ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SINEMORETS (Daniela Agre – daniela.agre@abv.bg) Three sondages were carried out. Sherds from the Late Ottoman period were found in sondage No. 1. A wall of a building, constructed of uneven stones and ashlars, was discovered in sondage No. 2. The wall is 1.10 m wide and is preserved up to four courses at 66 cm in height. Sherds from the Ottoman period, an Ottoman bronze coin, a belt buckle of the 19th century and Ottoman roofing tiles were found in a stratum c. 15 cm thick. A stratum, containing a large number of tegulae, fragmentary amphorae and pottery of the 4th – 3rd centuries BC, was discovered. A wall, constructed of uneven stones and 1.10 m wide, was documented in sondage No. 3. Two sunken dolia were discovered close to the wall. Tegulae and Hellenistic pottery were found. The building was constructed in the second half of the 3rd century BC.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SINEMORETS (Daniela Agre – daniela.agre@abv.bg, Deyan Dichev) An area of 150 sq. m was explored. Materials from the Hellenistic and the Ottoman periods were found. The foundations of a building with two rooms from the 18th – 19th centuries were discovered in four trenches. Sherds, animal bones, two silver Ottoman akçes, a small iron knife and part of a bone whistle were found. Structures from the Hellenistic period were explored in four trenches. A stone wall with two faces, which is an extension of the wall excavated in 2007, was discovered. Fragmentary tegulae and imbrices were found, as well as a sunken dolium. The Hellenistic walls belong to a tower, which is situated in front of the fortification wall. The tower measures 6.70 m by 5.75 m. The wall is 1.10 m wide, and has two faces with a core structure of uneven stones and a bonding medium of mud. The entrance of the tower is situated on its northern wall. Probably, the tower had two or more levels and the floors were constructed of wooden beams plastered with clay. The roofing of the tower presumably was covered with tegulae and imbrices. The construction of the 1.40 m wide fortification wall was identical. Sherds from amphorae (mostly from Kos and Thasos), dolia, kraters, a pelike, a lekythos, jugs, bowls, dishes, unguentaria, etc. were found. The site was a Hellenistic tyrsis that functioned from the mid 3rd century BC onwards.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SINEMORETS (Daniela Agre – daniela.agre@abv.bg, Deyan Dichev) Pottery was found when the foundations of the building from the Ottoman period were dismantled. The entrance of the Hellenistic tower was documented under the building of the Ottoman period, filled with fragmentary plaster, probably fallen down from the ceiling between the first and the second floor of the tower. Sherds from amphorae, dishes and bowls of the Hellenistic period were found. Part of the surrounding wall and a perpendicular wall, adjoining its inner face, were discovered in trench Z 4. Fragments of terracotta figurines and sherds of the Hellenistic period were found. A pile of tegulae and imbrices and sherds of a dolium was explored in trenches E 3 – 4, to the east of the eastern wall of the tower and to the south of the surrounding wall. Part of the surrounding wall was discovered in trenches D 3 – 4 and G 3 – 4, to the northeast of the tower. The wall was constructed of roughly cut stones arranged in irregular courses with a bonding medium of smaller stones and mud. Sherds from amphorae of the Hellenistic period and fragmentary tegulae and imbrices were found. Tegulae and imbrices were found in trenches I 4 – 5, in the western part of the site, and part of the surrounding wall was discovered. The finds from the Ottoman period dated to the 18th – 19th centuries and included pottery, an Ottoman coin and iron nails. The finds from the Hellenistic period included sherds from amphorae, mostly from Kos, bowls and dishes (many of them with red, brown-black and brown gloss), tegulae and imbrices. The Hellenistic building dated from the beginning of the 3rd century BC onwards.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SINEMORETS (Daniela Agre – daniela.agre@abv.bg, Deyan Dichev) The fortification wall to the east of the tower was preserved up to two courses in height and the wall to the west of the tower – at one course in height. The southeastern corner of the wall was preserved up to three courses in height. Sherds and fragmentary building ceramics were found along the fortification wall. Three dolia were discovered inside the fortification tower, and sherds from amphorae, a kantharos and a jug, fragmentary roof-tiles, charcoal and burned clay plaster were found. A ceramic vessel plugged with a lead stopper was discovered in the corner between the outer face of the eastern wall of the tower and the outer southern face of the fortification wall. The vessel contained a hoard of 199 silver tetradrachms of the 2nd century BC. A pottery kiln was explored inside the fortified area. The Hellenistic pottery included sherds from amphorae, mostly from Kos, Rhodes and Samos, sherds from bowls, dishes and kantharoi, many of them with red-, black- and brown-gloss, fragmentary tegulae and imbrices. The original situation in the excavated area was partly destroyed by later activities of the 18th – 19th centuries. The finds from the Ottoman period included pottery, Ottoman coins with small nominal value and nails. Five Christian burials were discovered. The deceased were rested in coffins. The grave goods included ceramic vessels and necklaces of pierced Ottoman silver akçe.