EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE TOWN OF SIMEONOVGRAD (Yavor Boyadziev – yavordb@abv.bg) The site is situated on the first not-flooded terrace of the Maritsa River. The cultural layer is 1 – 1.10 m in thickness. It is destroyed and quite disturbed down to 50 cm in depth due to the numerous ritual pits and the long-lasting ploughing of the land. The disturbed stratum contained sherds of the Late Neolithic period (Karanovo III Culture) – late 6th millennium BC. Burnt floors of three buildings were explored and part of the southern wall of one of them is preserved up to 15 cm in height. The wall was constructed of lath-and-plaster and posts and is 20 cm in width. The buildings were constructed on a layer of pounded clay, 15 – 20 cm thick. Two contemporary pits were excavated. The pits have several stages of filling and their walls were plastered with clay. The remains of the buildings were quite demolished due to the numerous ritual pits of the later periods, mostly of the Early Iron Age (11th – 6th centuries BC) but also coming from the antiquity and the Middle Ages. The pits are 1.50 – 2 m in diameter and up to 1.50 m in depth. The pottery predominantly belongs to the Karanovo III Culture and includes shapes typical of the period: dishes, jugs, cups and pots. Some Early Chalcolithic sherds belonging to the Maritsa Culture and dated to the first half of the 5th millenium BC were found, too. The pottery of the Early Iron Age includes dishes, cups, kantharoi, amphorae and dolia. Among the other finds, the flint artefacts and the ‘grain models’ are most numerous. In addition, fragments of terracotta cult tables, an anthropomorphic female figurine, stone tools, loom weights, etc. were discovered.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR SIMEONOVGRAD (Yavor Boyadziev – yavordb@abv.bg, Antoaneta Andonova, Kamen Boyadziev) The site was situated to the south above the ancient bed of the River of Maritsa. Early Neolithic sherds and an anthropomorphic figurine were found, related to the settlement located nearby. During the first phase of the Late Neolithic period (Karanovo III) a scattered settlement existed on the site. Three complexes were explored, each one consisting of one – two houses. Floor plasters, parts of walls, ovens and loom weights were discovered. One building most probably was two-storey. Over 100 storage pits were discovered in the area between the houses. The settlement had at least two occupation phases. The finds included sherds, over 150 fragments from small terracotta cult tables, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, terracotta models of grain, stone and flint and bone tools, and a shell of a sea urchin painted in Akropotamos Style, indicating relations with the Aegean coast. Early Chalcolithic sherds were found and five Late Chalcolithic pits were explored. Two Early Bronze Age occupation layers were discovered and groups of hearths were explored, some of them located under shelters. The finds included Early Bronze Age I and III sherds, stone and bone tools, fragments from stone battle axes, a terracotta model of a wheel and a terracotta anthropomorphic figurine. Sherds from the Middle Bronze Age or the beginning of the Late Bronze Age were also found on the site. In addition, Thracian sherds from the Classical and Hellenistic periods were discovered. Two piles of sherds of the 2nd – 4th centuries AD were explored, including from dolia with stone lids. Sherds of the 9th – 10th centuries and of the 12th – 14th centuries were also found on the site.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR SIMEONOVGRAD (Yavor Boyadziev – yavordb@abv.bg, Antoaneta Andonova, Kamen Boyadziev) The exploration of the Early Bronze Age drainage ditch, 2.50 – 4.70 m wide and 1 – 2.50 m deep, was completed. Late Neolithic strata were explored. A number of ovens and storage pits were discovered. A ramshackle building was discovered in Trench J12. Three consecutive buildings were documented. The earliest Building 5 was over 9.60 m long and 5.50 m wide and was destroyed by fire. The layer of burned debris was up to 60 cm thick, containing fragmentary wattle-and-daub and plasters with imprints from wooden beams arranged close to each other. Immediately after the destruction of Building 5, Building 3 was constructed. It measured 7.20 m by 6.40 m and was two-storey. Its western wall was identified by a row of postholes. The latest Building 6 was two-storey. The finds from the excavations included fragments from small terracotta cult tables and bone tools. The explorations showed that the settlement dated to the first half of the Late Neolithic period and the buildings were situated at 50 – 60 m from each other.