of Thracian ceramic vessel of the Late Bronze or the Early Iron Age were found in Room No. 10. Room No. 15 was built during the third construction period and it connected the architectural complex with the baths, built outside the fortification wall during the second construction period. A coin of Arcadius of AD 384 – 388 was found and it was _terminus post quem_ for the third construction period. Places for stirring mortar were discovered outside the fortification wall, to the west of Rooms Nos. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GRANICHAK (Sergey Torbatov, Bilyana Ivanova – bil2909@abv.bg) The mansio with its praetorium was situated on the Roman road Ratiaria – Naissus. The explorations continued in the parallel rooms arranged in a line along the northeastern surrounding wall of the architectural complex. Rooms Nos. 16 – 19 were excavated. Each room had an entrance towards the inner yard, while some of them were interconnected with entrances. The walls of the rooms were built of roughly-cut stones bonded with mortar and their floors were plastered with mortar. A line of quadrilateral foundations was explored in front of the southwestern façade of the rooms. The foundations stood at a little bit more than 3 m in front of the rooms and were constructed of roughly-cut stones, boulders and fragmentary building ceramics bonded with mortar. The bases of the columns that supported a portico with a roof covered with tiles stood over the rectangular foundations. A layer of fragmentary roof-tiles was discovered in the area of the portico. Judging from the coins, the construction of the rooms was launched after AD 364 – 367. Fifty-seven coins minted from AD 313 – 315 to AD 408 – 423 were found in the rooms. During the end of the 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries AD, sunken floored houses were constructed inside the rooms whose walls were still partly preserved.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GRANICHAK (Sergey Torbatov, Bilyana Ivanova – bil2909@abv.bg) The explorations of the Late Roman praetorium continued. Bases of pillars of a portico, built of square bricks, were documented in the anteroom of the large apsed building of the first construction period. A wall was discovered to the west of Room 2 and outside the architectural complex. It was additionally built perpendicular to the surrounding wall during the second construction period and dated after AD 364 – 367, judging from a coin. A mortar floor was discovered in Room 6 in the southeastern corner of the architectural complex. Five bases of columns of the portico in front of the western row of parallel rooms were excavated. The bases dated to the second construction period and were situated at c. 3.20 m in front of the façades of the rooms and at c. 3.50 m apart. Single Thracian sherds of the first half of the 1st millennium BC were found, when a settlement existed nearby.