KASTRITSI FORTRESS NEAR VARNA (Valentin Pletnyov, Petko Georgiev, Hristo Kuzov - h.kouzov@abv.bg, Igor Lazarenko, Asya Stefanova) The northern fortification wall is 200 m in length and 1.80 – 2 m in width. It has two faces and a bonding medium of broken stones and mortar. The wall has five circular, one rectangular and one triangle towers. A wall surrounds the inner space close to the eastern end of the fortification wall. The inner fortification is protected by the rectangular and the triangle towers, and there is a square tower on its western wall. The gate of the fortress is located in the middle of the wall; it is 3.40 m in width and 3.20 m in length. Ancient and mediaeval shreds were discovered to the north of the fortress and most likely, they originate from a settlement. The western fortification wall has two faces and a bonding medium of broken stones and mortar; its width is 1.50 – 2 m. There is an inner wall in the northwestern corner of the fortress, which closes a rectangular area of c. 50 sq. m, most likely a donjon. Fragments of mediaeval pottery and of ancient and mediaeval amphorae, two fragments of frescoes and a terracotta rosette from the façade decoration of a church were found. A floor level with a kiln, a dolium and coins of Theodosius I, Constantine the Great and Licinius were discovered to the north of the fortress. Ancient and mediaeval pottery, a coin of the 2nd century AD, a bone pin, a fibula and a needle for fishing-nets were found at the inner fortification. Fragments of mediaeval sgraffito and kitchen pottery and 30 coins were discovered at the western fortification wall. The earliest coin is minted in Marcianopolis by Severus Alexander and Iulia Moesa. The late antique coins of the 4th – 7th centuries are predominant, but there are mediaeval Byzantine coins minted by Michael VIII and Andronikos III, two Venetian soldini minted by doge Francesco Dandolo and one coin minted by the Bulgarian king Todor Svetoslav (1300 – 1321).

EXPLORATIONS OF KASTRITSI FORTRESS NEAR VARNA (Valentin Pletnyov, Petko Georgiev, Hristo Kuzov - h.kouzov@abv.bg, Asya Stefanova) Four rooms of the end of the 13th – 14th centuries were discovered to the southwest of the fortress gate. According to the coins, they were destroyed by conflagration, presumably in the beginning of the 15th century. Most likely, three of them were built at the same time following a plan. Their walls bond and are 70 – 90 cm in thickness, built of ashlars with a bonding medium of mud, preserved up to 1.70 m in height. In fact, this is a north – south oriented tripartite building with additional reconstructions, whose northern rooms are more than 8 m in length. The other room has a wall built of stones with a bonding medium of mud and was discovered to the southwest of the tripartite building. A demolished wall within a stratum containing late antique pottery and coins was found below the mediaeval flooring level. Indeed, flooring levels of rammed clay were uncovered in all mediaeval rooms. The materials from the excavations are pottery, copper vessels, exagia and coins. Relatively intact ceramic vessels with sgraffito decoration, pots, pitchers and jugs were found. The coins (158 in all) are late antique and early mediaeval from the 4th to the beginning of the 7th centuries AD (the latest ones are emissions issued by Heraclius in AD 611), and late mediaeval from the 13th to the beginning of the 15th centuries (Latin imitations; Bulgarian coins minted by Theodor Svetoslav, Michael Shishman and Ioan Alexander; coins of the Dobrudzha Principality minted by Dobrotitsa and Ivanko Terter; Byzantine coins minted by Andronikos II Palaiologos and Manuel II Palaiologos; coins of the Golden Horde; coins minted by Joan Orsini; Moldavian coins; Ottoman coins minted by Bayezit I and emir Suleyman). A treasure of 47 gold perpera of the ‘Joan III Duca Vatazi’ type was found. Some of the coins are minted by Joan Duca Vatazi, but others are later imitations.