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SINEMORETS (Daniela Agre – daniela.agre@abv.bg, Deyan Dichev) The explorations of the oven discovered in 2012 continued in Trenches I5-I6. In Sector West, Christian burials Nos. 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the 18th – 19th centuries were explored, dug out into the Hellenistic stratum. The grave goods comprised bronze beads, a small terracotta plate with a cross and letters, a bronze finger-ring and ceramic vessels. Iron nails from the coffins were discovered in the graves. In Sector East, a single-nave church with a narthex and two entrances from the south and from the west was explored, 17 m long and 7.80 m wide. Its walls were constructed of uneven stones bonded with mud and mortar. The finds included sherds from dishes, bowls and pitchers. The church dated to the 18th – 19th centuries. The finds from the excavations included sherds of the 2nd century BC, including from Greek amphorae, sherds of the 18th – 19th centuries and Ottoman coins with small face value.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SINEMORETS (Daniela Agre – daniela.agre@abv.bg, Deyan Dichev) The explorations at the southwestern fortification wall continued. A hoard of six bronze coins of the beginning of the 1st century BC and a small terracotta cult object was discovered in Trench Y6 in front of the inner side of the fortification wall. The pottery kiln discovered in 2012 was explored. An eschara, 95 cm by 90 cm in size and 12 cm high, was discovered at 2 m to the north of the kiln and sherds from Late Hellenistic amphora were found close to it. The explorations of the eastern fortification wall continued. Fragmentary wattle-and-daub, fragments from building ceramics and sherds of the second half of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC were discovered. Christian Graves Nos. 14 – 16 of the 18th – 19th centuries were explored in Trenches I6 and Y7. The grave goods included small terracotta plates with inscriptions that read: IC XC NIKA, a gilded silver finger-ring, ceramic vessels and horseshoes. The finds from the excavations dated to the second half of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC and included sherds, including from Greek amphorae, a terracotta unguentarium and terracotta spindle whorls.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SINEMORETS (Daniela Agre – daniela.agre@abv.bg, Deyan Dichev) The explorations of the southwestern and the western parts of the fortification wall and the area in Sector West continued. The western fortification wall was 1.40 m wide, built of roughly-cut stones bonded with mud and preserved up to 70 cm in height. A layer with fragmentary wattle-and-daub, ash and charcoal was discovered in Trenches I5/6 and Y5/6, and the floor of the building where a clay eschara was explored in 2015, was reached. Ten small terracotta cult objects were found in trench I7 and a domestic oven was discovered. Fragments from a decorated clay eschara were found in Trench Y8. A layer with fragmentary wattle-and-daub was discovered in Trenches I9 and Y9 and a clay eschara, 70 cm by 70 cm in size, was explored. A pile of sherds from 10 – 15 vessels was discovered in Trench Y9. The finds from the sector included sherds from Megarian bowls, krateroi, dolia and amphorae from Kos, roof-tiles of the Laconian and Corinthian Types. In Sector East, the apse of the church was documented and 13 Christian graves of the 19th century were explored. The grave goods included terracotta plates with crosses and inscriptions that read: IC XC NIKA, silver and bronze coins, ceramic vessels and horseshoes. A building with approximate size 4.20 m by 4.60 m, built in rubble masonry, was explored in Trench V14. A patch with fragmentary wattle-and-daub, traces from fire and sherds from amphorae was discovered. The finds from the Thracian tyrsis dated to the second half of the 2nd – beginning of the 1st centuries BC. The significant quantity of luxurious pottery discovered in the site, mostly imported from Anatolian production centers, indicated the significant economic power of the Thracian aristocrats.

EXCAVATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SINEMORETS (Daniela Agre – daniela.agre@abv.bg, Deyan Dichev) The explorations were concentrated at the southwestern part of the fortification wall. A drainage channel was excavated, going out through the western fortification wall. Sherds and an Olynthus Mill were found in the channel. A fragmentary ceramic strainer, pots, an amphora and a bowl were found in front of the inner side of the fortification wall. The western part of House I was explored. Burned timber beams were discovered. Burned acorns, a fragmentary krater, dishes, a Megarian bowl and a dolium were discovered on the floor level. A hearth was excavated, surrounded by fragments from imbrices. A clay eschara was discovered at 1 m from the hearth, surrounded by roof-tiles. In Trench I9, the postholes in the bedrock were completely explored. In trench Y9, a hearth and a fragmentary dolium _in situ_ were discovered close to the fortification wall. A house probably existed in these two trenches. Two pits were excavated in the northern sector of the site, one of them containing a layer of burned fragmentary wattle-and-daub and charcoal, and sherds, including from red-gloss pottery. The pottery from the Western Sector dated to the second half of the 2nd – beginning of the 1st centuries BC; it is Thracian and Greek, imported from Anatolia, including amphorae from Kos and Knidos. The Thracian tyrsis (residential tower) existed during the last quarter of the 2nd – beginning of the 1st centuries BC and was destroyed by fire. During the first half of the 1st century BC, a pottery kiln was constructed over the debris. During the 1st – 2nd centuries AD, pits were dug into the northwestern part of the site. In the northeastern part of the site, five Christian burials, dug into the Late Hellenistic stratum, were excavated to the east of the apse of the church. Grave No. 35 belonged to a woman, buried with gilded silver jewelry and a ceramic jug. Grave No. 1 of a woman was entirely excavated and a headscarf with brocade and with pinned bronze jewelry was found. The church and the cemetery dated to the 18th – 19th centuries.

EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SINEMORETS (Daniela Agre – daniela.agre@abv.bg, Deyan Dichev) In Sector South, the outer side of the southern fortification wall to the west of the tower was discovered in Trenches Z4 and I4. It was 1.40 m wide, built of roughly-cut stones. The gate of the fortification was discovered to the west of the tower; it was 2 m wide, flanked by two pilasters 1.40 m long and 1.10 m wide, built of roughly-cut stones bonded with mud. In Sector West, the drainage canal parallel to the southern fortification wall was explored, filled with sherds. In Trenches I7/Y7 the excavations of House No. 1 continued. A stratum c. 20 cm thick was discovered, containing burned fragmentary wattle-and-daub. Three bronze coins of the Thracian King Mostis (110 – 85 BC) and three small cult terracotta objects were discovered on the floor. In Trench Y8, burned fragmentary wattle-and-daub was found and the inner side of the fortification wall was excavated. In Trench Y9, sherds were found; two bronze coins of Mostis were found on the floor of House No. 2. In Trenches I12 – Y 12 Late Hellenistic finds were discovered; a layer of burned fragmentary wattle-and-daub was explored, originating from destroyed rooms that adjoined the fortification wall. In the Northeastern Sector, a pile of uneven stones, fragmentary building ceramics and burned fragmentary wattle-and-daub was excavated in Trench G15; Late Hellenistic pottery was found. In Trenches V12–13 and G12–13 five pits (Nos. 3 – 7) were discovered. Pits Nos. 4, 5 and 7 contained fragmentary wattle-and-daub, animal bones, pieces of charcoal, ceramic vessels broken _in situ_ and sherds of the Early Bronze Age 3, while a bronze bar was also found in Pit No. 5. Pits Nos. 3 and 6 contained sherds of the 1st century BC – 1st century AD. In Sector East, a section of the eastern fortification wall was discovered in Trench B6. In Trench V6, the floor level was revealed; bronze coins of Mostis, sherds, including from Megarian bowls and amphorae, were found on the floor. In Trench B6, five Christian burials of the 19th century were excavated. The grave goods included ceramic vessels, bronze, silver and glass jewelry, small iron knives, terracotta plates with cross and inscription that reads: IC XC NIKA. The Late Hellenistic pottery from the excavations included Megarian bowls, krateroi imported from Anatolian production centers, Thracian hand-made vessels and amphorae of Kos, Rhodes and Knidos. Fifteen bronze coins were found: one of the Thracian King Sadalas (c. 90 – 58 BC), one minted in Byzantion in the beginning of the 1st century BC and 13 of Mostis. The chronology of the site is – First Period: the existence of the Thracian royal _tyrsis_ during the last quarter of the 2nd – beginning of the 1st centuries BC and its burning; Second Period: occupation in the western part of the site during c. 75 – 50 BC and its destruction; Third Period: digging pits containing pottery of the 1st century BC – 1st century AD; Fourth Period: existence of a church with a cemetery during the 18th – 19th centuries.