ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg) Building VIII is situated on the eastern side of the cardo, 5.50 m in width, which runs alongside the peristyle building. It stands at 5.50 m to the east of the eastern side entrance of the peristyle building. Building VIII consists of rooms arranged close to each other and presumably it was residential. Three of the rooms, which were entirely explored, are located on the eastern side of the cardo. Three other rooms are located just east of them. The rooms have a plinth, 1.10 m in height and 60 cm in width, built of cut stones bonded with mortar. A row of bricks, which measure 30 cm by 30 cm by 5 cm, lies above the plinth. A wall of horizontally arranged bricks of adobe, which measure 40 cm by 40 cm by 8 – 10 cm, lies above the row of bricks. The adobe walls were plastered with mortar. The rooms had a second floor. The roof was covered with tegulae and imbrices. The building was burnt twice: presumably, during the First Gothic Rebellion in AD 376 – 378 and when it was demolished during the invasion of the Huns in AD 447. The foundations of two Early Mediaeval sunken-floored dwellings were discovered above the debris of the building.

EXPLORATIONS IN ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) Building VIII is situated on the eastern side of the cardo, which runs alongside the peristyle building with Ionic colonnade. Five rooms were discovered and their total number is ten, including the rooms explored in 2004. The rooms have a plinth, 1.10 m in height and 60 – 70 cm in width, built of stones bonded with mortar. A row of bricks lies above the plinth. A wall of adobe plastered with mortar lies above the row of bricks. The rooms had a second floor. The roof was covered with tegulae and imbrices. The stratigraphic analysis and the coins show that the building was burnt during the attack of the Huns in AD 447 but it was immediately restored. The building was damaged during the Second Gothic Rebellion in AD 487 and again it was restored. The building was burnt during the final demolition of Abritus in AD 586. The western façade of the Late Antique building situated below the atrium of the basilica, within the ‘Early Mediaeval Complex’, was revealed, measuring 18 m. The face of the wall was built of ashlars bonded with mortar. Room No. 4 constructed of stones bonded with mud, 8 m by 4.10 – 5.40 m in size, was discovered next to Room No. 3. An extension with two rooms, situated below Room No. 4, was explored in the atrium of the basilica. Pottery, terracotta lamps, coins (including a coin hoard) of the end of the 4th – end of the 5th centuries AD, horn billets and scrap of copper plate were found in one of the rooms. A workshop functioned there and it was destroyed at the end of the 5th century AD. A corner of a Late Antique house built of stones bonded with mud was explored in the southwestern corner of the atrium of the basilica. The finds are contemporary with the objects found in the neighboring building.

EXPLORATIONS IN ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) Rooms Nos. 2 and 4 were explored in Building VIII. The exploration of rooms Nos. 17 and 18 began. The building measures 23.25 m by 47.50 m. A sunken-floored house of the second half of the 10th century was explored over the southern part of the building. The house was built of uneven stones bonded with mud and measures 5.63 m by 3 m. A floor plaster of a house of the first half of the 11th century was discovered over room No. 18. Fragmentary pots of the second half of the 10th – first half of the 11th centuries were found. The foundations of the Late Antique rooms were built of uneven stones bonded with mortar, the roof was covered with tegulae and imbrices, the walls were constructed of mud bricks and the floors were of trampled clay. Room No. 2 measures 6 m by 6.70 m and has two entrances. Bronze coins of the 4th – first half of the 5th centuries AD were found. Room No. 4 measures 5.80 m by 6.15 m and has an entrance towards room No. 2. Bronze coins of the second half of the 4th – first half of the 5th centuries AD were found. Four column bases were discovered at the southern and the western side of room No. 17. Coins of the second half of the 4th – beginning of the 5th centuries AD and a coin of Emperor Justin II were found in it. Room No. 18 measures 8.75 m by 6.75 m. Three hoards of totally 93 bronze coins of the second half of the 4th – first half of the 5th centuries AD and two coins minted by Emperors Justin II and Sophia were found in it. The Late Antique building had two construction periods: beginning of the 4th – first half of the 5th centuries AD and second half of the 5th – end of the 6th centuries AD. The building was demolished at the end of the 6th century AD during the general demolition of Abritus.