EXPLORATIONS IN KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Hristo Kuzov - h.kouzov@abv.bg, Asya Stefanova) A buttressed wall covering a Late Antique building consisting of adjoining rooms arranged in a row was discovered close to the northwestern tower. A flooring level with charcoal, carbonized beams, sherds and coins of the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries was discovered inside the tower. An earlier flooring level with charcoal, pottery, copper buttons and coins of the 14th century was explored below. A third lowest flooring level with Late Antique pottery was discovered. A room with fragmentary wall-paintings showing vegetative and linear ornaments, including a fragment most probably displaying a tower, was discovered close to the tower. A small Byzantine sgraffito cup placed in a jar and a coin of the second half of the 14th century were found. Presumably, the room was a chapel that adjoined the tower. A room with a furnace was discovered to the south of the tower. Bronze and lead melts, part of a bronze matrix for producing icons showing Christ Pantokrator, mediaeval pottery, two iron knives, a carpenter’s tool and a small bronze padlock were found in it. Charcoal, Late Antique pottery, coins of the 5th – beginning of the 6th centuries AD and the foundations of a building consisting of adjoining rooms arranged in a row were discovered below the floor level. Buildings consisting of a row of adjoining rooms and coins of the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries were explored to the southeast of the tower. A single-nave and single-apse church, 14 m by 5.60 m in size, was explored. A fragmentary altar table, clasps for books, a copper dish and coins of the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries were found. During the excavations 113 coins were found: coins of Odessos of the 3rd – 2nd centuries BC, coins minted by Licinius, Constantine I, Tiberius II Constantine, Anastasius I, Justin I, Justinian I, Maurice Tiberius, Phocas, Heraclius, John III Doukas Vatatzes, Andronikos II Palaiologos, John II Orsini, the Bulgarian Kings Theodor Svetoslav, Michael Shishman and Ivan Alexander, the Ottoman Sultans Murad I and Bayazid I, Emir Syuleiman, Beylik of Saruhan, etc.

EXPLORATIONS IN KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Hristo Kuzov - h.kouzov@abv.bg, Asya Stefanova) To the south of the corner tower, the western fortification wall was explored. Adjacent buildings arranged in a line were discovered. The finds include pottery of the 13th – 15th centuries and a treasure hoard: a small pot containing silver buttons, two finger-rings and an earring, plus 20 Ottoman Akce minted by Sultan Bayazid I spread around. Church No. 1 measures 8.80 m by 5.50 m. Two coins minted by the Bulgarian Kings Theodor Svetoslav (1300 – 1321/1322) and Michael III Shishman (1323 – 1330) were found in the trampled floor level. The church was built in the beginning of the 14th century. During the second half of the 14th century, a narthex, three rooms and precincts with fence were constructed. Twenty-eight Christian graves with deceased persons ranging from infants to adult men and women, dated to the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries, were discovered around the church and inside. Copper buttons were found in some graves. There is a denture of terracotta and resin on the supramaxilla of the woman buried in grave No. 30. A Late Antique building is situated below the church. Sherds of the 5th – 6th centuries AD, coins and layers with traces of fire were discovered. A building with two rooms, measuring 14.50 m by 5.50 m, was explored to the east of the street that is adjacent to the church. Pottery and coins of the 14th century were found. The finds from the excavations include Late Antique and Mediaeval pottery, terracotta and lead weights of fishing-nets, lids of exagia, knives, tools, spindle whorls and 184 coins of Odessos and Marcianopolis and minted by Faustina Junior, the Roman and Byzantine Emperors Antoninus Pius, Probus, Licinius, Constantine I, Constans I, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Justinian I, Justin II, Tiberius II Constantine, Maurice Tiberius, Phocas, Heraclius, Leo VI the Wise, Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos and Romanos I Lekapenos, Michael VIII Palaiologos, Andronikos II Palaiologos and John VIII Palaiologos, the Despot of Epirus John II Orsini (1323 – 1335), the Bulgarian Kings Konstantin Asen (1257 – 1277), Theodor Svetoslav, Michael III Shishman, Ivan Alexander (1331 – 1371) and Ivan Shishman (1371 – 1395), the Despot of Dobrudzha (Northeastern Bulgaria) Dobrotitsa (1366 – 1385), the Golden Horde (14th century), the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid I, Emir Syuleiman (1402 – 1410), Beylik of Saruhan (mid 14th century), the Prince of Walachia Mircea the Elder (1386 – 1418) and the Doge of Venice Francesco Dandolo (1329 – 1339).

