EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@mail.bg, Nikola Theodossiev) Foundations of Thracian buildings were documented in the locality. Different finds were discovered: coins minted by the Thracian kings Amatokos II (359 – 351 BC) and Seuthes III (c. 330 – 300 BC), a bronze stamp for minting denarii of Augustus, a silver earring of the 1st century AD and a bronze lamp of the end of the 1st – beginning of the 2nd century AD. Fortification constructions were built on the site during the Middle Ages. A mediaeval Bulgarian inscription of the 13th century was found in a cave related to a church and monastery. The inscription mentions the name of the mediaeval settlement: Vratitsa. In 2007, a fortification with pentagonal lay-out was discovered. The walls were constructed of ashlars with a core structure of uneven stones bonded with mortar. The maximum width of the wall is 2.40 m. Part of the western fortification wall with a square tower was discovered. The eastern fortification wall was entirely explored. There is a staircase in its northern end. Wooden beams for leveling the structure were used during the construction of the eastern wall. A large trapezoidal room, probably the barracks, connects the eastern and the western fortification walls from the south. An occupation stratum of the 4th century AD, containing traces of fire, was discovered under the foundations of the fortification tower and the church. The fortification was constructed and occupied during the 6th century AD, when the territory was part of the Byzantine Empire. The fortification was reconstructed and reused during the 13th – 14th century at the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. The church and the cave, where the mediaeval Bulgarian inscription of the 13th century was found in 1942, were documented. During the excavations, 208 finds were discovered: a bronze fibula, a silver coin and a silver handle of vessel dated to the 4th – 1st centuries BC, a coin and a bronze fibula of the 3rd century AD, coins minted by Constantine the Great, Theodosius I and Justinian I, and bronze coins and pottery of the 13th – 14th centuries.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg) The western fortification wall and tower No. 1 were explored. The wall was preserved up to 1.35 m in height. Judging from a bronze scyphate minted by Manuel I Komnenos, the fortification wall was probably constructed during the first half of the 12th century. The wall probably existed until the fall of the Bulgarian Kingdom of Vidin, conquered by the Ottomans in 1396. A silver denar, minted in Transylvania in 1390 – 1400, was found in square A1/2, under the debris of the fortification wall. The stratum of the settlement of the 4th century AD was documented in squares А1/2, А2/4 and А2/3. Fragmentary building ceramics and a bronze coin of Valens, minted in Thessalonica in AD 364 – 369, were found. Coins of Constantine I and Theodosius I had been found in the same stratum in 2007. Two Early Hellenistic Thracian bronze arrowheads were found in square A2/2. The outer face of the building used for barracks and the inner face of the eastern fortification wall preserved up to 1.20 m in height were explored. The fortification wall was built either in the 6th century AD, or in the 12th century. During the 13th century, the fortification wall was reconstructed and the building was constructed. The stratum of the 4th century AD was documented in square E7/2. Fortification tower No. 2 on the eastern fortification wall was discovered. The tower had a triangular layout and was built of roughly cut stones bonded with mortar.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg, Nikola Theodossiev) The central fortification had a pentagonal layout. The western and the eastern walls of the fortification were built of ashlars bonded with mortar with an emplectum of roughly cut stones and mortar. A building with trapezoidal layout, probably barracks, was situated between both walls. The second fortified line of the fortress was situated to the south of the fortification and parallel to the Leva River. In 2009, the explorations of the western fortification wall with square Tower No. 1 and the eastern fortification wall with triangular Tower No. 2 continued. The fortification system was built during the Early Byzantine period. During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (12th – 14th centuries), the fortress was called Vratitsa and it was restored and extended. The finds from the excavations included a bronze fibula and bronze coins of Maroneia and Philippi dated to the 4th century BC – 1st century AD, bronze coins of Gordian III, Claudius Gothicus, Constantine the Great and Constantius II, a lead seal and bronze coins of Justinian I, and bronze coins and jewelry of the 12th – 14th centuries.

EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg) An Early Byzantine church was discovered, built in the 6th century AD during the reign of Justinian I and destroyed by the Slavs. Its walls, 1 – 1.25 m wide, were constructed of ashlars bonded with lime. The apse was preserved more than 1.50 m in height and its outer face was plastered with mortar. The outer side of the apse was pentagonal and its interior was semicircular, 4.50 m in diameter. The nave was 6 m wide and 6.35 m long (without the apse). The finds included coins, jewelry and pottery. During the Middle Ages, other buildings were constructed over the church. The citadel of the fortress had irregular layout. Its fortification walls were built of ashlars with an emplectum of uneven stones and mortar. Quadrangle Tower No. 1 was situated on the western fortification wall and triangle Tower No. 2 was situated on the eastern fortification wall. To the south, both fortification walls were connected with a building, probably barracks. A second fortification wall with similar structure was documented, situated to the south of the citadel. The first occupation period of the site dated to the 4th – 1st centuries BC. The finds included bronze fibulae, a silver handle of a vessel, two bronze coins of Maroneia (minted in 398/397 – 348/347 BC) and Abdera (minted in 240 – 220 BC), and a Roman republican denarius (minted in 112/111 BC). The second occupation period dated to the 1st – 4th centuries AD. The finds included fibulae, a gold jewel, coins of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Septimius Severus, Julia Domna, Gordian III, Claudius Gothicus, Numerian, Constantine the Great, Constantius II, Valens and Theodosius I. The third occupation period dated to the 6th century AD. The finds included bronze coins and a lead seal of Justinian I, coins of the Justinian Dynasty and pottery. The latest occupation period dated to the 11th – 14th centuries. The finds included bronze and silver coins, jewelry and pottery. In 1941 an inscription was discovered on the site, which mentioned the Mediaeval town Vratitsa and a monastery that received a royal donation from the Bulgarian King Michael II Asen (1246 – 1256).