EXPLORATIONS IN ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) Room No. 18 and the area to the southeast of the room with the colonnade were explored in Building VIII. Four Late Antique and two Early Mediaeval construction periods were documented. A two-storey building, comprising at least 13 rooms with entrances to the west and south, was constructed during the first period. The central entrance had a peristyle and measured 8 m by 8.75 m. The building was constructed most probably during the reign of Constantine I and his successors. Judging from the coins, it was destroyed during the Gothic War of AD 376 – 382. During the second period, after the Gothic War and before the demolition caused by the attack of the Huns in AD 447, some of the entrances of the building were walled and a number of reconstructions were carried out. During the third period, after the middle of the 5th century AD, a pool with a drain was constructed. The period finished with a demolition at the end of the 5th century AD, judging from the traces of fire and burned bronze coins AE4 and a coin of Emperor Leo I the Thracian. The fourth period dates to the 6th century AD, documented by the pottery and the coins minted by Emperors Justin II with Sophia and Tiberius II Constantine with Anastasia. During the reign of Emperor Maurice, the building was demolished and abandoned. After c. 350 years, the Bulgars settled over the ruins of Abritus. Sunken-floored houses were constructed during the first occupation period of the Early Middle Ages. Pottery of the middle of the 10th century was found. The houses were destroyed in AD 968 – 971, during the military campaigns of Sviatoslav I Igorevich (AD 945 – 972), the Prince of Kievan Rus. The second period began after these events. Houses were built, dated by pottery of the end of the 10th – first half of the 11th centuries. The houses were destroyed during the attacks of the Pechenegs in the 1030s and the 1040s.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg) The explorations of Building VIII, situated in the eastern part of the fortification, continued. Part of the pavement, adjacent to the northern interior wall of room No. 17, was discovered. The pavement was built of stone slabs and parts of funerary reliefs, which were reused as spolia. The western part of the pavement was destroyed by an Early Mediaeval sunken-floored house. A base of a column and part of another column were discovered. The supposed peristyle court was 12.25 m by 8 m in size. The southwestern corner of room No. 20 was discovered. Its walls were 65 cm wide, preserved up to 70 cm in height and built of cut stones and fragmentary building ceramics bonded with mortar. A mortar wall plaster with incised geometric decoration was preserved. There was a corridor, 1.80 m wide and 8.75 m long, situated between rooms Nos. 11 and 20. The stone threshold in the southern part of the corridor was adjacent to the eastern wall of room No. 6. The threshold was 1.20 m long, 70 cm wide and 25 cm high. Judging from the pottery and the bronze coins, the building was constructed during the reign of Constantine the Great and his sons. The second construction period dated between the Gothic War of AD 376 – 382 and the Hunnic attack in AD 447. The last construction period dated after the middle of the 5th century AD. The earliest bronze coins discovered during the excavations belonged to Constantine the Great and Licinius I, while the latest ones were minted by Theodosius II in AD 425 – 450.

ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) Single ashlars were discovered along the line of the northern fortification wall. A pile of burned fragmentary sun-dried bricks from a Late Antique building was discovered from the inner side of the fortification wall and a terracotta lamp of the end of the 4th – 5th century AD was found. A wall built in rubble masonry was discovered at c. 20 m to the south of the northern fortification wall and a capital from a pilaster was found close to it. Fragmentary building ceramics and Late Antique finds (a quern, two bronze fibulae, a bronze belt buckle and a bronze finger-ring) were found along the inner side of the southern sector of the western fortification wall close to Towers Nos. 27 and 28. An altar with Greek inscription was found inside Tower No. 28. A pile of burned fragmentary sun-dried bricks was documented close to the entrance of Tower 26 situated on the southwestern corner of the fortress. A room was discovered in front of the entrance of Tower No. 23. Late Antique bronze belt buckle, two terracotta spindle whorls, a lead seal and six bronze coins of the 4th – 5th centuries AD were found along the inner side of the eastern sector of the southern fortification wall close to Towers Nos. 18, 19 and 20. Fragment from a stone column, sherds from amphorae and fragment from a brick with an incised figure of a horse were discovered in Tower No. 17. A wall built in rubble masonry was discovered to the east of the entrance of Tower 20. A pavement of slabs was discovered in front of the entrance of Tower No. 9 on the eastern sector of the northern fortification wall. An Early Mediaeval clasp from a book and a lead spindle whorl were found in Building VIII. A stone slab with Greek inscription was found close to the building. Four querns were discovered to the south of Building X and 49 bronze coins of AD 350 – 450 were found in Room No. 2.

ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) Two houses of the second half of the 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries were documented along the southern wall of Building VIII. Four buildings were discovered along the inner side of the eastern sector of the northern fortification wall close to Towers Nos. 8, 9 and 10. One room was discovered in the first building. It was constructed in rubble masonry and its walls were plastered with mortar. The finds comprised sherds of the 4th – 5th centuries AD, a terracotta lamp of the end of the 4th – 5th century AD, a stone spherical projectile and seven bronze coins, the latest one minted by Zeno. Five rooms were discovered in the second building. Their walls were plastered with mortar. The finds comprised sherds, fragments from glass vessels and 53 bronze coins minted from Constantine the Great to Justin II. Traces from fire were documented. Two rooms were discovered in the third building, constructed in rubble masonry. During the second construction period, the upper part of their walls was built of sun-dried bricks. Traces from fire were documented. The finds comprised sherds of the 4th – 5th centuries AD, fragments from glass vessels, a bronze fibula, a scramasax, six bronze coins of the 4th – beginning of the 5th centuries AD and a hoard of 73 bronze coins: the earliest ones were folles of Licinius I minted in AD 313 – 317 and the latest coin was minted by Arcadius in AD 402 – 408. A room with a staircase was discovered close to the southwestern corner fortification tower. The finds comprised sherds from amphorae of AD 400 – 450, four coins (including a follis of AD 498 – 527) and a hoard of 29 bronze coins of the end of the 4th – first half of the 5th centuries AD, the latest ones minted by Theodosius II in AD 425 – 450.

ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) A room adjoining the southern fortification wall was discovered to the north of the entrance of Tower No. 23. Rooms built in rubble masonry were discovered to the west of the gate of the eastern fortification wall. The finds included sherds from amphorae, bowls and pots of the 4th century AD and coins of Licinius I, Constantius II, Valens and Arcadius. A wall built in mortared rubble was discovered over the foundations of these rooms. The related pottery dated to the end of the 4th – first half of the 5th century AD. Walls of rooms, adjoining the inner side of the southern fortification wall and built in rubble masonry, were discovered in front of the entrances of Tower No. 17 and Postern III. The related pottery dated to the first half of the 4th century AD. A section of a water-conduit of terracotta pipes, 12 cm in diameter, was discovered under the threshold of Postern III. Two rooms built in rubble masonry were discovered in the western part of the sector, one of them adjoining the inner side of the southern fortification wall. Part of a stone pavement was discovered in front of the entrance of Tower No. 17. A coin of the first half of the 4th century AD and a coin of Constantine the Great minted in AD 318 – 320 were found on the pavement.

ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) The explorations of the buildings situated between Towers 9 and 10 along the inner side of the northern fortification wall continued in Sector 3. Two Early Mediaeval sunken-floored houses were discovered. The finds included sherds, including a bottom of a vessel with incised sign |Y| typical of the proto-Bulgars, a bronze cross–encolpion and an iron procession cross. Strata from AD 300 to AD 580 were documented beneath. Part of a building with two rooms, 13.80 m long, was discovered. The finds included sherds of the 6th century AD, mostly from amphorae, bronze coins of Anastasius I Dicoros and Justinian I. The foundations of the building were dug into earlier strata and foundations of another building were discovered there. It was 9.35 m long and dated to AD 480 – 525. The foundations of the building were dug into earlier strata and parts of five rooms were discovered there. Their lower parts of the walls, 1.30 m high, were constructed of stones and the upper parts were built of sun-dried bricks. The rooms were two-storeyed and their roof was covered with tegulae and imbrices. They had entrances with two-winged wooden doors and glass windows. The finds included sherds from bowls, pots, cups and amphorae, terracotta lamps and fragments from glass vessels. Judging from the coins, from Constantius II to Zeno, the rooms dated to AD 350 – 490. The rooms were burned. A corner of a building and a wall were discovered under the floor of the rooms. Judging from the coins, it dated to AD 300 – 340 during the reign of Licinius I and Constantine the Great.

ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) The explorations continued in Sector 3 along the Late Antique northern fortification wall and behind Tower 9. Debris from a sunken-floored house of the 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries was discovered. The finds included sherds, two bone awls, a bronze point of a belt and a bronze encolpion. Room No. 2 of Building 2 of the first half of the 4th century AD was entirely excavated. It measured 4.10 m by 2.45 m. Sherds were found, mostly from amphorae. The excavation of the wall of the monumental building of AD 325 – 350 continued. The explorations of Room 8 of AD 325 – 350 continued. Its eastern wall was constructed in rubble masonry over the banquette of the fortification wall.

ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) The explorations continued in Sector 3, situated from the inner side of the northern fortification wall, between Towers 9 and 10. A room of the 6th century AD was discovered, 6.50 m by 3.80 m in size and with an entrance, 1.10 m wide. Its walls were constructed in rubble masonry and their inner side was plastered with adobe. Sherds of the 6th century AD and a bronze coin of Justin II and Sophia were found. The room was destroyed during the AD 580s. Its floor was constructed over the burned debris of Room 3, which measured 6.50 m by 4.50 m and had three entrances. Sherds and coins of AD 350 – 490 were found in Room 3. Room 2, 3 m by 6.90/6.45 m in size, was thoroughly explored to the west of Room 3. The finds from Room 2 were synchronous to the finds from Room 3. Walls of an earlier room were discovered beneath the floor level of Room 2. Judging from the finds: a jug, a pot, fragmentary marble vessel, coins of Constantine the Great, Fausta and Constantius II, the earlier room dated to AD 325 – 350. The walls of Rooms 2 and 3 were built in rubble masonry and their upper parts were constructed with sun-dried bricks. Burned debris from the rooms was discovered. Their roofs were covered with tegulae and imbrices. The explored buildings were situated along the northern fortification wall, on the northern side of the street that led to the eastern gate of the town.

ABRITUS (Galena Radoslavova – galena_rz@abv.bg, Georgi Dzanev) The explorations in Sector West continued along the northern fortification wall, behind tower No. 9 and to the west of the eastern fortification gate. Room No. 1 measured 7.45/7.70 m by 4.20/4.50 m and had two entrances. The finds included pottery of the 4th – 5th centuries AD: an intact amphora and sherds from amphorae, pots and bowls, bronze coins from Constantius II to Theodosius II, semi-prepared products from antler, indicating the existence of a workshop in the room. Rooms Nos. 4 and 5 belonged to one building. Room No. 4 measured 6.50/7.20 m by 5.20 m and had three entrances. The finds included an iron fibula, Late Antique pottery: sherds from amphorae, pots and bowls, bronze coins from Constantius II to Theodosius II. Room No. 5 was 2.40 m wide. The finds included fragments from glass vessels, terracotta spindle whorls, fragmentary and intact amphorae, pots and bowls, bronze coins from Constantius II to Theodosius II. Room No. 10 was discovered close to the south of Room No. 5. A corridor was excavated between Room No. 1 and Rooms Nos. 4, 5 and 10, 13 m long and 1.10 m wide. Sherds of the 4th – 5th centuries AD were found. Debris from a Mediaeval sunken-floored house was excavated and sherds of the 10th century AD were found. Two pits filled with gastropod shells were discovered close to the house.