EXPLORATIONS IN KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Hristo Kuzov - h.kouzov@abv.bg, Asya Stefanova) Twenty-two meters from the western fortification wall were explored to the south of the corner tower. The wall was built with ashlars in opus emplectum. Silver grossi of the Bulgarian Kings Ivan Alexander (1331 – 1371) and Ivan Sratsimir (1356 – 1396) were found. A building was discovered under the mediaeval strata in squares ХХІV and ХХХІV. Tegulae, imbrices and Byzantine folles of Phocas and Heraclius were found. Another building was situated to the west. Two gold hyperpyra of Andronikos II Palaiologos (one of them fourrée) were found in the strata above the building. Another building was explored. Tegulae, imbrices, amphorae and coins of the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th centuries AD were found. The Late Antique buildings were burned, probably in AD 614 judging from the coins. Seventeen buildings of the 13th – 14th centuries, some of them with two construction periods, were discovered. The finds included pottery, including sgraffito, amphorae, coins of the 14th century, a small seal with an inscription that reads: +БАКСАНЪ, three exagia, pendants with a reused anonymous Byzantine follis of Class A2 and a reused follis of Justinian I the Great, crosses – encolpia, finger-rings, a gold earring and bronze lamps. Four streets with two levels, 1.50 – 2 m wide, were discovered. During the excavations 739 coins were found. The coins were minted by Philip of Macedon, Odessos in 3rd – 2nd centuries BC, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Elagabalus, Gordian III, Roman provincial coins of the 2nd – 3rd centuries AD, Galerius, Constantine I the Great, Flavia Iulia Helena Augusta, Constantine II, Constantius II, Valentinian I, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Anastasius I Dicorus, Justin I, Justinian I the Great, Justin II, Tiberius II Constantine, Maurice, Phocas, Heraclius, Basil II, Romanos III Argyros, Michael VII Doukas, Alexios I Komnenos, Manuel I Komnenos, Michael VIII Palaiologos, Andronikos II Palaiologos, Manuel II Palaiologos, the Bulgarian Kings Theodor Svetoslav (1300 – 1321/1322), Michael III Shishman (1323 – 1330), Ivan Alexander and Ivan Sratsimir, the Despot of Dobrudzha (Northeastern Bulgaria) Dobrotitsa (1366 – 1385) minted in Drastar and Kaliakra, Latin imitations of the Type A of the first half of the 13th century, Bulgarian imitations of the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries, the Despot of Epirus John II Orsini (1323 – 1335), the Prince of Walachia Mircea the Elder (1386 – 1418), Prince Stephen I of Moldavia (1394 – 1399), the Khans of the Golden Horde Berke (1257 – 1266), Tokhta (1291 – 1312) and Uzbeg (1282–1341), copper mangır and silver akçe of the Ottoman Sultans Murad I and Bayazid I and Emir Syuleiman (1402 – 1410) – the latest ones minted in 1404, and the Mamluk sultans of Syria of the end of the 14th century.

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Hristo Kuzov - h.kouzov@abv.bg, Igor Lazarenko) Mediaeval buildings and a square were discovered in the western sector of Kastritsi. Five cobble streets lead to the square. There were buildings from both sides of the streets. Their walls were constructed of cut stones bonded with mud and were 70 – 90 cm wide. The buildings had two or three rooms and some of them had preserved the places of the wooden beams that supported second floors. Two construction periods were specified: the 13th and the 14th century, respectively. Coins and pottery, including sgraffito, were found. A single-nave church with an additionally built narthex was explored. There was a yard to the southeast of the church and parallel rooms arranged in a line, situated to the west of the church and adjoining the fortification wall. There was a corridor to the north of the church and there were parallel buildings arranged in a line from its northern side. The entrances of the parallel buildings were directed towards a street. A building with three rooms, 6 m wide and 21 m long, was explored and a hoard of copper coins of the 14th century was found inside. A building with two rooms was discovered under the mediaeval square. Its walls were 80 cm wide and were constructed of cut stones bonded with clay. The finds included coins of Phocas and Heraclius minted in AD 614, six amphoriskoi, two dolia and two amphorae. The building was covered with a layer containing tegulae, imbrices and burned wooden beams. The finds from the excavations included pottery, copper lamps, finger-rings, crosses encolpia, exagiae, a glass medallion showing Christ Pantocrator, 317 coins of Hadrian, Odessos, Marcianopolis, Probus, Licinius I, Constantine the Great, Crispus, Constantius II, Valentinian I, Valens I, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Honorius, Justin I, Justinian I, Justin II, Tiberius II Constantine, Maurice, Phocas, Heraclius, anonymous Byzantine folles (classes A2, B and G), Alexios I Komnenos, Latin imitations, Michael VIII Palaiologos, Andronikos II Palaiologos, Michael IX Palaiologos, Manuel II Palaiologos, the Bulgarian Kings Mitso Asen (1256 – 1263), Theodor Svetoslav (1300 – 1321/1322), Michael III Shishman (1323 – 1330), Ivan Alexander (1331 – 1371), Ivan Shishman (1371 – 1395) and Ivan Sratsimir (1356 – 1396), the Despot of Dobrudzha (Northeastern Bulgaria) Dobrotitsa (1366 – 1385), Francesco Dandolo, the Serbian Kings Stephen Uroš IV Dušan (1331 – 1355) and Stephen Uroš V (1346 – 1371), the Despot of Epirus John II Orsini (1323 – 1335), the Prince of Walachia Mircea the Elder (1386 – 1418), the Prince of Moldavia Petru II Muşat (1375 – 1391), the Golden Horde, the Ottoman Sultans Murad I and Bayazid I, and Emir Syuleiman (1402 – 1410).

