EXPLORATIONS IN KYUSTENDIL (Rumen Spasov – rumenspassov@abv.bg, Doichin Grozdanov, Rosita Stoyanova) The exploration of a mediaeval cemetery in Hisarlaka was carried out. Seventeen graves were excavated. Grave goods were found in three graves and include three glass bracelets, a fragment of an iron bracelet and an iron appliqué. A rectangular semi-interred dwelling that measures 2.80 m by 2.55 m was discovered. A stove is situated in the northern corner. A small number of early mediaeval sherds were found within the dwelling. Exploration on an area of 90 sq. m began within the architectural and archaeological reserve ‘Pautalia – Velbazhd’. The cultural layers are from the modern period, the Revival, the Middle Ages, the Late Antiquity and the Roman period. Part of a building was discovered within the Revival stratum. The building can be traced on an area of 6.90 m by 5.10 m (within the frames of the excavated plot) and consists of two premises. The discovered building belonged to a mosque and imaret that existed until the beginning of the 20th century. Remains of buildings and constructions were attested within the mediaeval stratum. Sherds of the 11th – 12th centuries were found. A building consisting of six premises (within the frames of the excavated plot) was registered in the late antique and the Roman stratum. Three flooring levels testifying to three construction periods were discovered. The latest flooring level was covered with a layer of debris containing coins of the first half of the 5th century AD.

EXPLORATIONS IN PAUTALIA – VELBAZHD – KYUSTENDIL (Rumen Spasov – rumenspassov@abv.bg, Doichin Grozdanov, Veselina Vandova, Galina Grozdanova, Rosita Stoyanova) The site is located in the northeastern part of Pautalia. An area of 320 sq. m was explored. The cultural stratum is down to 3.45 m in depth. It contains layers of the modern, revival, mediaeval, late antique and Roman periods. Traces of occupation during the end of Chalcolithic period (end of the 5th millennium BC) were also registered. 1. Remains of buildings and constructions of the first half of the 20th century were found down to 1 m in depth. 2. Building No. 1 comprises two rooms dates to the Revival period (late 18th – 19th centuries). 3. The mediaeval stratum is down to 1.20 m in depth. A sunken-floored dwelling measuring 4 m by 3.30 m was explored. There is a kiln in its southeastern part. Nine midden pits containing material from the second half of the 9th to the end of the 12th centuries were excavated. 4. A peristyle building existed on the site during the Roman and late antique periods. Part of the inner yard, two rooms to the south and six rooms to the east of the yard were explored. Remodeling the rooms of the building, changes in its lay-out and raising the floor levels occurred from the second half of the 5th to the end of the 6th centuries AD. 5. A layer of the end of the Chalcolithic period was explored in certain parts of the site, but no remains of constructions were discovered.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS IN KYUSTENDIL (Rumen Spasov – rumenspassov@abv.bg, Vesselina Vandova) The excavated site was situated in the northeastern quarter of the fortified territory of ancient Pautalia and covered an area of 400 sq. m. Strata, buildings and constructions from the modern period, the Revival, the Middle Ages (from the end of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century to the end of the 12th – beginning of the 13th century), the Late Antiquity and the Late Chalcolithic period, were registered. Two buildings (eastern and western) were discovered and they belong to the Late Antiquity. The eastern building has three construction periods dating from the second half of the 3rd to the first half of the 5th centuries AD. The data about the explored area from the middle of the 5th to the end of the 6th centuries AD and its occupation density are limited. The stratum of the Late Chalcolithic period (late 5th millennium BC) has an average thickness of 20 cm. Parts of several structures dug into the ground were discovered. The data from the exploration of the Late Chalcolithic stratum supplement the previous information gathered from the excavations of other sites situated in that part of the town and explored in the period 1994 – 2006.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PAUTALIA – VELBAZHD – KYUSTENDIL (Rumen Spasov – rumenspassov@abv.bg) An area of 350 sq. m was explored. The occupation strata are 3.50 – 3.90 m in thickness. The excavated strata and structures date to the Revival period of the 19th century, the Ottoman period, the Middle Ages, the Late Antiquity and the Roman period. Single finds date to the Neolithic period (late 7th – early 5th millennia BC). Three buildings belonged to the Revival and Ottoman periods. Five mediaeval midden pits date to the 11th – 12th centuries. An earlier mediaeval layer, containing materials of the 9th – 10th centuries AD, was discovered. Parts of two streets: a decumanus and a cardo, were situated in that part of Pautalia during the Roman period and the Late Antiquity. The two streets cross in the area that was explored. The archaeological data allow us to specify three construction periods in the development of the architectural complex that includes the two streets and adjacent buildings. The results from the archaeological explorations give important information for the urban system of Pautalia. The previously known cardines of Pautalia are narrower than the newly discovered street, which could be identified as the cardo maximus. The newly-discovered cardo is situated in the western half of Pautalia, close to the supposed location of the agora.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PAUTALIA – VELBAZHD – KYUSTENDIL (Doichin Grozdanov – doichyn_eg@abv.bg, Galina Grozdanova) The site covered an area of 100 sq. m situated in the northeastern part of the fortified area of Pautalia. Its western half was explored in 1997. Six rooms from a peristyle building were explored in 2005. During the present excavations four water-conduits of terracotta pipes of the Revival period (late 18th – 19th centuries) and a drain constructed of boulders and uneven stones and fragmentary bricks of the Ottoman period (the 16th – 17th centuries) were discovered. The northeastern corner of a Mediaeval house dated to the 10th – 11th centuries was discovered. Seven Early Mediaeval Christian graves (dated up to 10th century) were explored. Part of the peristyle building was discovered. Eight rooms with five construction periods were explored. The building was constructed of uneven stones bonded with mortar. Its walls were preserved up to 1.80 m in height and their foundations were 60 cm deep. The construction periods dated as follows: 1. second half of the 2nd – 3rd centuries AD (during the 3rd century AD the building was burned). 2. End of the 3rd – beginning of the 4th centuries AD. 3. End of the 4th – beginning of the 5th centuries AD. 4. First half of the 5th century AD. 5. Second half of the 5th – 6th centuries AD.