ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SALMANOVO (Stanimir Stoichev – s_stoichev@mail.bg, Yuri Iorgov, Ivan Babadzhanov) Three small tumuli are situated near to the excavated tumulus. A small mound of crushed stones was explored in the eastern part of the tumulus. A pile of intact and fragmentary hand- and wheel-made vessels was discovered on top of it. A bronze arrowhead was found among the crushed stones. A hearth containing fragmentary imported and Thracian pottery, cult objects and cremated bones was discovered below the small mound. Traces of a timber construction, presumably a funerary pyre, were also discovered. Grave No. 1 (a ceramic dish covered with another dish) was explored to the west of the hearth. A machaira and a spearhead were found close to the dishes. Remains of cloth, probably linen, alongside the cremated bones, an iron object and an iron fibula, were found inside the dish. Grave No. 2 was explored: a pit measuring 1.10 m by 1.17 m that was dug through the hearth. A black-gloss terracotta lamp with carbonized linen wick, a bronze pin, cult objects and sherds were found in the grave. Two heaps of cremated bones, glass beads (one of them showing human faces), an iron fibula, terracotta cult figurines, a small silver chain, a small silver tube and sherds were discovered on the bottom of the grave. Grave No. 3 (cenotaph) was discovered under the small mound of crushed stones and the hearth. It is a pit with a layout of two adjoining circles measuring 4.80 m by 3.80 m. Three or four iron spearheads, a bronze buckle of horse trappings and a fragmentary bronze helmet of Chalkidian type were found in the grave. In addition to the Thracian hand- and wheel-made pottery, imported black-gloss pottery and a Thasian amphora were found during the excavations. Five Mediterranean snails (Bolinus brandaris, Cerithium vulgatum) were also found. According to the finds, the tumulus dates to the 4th – 3rd century BC.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SALMANOVO (Stanimir Stoichev – s_stoichev@mail.bg, Yuri Iorgov, Ivan Babadzhanov) The excavations of tumulus No. 1, which were carried out in 2006, continued in 2007. The tumular embankment was thoroughly explored. Three ceramic vessels of the 3rd century BC were found in the embankment. Their chronology corresponds to the funerary pyre and the two graves explored in 2006. The pottery group from the tumular embankment, the pyre and the graves includes 46 vessels. The ground under the tumular embankment and the area surrounding the tumulus were explored and 16 ritual pits with different shape and depth were discovered. The finds from the pits include fragmentary ceramic vessels, terracotta cult hearths, escharai, spindle whorls and weapons dated to the 6th – 5th centuries BC. Nine ceramic vessels from the pits were completely or partly restored.