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Maria Manolova-Voikova - mara_manolova@yahoo.de, Igor Lazarenko) Kastritsi was protected by a fortification wall, 200 m long, preserved up to 3 m in height, built of ashlars bonded with mortar and with repairs, with five circular, one rectangular and one triangular tower. There was a citadel in the eastern end of the fortress. The fortification gate was 3 m wide, with a corridor 3.40 m long situated in the middle of the fortification wall. There was a donjon corner tower with a chapel on its ground floor situated in the northwestern end of the fortress. A postern, 2.25 m wide, was discovered in the western part of the fortification wall. During the 14th century the postern was closed: coins of the Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander (1331 – 1371) were found in a joint between the stones. During the 13th – 14th centuries, buildings were constructed adjacent to the inner side of the fortification wall. A square with five streets leading towards it was documented. A Late Antique building with two rooms was discovered in trenches ХХІІІ 14–24. The explorations of the street flanked by parallel buildings arranged in a line continued in trenches ХХІV 3–5, 2–12. Pottery of the 13th – 14th centuries and coins of the second half of the 14th century were found in the buildings. The building in trench ХVІІ 21 was thoroughly explored and coins of the end of the 6th century AD and fragmentary amphorae were found. The building was partly destroyed by the Mediaeval buildings. A street paved with stone slabs was discovered and folles of Heraclius minted in AD 614 were found in the joints between the slabs. A house with two rooms was discovered and a hoard, containing 166 silver grossi of the Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander with his son Michael, was found close to the oven, placed in a small jug with sgraffito decoration. The finds from the excavations included pottery, including dishes with sgraffito decorations and monograms that read: Demetrius, a gold finger-ring, a decorated bronze mirror, copper lamps and dishes, a bronze cense, belt appliqués and buckles, weights for fishing nets and fishing rods, exagia, arrowheads for bows and cross-bows, 473 coins: Odessos (4th – 2nd centuries BC), a Roman Republican denarius (1st century BC), Licinius II, Constantine the Great, Constantius II, Julian, Theodosius I, Valentinian II, Arcadius, Marcian, Anastasius I Dicorus, Justin I, Justinian I, Justin II, Tiberius II Constantine, Maurice, Phocas, Heraclius (minted up to AD 614), anonymous Byzantine folles (classes A2 and B), Constantine X Ducas, Michael VII Ducas, Manuel I Komnenos, Michael VIII Palaiologos, Andronikos II Palaiologos, Michael IX Palaiologos, Andronikos III Palaiologos, the Bulgarian Kings Theodor Svetoslav (1300 – 1321/1322), Michael III Shishman (1323 – 1330), Ivan Alexander and Ivan Shishman (1371 – 1395), the Despot of Dobrudzha (Northeastern Bulgaria) Dobrotitsa (1366 – 1385), a tornesello of the Despot of Epirus John II Orsini (1323 – 1335), the Golden Horde, mangir and akçe of the Ottoman Sultans Murad I and Bayazid I, and Emir Syuleiman (minted up to 1404).