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg) Single-nave Church No. 2 was thoroughly explored. It measured 17.58 m by 5.75 m, with an apse 4.50 m in diameter and walls 1 – 1.30 m wide, constructed of cut stones bonded with mortar. The floor of the narthex was plastered with mortar. There were at least two construction periods of the church. Initially it was shorter and without a narthex. Later its western wall was dismantled and the church was extended with a narthex. A Christian burial of a child, 6 – 10 years old, was discovered. Judging from the coins, the jewelry and the pottery, the church was built in the beginning of the 6th century AD. During the reign of Justin I the church functioned, as attested by a coin discovered. During the reign of Justinian I, the church probably was damaged by an earthquake. In 2010, a coin of Justinian I minted in AD 527 – 532 in Constantinople was found under the debris. During the excavations, material of the end of the 6th – 5th centuries BC, a bronze coin of Valentinian I, a gold pendant from a jewel, a hook from scales and part of a candlestick were found. Church No. 3 of the 12th – 14th centuries was explored. The wall of its southern apse was 95 cm wide, built of stones bonded with mortar.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg) The explorations of Church No. 2 continued. It was built at the end of the 5th century AD and existed through the first half of the 6th century AD. Graves Nos. 2, 3, and 4 were discovered in the apse and they belonged to children. Grave No. 4 was partly destroyed during the construction of the church. The graves belonged to a Christian cemetery, which existed through the 4th – 5th centuries AD, before the construction of the church. The apse of the church was built of cut stones bonded with mortar. The southern wall of the church probably belonged to an earlier structure and the apse was built over it. A wall of the 12th – 14th centuries was documented in front of the entrance of the church.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg) The exploration of Church No. 2 continued. It was built at the end of the 5th century AD during the reign of Anastasius I. Later on, an annex of the church was built. Traces from fire were documented. The church was probably burned during some Barbarian invasion after AD 532, judging from a follis of Justinian I found in 2010 and minted in AD 527 – 532 in Constantinople. The existence of a Late Antique building was documented and a wall constructed of cut stones bonded with mortar and 70 cm wide was discovered. Another later wall was discovered above it, constructed of roughly-cut stones bonded with mortar. Both buildings existed until the reign of Zeno, judging from a coin discovered. During the 12th – 13th centuries a fortification wall was constructed over the northern wall of the church and its annex. The fortification wall was built of roughly-cut stones bonded with mortar and was 1.50 m wide.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg, Alexandra Petrova) The northern parts of Trenches AB3 and AB1/4 close to the baptistery of Church No. 2 of the Late Antiquity and the inner side of the Mediaeval fortification wall were explored. The foundations of the walls of two buildings were discovered, built of mortared rubble. The coins that were found, including one of Justin II and Sophia, showed the date of the later building, which was approximately synchronous to Church No. 2. The building ceramics from the earlier building dated to the second half of the 3rd century AD and a coin of Probus was found as well. A wall was discovered in Trench AB2, probably belonging to the Mediaeval fortress. The finds, including a silver coin of the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin, indicated that the wall probably dated to the 14th century. The explorations of the fortification wall, built of mortared rubble and 1.90 m wide, continued in Trenches AB1/2. Four Christian burials of the necropolis of the 13th – 14th centuries were discovered in Trenches AB2 and AB1. The finds from the excavations included fibulae and appliqués of the second half of the 3rd – 6th centuries AD, a silver coin of the Bulgarian King Michael III Shishman Asen, a Mediaeval gilded bronze button and a gold jewel.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg, Alexandra Petrova) The explorations were carried out in a sector situated to the northeast of Late Antique Church 2. A corner of a building was discovered, built during the second half of the 4th century AD and dismantled during the Middle Ages. The inner side of the fortification wall discovered in Trench АС1/3 was explored. It was built of roughly-cut stones bonded with mortar and was preserved at 2.50 m in height. Grave 5 in the cemetery of the 12th – 14th centuries situated at Church 1 was explored in Trench АС1/4. Wall 1 was explored, built of roughly-cut stones bonded with mortar, 1 m wide, 20.40 m long and preserved up to 40 cm in height. The wall was probably built at the end of the 14th century and protected the structures situated to the south from landslides and falling rocks.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg, Alexandra Petrova) Wall 1 was explored. Its foundation was discovered, built of roughly-cut stones bonded with mortar and 1 m wide. The wall protected the structures built to the south of it from landslides and falling rocks. Judging from a copper coin of the Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander, the wall was built at the end of the 14th century. A place for stirring mortar was discovered to the south of Wall 1 and beneath its foundation.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg) The explorations of Wall No. 1 of the 13th – 14th centuries continued. It was situated to the west of the Late Antique church and was built of cut stones bonded with mortar. Wall No. 2 of the 13th – 14th centuries was built of cut stones bonded with mortar. A hearth of the 4th – 5th century AD was discovered, dated by a coin found within it.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR VRATSA (Nartsis Torbov – natorbov@abv.bg) Structures of stones bonded with mortar were discovered beneath wall No. 1, related to the construction of Church 2 during the 6th century AD. Two walls were excavated; they shaped the corner of a building. Another wall was discovered nearby and a floor of a building was documented, plastered with mortar.