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Igor Lazarenko - lazarenko@mail.bg) The explorations of the square, the streets and the buildings in Sector West continued. The streets were paved with slabs or trampled rubble and clay. There was an earthquake in the middle of the 14th century and many houses were destroyed. They were subsequently rebuilt and new buildings were constructed. The buildings reached 18 m in length and 8 m in width. Their walls were built of cut stones bonded with mud and were 0.70 – 1 m wide. One or two ovens were located in each room and there were storage rooms without ovens. A metallurgical workshop, a forge and a trading room with many coins of the 14th century and a set of exagia were documented. The western fortification wall was 1.60 – 1.80 m wide and was preserved up to 3 m in height. The finds from the excavations included 359 coins: Odessos of the 1st century BC, Septimius Severus, Gordian III, Gallienus, Constantine II, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Theodosius II, Anastasius I Dicorus, Justin I, Justin II, Maurice, Phocas, Romanos III Argyros, Michael VII Doukas, John II Komnenos, Manuel I Komnenos (a billon coin), John III Doukas Vatatzes (a gold hyperperon), Michael VIII Palaiologos, Andronikos II Palaiologos, Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos (a gold hyperperon), the Bulgarian Kings Konstantin Tih – Asen, Theodore Svetoslav, Michael Shishman with Ivan Stefan, Ivan Alexander and Ivan Shishman, the Despot of Dobrudzha Dobrotitsa, the Despot of Epirus John II Orsini (10 billon torneselli), a hoard of 23 silver ducats of Mircea I of Wallachia, the Prince of Moldavia Petru I Muşat (two silver grossi), the Khans of the Golden Horde Berke and Tokhta, akçe and mangir of the Ottoman Sultans Murad I and Bayazid I, and Emir Syuleiman (minted up to 1404), coins of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt and Syria of the end of the 14th century, exagia, Mediaeval amphorae with stamps of Genoese Caffa in Crimea, Byzantine sgraffito pottery with monograms Demetrios, Michael, Prodromos and Palaiologos, Tatar bronze mirrors of the 14th century and two swords.

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Igor Lazarenko - lazarenko@mail.bg) The fortress occupied the St. Gianni Cape. It was recorded as Kastritsi on maps and portolans from the 14th century onwards. The explorations of streets, an area to the south of the fortification wall and buildings continued in Sector West. Eleven buildings with two and three rooms were discovered, adjoining and arranged parallel to each other on both sides of the streets. Their walls were preserved up to 1.80 m in height and were 0.70 – 1 m wide, built of roughly-cut stones and ashlars bonded with clay and mud. The buildings had storage rooms with ovens and storage pits for grain. All buildings and streets had two levels and reconstructions dated to the second half of the 14th century, which supports the hypothesis of an earthquake that happened in the middle of the century. The finds comprised pottery, including sgraffito showing images of birds and fishes and monograms that read Demetrios and Palaiologos, a lead trade seal of the end of the 14th century, 258 coins: a gold stater of the Lysimachus Type minted in Kallatis in the 2nd century BC, 26 Roman coins of Hadrian, Septimius Severus, Gordian III, Licinius, Constantius II, Arcadius and Theodosius II, 35 Byzantine coins of Anastasius I Dicorus, Justin I, Justin II, Maurice, Phocas, Heraclius (minted up to AD 614), Isaac I Komnenos, Michael VIII Palaiologos, Andronikos II Palaiologos, Andronikos III Palaiologos, Manuel II Palaiologos and a silver aspra of John II Megas Komnenos of Trebizond, 38 Bulgarian coins of Kings Konstantin Tih (1257 – 1277), Theodor Svetoslav (1300 – 1321/1322), Michael III Shishman (1323 – 1330) with Ivan Stefan, a silver grosso of Michael III Shishman, Ivan Alexander (1331 – 1371) and Ivan Shishman (1371 – 1395), and of the Despot of Dobrudzha Dobrotitsa (1366 – 1385) minted in Drastar and Kaliakra, a tornesello of the Despot of Epirus John II Orsini (1323 – 1335), a hoard of silver ducats of Mircea I of Wallachia, three silver grossi of the Prince of Moldavia Petru II Muşat (1375 – 1391), four Tatar coins of the 13th – 14th centuries including silver dirhams of Nogai Khan, 94 Ottoman copper mangir and silver akçe of Sultans Murad I and Bayezid I and Emir Suleiman (minted up to 1404), and two coins of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt and Syria of the end of the 14th century. The archaeobotanical analysis of pollens, seeds and carbonized fruits discovered in a pot of the 14th century revealed the presence of oak, lime, elm, horn-beam, maple, ash-tree, alder, pine, willow, walnut-tree, plum-tree, hazel-bush, cornel-tree, elder, wormwood, barley, wheat, corn-thistle, poppy, corn-flower, figs and grapes.

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Maria Manolova-Voikova – mara_manolova@yahoo.de, Igor Lazarenko) Two buildings, each one consisting of two rooms and discovered in 2012, were completely excavated. Part of the northern street, which began from a small square and was leading to the east, was explored. Four Mediaeval buildings were explored, each one consisting of one or two rooms. The buildings adjoined the fortification wall and their entrances were towards the northern street. Two of the buildings were constructed over the ruins of a building of the 6th century AD. Two Mediaeval buildings and part of the southern street located in the central part of the fortress were discovered. The walls of the buildings were 60 – 80 cm wide, constructed of cut stones bonded with mud. Collapsed burned timber beams and fragmentary wattle-and-daub were discovered in some of the buildings. All buildings and streets were reconstructed and had two levels, which confirmed the hypothesis that an earthquake occurred c. 1350. The finds from both construction levels were identical: sherds and coins from the middle and the second half of the 14th century. The presence of significant number of copper mangir and silver akçe of Sultans Murad I and Bayezid I in the upper occupation layers, mixed with coins of the Bulgarian Kings Ivan Alexander and Ivan Shishman, the Despot of Dobrudzha Dobrotitsa, Mircea I of Wallachia and Vlad I the Usurper, indicated that the reconstruction of the buildings occurred during the second half of the 14th century. The finds from the excavations included four crosses-encolpia, bronze belt buckles, _exagia_, Late Antique terracotta lamps, copper lamps of the 14th century, sherds from sgraffito pottery, some of them with monograms that read: Demetrios, a sherd from a cup with an inscription that reads: О ГЕОРГЕ, the base of a proto-maiolica dish produced in Southern Italy, shovels, spatulas, knives with bone handles, arrowheads and 445 coins: 31 Roman and Late Antique minted from Caracalla to Arcadius, 29 Early Byzantine minted from Anastasius I Dicorus to Heraclius, seven Byzantine: two anonymous folles of the Class A2 and the Class B and five minted by the Palaeologian Dynasty during the 14th century, 37 Bulgarian minted by the Kings Theodor Svetoslav, Michael III Shishman, Ivan Alexander and a silver grosso of Ivan Sratsimir, five copper coins of the Despot of Dobrudzha Dobrotitsa minted in Kaliakra and Drastar, 156 Wallachian, including three hoards (21 silver grossi of Mircea I of Wallachia, 130 billon coins of Mircea I of Wallachia and Vlad I the Usurper, six silver ducats of Mircea I of Wallachia), a copper coin of Pisa of the 14th century, five Tatar coins, 62 copper mangir and several silver akçe of Sultans Murad I and Bayezid I and Emir Suleiman (minted up to 1410).

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Maria Manolova-Voikova – mara_manolova@yahoo.de, Igor Lazarenko) The northern part of street leading to the south towards the port and situated to the east of Church No. 1 was explored and its access towards the western square was discovered. A coin and a sgraffito bowl of the 14th century were found in the altar of Church No. 1. In Trenches ХХV/23-25 and ХХХV/3-10 two buildings were discovered. Their walls were 70 – 80 cm wide, built of well-cut stones bonded with mud. Both buildings were destroyed in the middle of the 14th century and subsequently they were reconstructed. Their entrances were on their northern sides toward the street. Four buildings were discovered in Trench XXVI. One of them was transformed into a Church No. 2 with a floor paved with stone slabs. Sherds from sgraffito pottery, a coin of the Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander and small terracotta bowls from the façade decoration were found in the church. A cemetery was discovered to the west of the church and 20 graves were explored, belonging to men, women, children and babies. Flints were placed over the dead children in two graves. The church and the cemetery probably functioned at the end of the 14 century. During the excavations, 230 coins were found: 35 coins from Probus to Heraclius (the latest minted in AD 614) and 195 Mediaeval coins of Constantine X Doukas, Theodore I Laskaris, Andronikos II Palaiologos, Andronikos III Palaiologos, Manuel II Palaiologos, Bulgarian imitative coins of the first half of the 13th century, coins of the Bulgarian Kings Konstantin Asen, Theodore Svetoslav, Mihail Shishman with Ivan Stefan and Ivan Alexander, coins of the Bulgarian Despots Dobrotitsa (minted in Kaliakra) and Terter (minted in Drastar), silver grossi and ducats of Mircea I of Wallachia and Vlad I the Usurper, Ottoman copper mangir and silver akçe of Sultans Murad I and Bayezid I and Emir Suleiman.

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Maria Manolova-Voikova – mara_manolova@yahoo.de, Igor Lazarenko) A sector situated between the northern street and the fortification wall at the main gate, was explored. Five parallel buildings arranged in a line along the northern side of the street were explored. The buildings were 8 – 10 m by 6 – 9 m in size, with gates towards the street and interconnecting entrances between them. Their walls were 80 cm wide, built of well-cut stones bonded with mud, preserved up to 1.80 m in height. The buildings had two floor levels and respectively, two periods of construction and reconstructions. Identical finds were discovered in both strata: pottery, including sgraffito bowls and dishes, amphorae, and coins of the 14th – 15th centuries, but the difference was that the lower stratum did not contain Ottoman mangir and akçe of the second half of the 14th century. The foundation with the plinth of the fortification wall was explored. A staircase was discovered leading towards the fortification tower above the main gate and the circular bastion to the west of the gate. An important find for the chronology of the Mediaeval fortress was a copper coin of the Bulgarian King Theodore Svetoslav minted in 1300 – 1304, discovered in the mortar layer connecting the Late Antique fortification wall preserved in the Middle Ages and the new Mediaeval wall constructed above it. The finds from the excavations included pottery mainly from the 13th – 14th centuries, including imported sgraffito vessels showing animals or monograms and amphorae, coins: three Hellenistic, 33 Late Roman and Early Byzantine: Constantius Chlorus, Constantine the Great, Constantius II, Valentinian I, Justinian I, Justin II, Maurice and Phocas, 350 Mediaeval coins: Byzantine Emperors Constantine X Doukas, John II Komnenos, Michael VIII Palaiologos, Andronikos II Palaiologos, Andronikos III Palaiologos and Manuel II Palaiologos, Bulgarian Kings Mitso Asen, Theodore Svetoslav, Michael Shishman with Ivan Stefan, Ivan Alexander and Ivan Shishman, Bulgarian Despots Dobrotitsa and Terter, Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos John I Orsini, John III of Trebizond, Mircea I of Wallachia and Vlad I of Wallachia, Peter I Mushat of the Moldavian Principality, the Golden Horde, mangir and akçe of the Ottoman Sultans Murad I and Bayezid I and Emir Suleiman, including a hoard of 35 mangir of Emir Suleiman and three copper coins of the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt of the 14th century, a procession cross with Greek inscription that read “St. John the Baptist”, a bronze medallion showing Jesus Christ, exagia, iron tools and earrings.

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Valentin Pletnyov, Maria Manolova-Voikova – mara_manolova@yahoo.de, Igor Lazarenko) The explorations were carried out in the central part of the fortress, to the west of the street that led from the central gate to the south. Houses with one and two rooms of the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries were excavated, situated to the north and south of the church that was discovered in 2014. The houses adjoined each other and were built of small ashlars bonded with mud. Their outer walls were 0.80 – 1 m wide and their inner walls were 60 – 80 cm wide. A stone stove was documented in the building in Trench ХХVІ/1 and sherds and coins of the 14th century were found, including a coin of the Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander. An earlier floor was documented at 30 cm beneath the floor of the house and finds of the 14th century were found on it. A layer with fragmented building ceramics and sherds from amphorae of the 5th – 6th centuries AD was documented at 1.70 m beneath the earlier floor. The building in Trench ХХVІ/6-7 had two entrances and two floor levels were explored there. An oven was discovered on the later floor and sherds and Ottoman silver akçe of the end of the 14th century were found. A coin of Andronikos III Palaiologos was found in the clay plaster of the floor. The earlier floor was situated 50 cm beneath and finds of the 14th century were found on it. A layer of ash and burned wooden beams was discovered in the building in Trench ХХVІ/11-12, containing a copper mangır of Sultan Bayezid I. Three floor levels were explored in the building in Trench ХХVІ/22-23. A midden pit was dug into the earliest floor, containing animal bones and sherds, the latest ones of AD 1300 – 1350. The finds from the excavations included tools, jewelry, sherds mostly of the 14th century the 169 coins, the earliest ones of Odessos minted in the 4th century BC and the latest ones Austrian Kreutzer of 1858, but mostly of the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries, predominantly Ottoman coins of Sultan Bayezid I and Emir Süleyman Çelebi.

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Igor Lazarenko – lazarenko@mail.bg, Maria Manolova-Voikova) The excavations continued in the central southern part of the fortress. Four houses of the 14th – first half of the 15th centuries were discovered, situated to the south of Church No. 2 and built of faced stones bonded with clay. Iron nails and clamps were found, but roof-tiles were absent, indicating that the roofs were constructed from timber and straw. House 1 measured 5.35 m by 4.50 m with two occupation periods. The house dated to the second half of the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries and was built over the debris of a Late Antique structure. House 2 measured 7.60 m by 4.80 m with two occupation periods. Two stone stoves and finds of the second half of the 14th – first half of the 15th centuries were discovered. House 3 measured 7.30 m by 4.55 m with two occupation periods. The later one contained craft tools, agricultural tools, pottery, coins of the second half of the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries, a bronze matrix with the image of St. Joachim used to produce metal plates of icons. A stone stove and coins of the second half of the 14th century were discovered in the earlier one. A stratum with finds of the end of the 13th – 14th centuries and Late Antiquity was discovered beneath. House 4 measured 6 m by 4 m with two occupation periods. The latest one dated to the end of the 14th – beginning of the 15th centuries, while the earlier one contained finds and coins of the second half of the 14th century. The two floor levels were situated over the debris of a Late Antique building constructed of small ashlars bonded with clay and with floor paved with stone slabs. The finds included tegulae, imbrices, sherds and coins of the 5th – 6th centuries AD. A stratum with sherds of the 2nd – 4th centuries AD was explored beneath the Late Antique building. Another stratum with pieces from charcoal and Late Chalcolithic sherds was discovered beneath. The finds from the excavations included sherds and ceramic vessels mostly of the 14th – first half of the 15th centuries, jewelry of the 14th – 15th centuries, weapons, 140 coins: the earliest one a Roman denarius of the second half of the 2nd century AD and the latest one a silver akçe of Sultan Murad II.

KASTRITSI FORTRESS (Igor Lazarenko – lazarenko@mail.bg, Maria Manolova-Voikova) Six houses around Church No. 2 were excavated, situated in the central part of the fortress. House No. 3 dated to the 14th – first decades of the 15th centuries. An earlier midden pit containing a coin of the Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander and a coin-like plate of the end of the 14th – beginning of the 15th century were discovered beneath the latest third floor level. Sherds and coins of the AD 340s and of the end of the 4th – beginning of the 5th centuries AD were found beneath the earliest first floor level of the house. The excavations of the Late Antique building situated beneath House No. 4 continued. Sherds and coins were discovered beneath its floor level, indicating that the building was abandoned after the AD 570s. House No. 5 measured 5.50 m by 4.80 m. Sherds and coins of the 14th century were discovered over the floor. A corner of a building of the 5th – 6th centuries AD was excavated beneath the Mediaeval house. House No. 6 measured 4.75 m by 4.20 m. Coins were discovered over its upper floor level, indicating that the house dated at the end of the 14th century. Two coins of the Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander were discovered over the earlier lower floor level of the house. House No. 7 measured 7.65 m by 3.70 m. It dated to the last decades of the 14th century and was built over a Late Antique wall. The Late Antique stratum contained sherds and coins from the last decades of the 5th century AD to AD 575. House No. 8 dated to the first half of the 14th century. Twenty-one graves were discovered in the cemetery around Church No. 2: 14 babies and children, one young individual, six adults and mature individuals. Two bodies were laid in wooden coffins. Flint splinters and black pebbles were discovered over the body of the child buried in Grave No. 2. The body of the old woman buried in Grave No. 2 was covered with charcoal. Six graves contained grave goods: buttons, a bead, earrings and a finger-ring. The cemetery appeared at the end of the 14th or the first decades of the 15th century. The finds from the excavations included iron tools, arrowheads, copper and glass jewelry, ceramic vessels, 90 coins mostly of the 6th century AD and of the 14th century, the earliest one being a coin of Odessos of the 3rd century BC, while the latest ones were Ottoman copper mangir of Emir Süleyman Çelebi dated to the first decade of the 15th century.