EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF ZELENDOL (Boni Petrunova – boni_boon@abv.bg, Tsvetana Komitova) The southern fortification wall, 31.20 m long and 1 m wide, had an entrance in the middle, which was 2.20 m wide and was closed with a two-wing gate. A semicircular fortification tower was situated to the west of the entrance. Two rooms, probably towers, were discovered in the northwestern and the southwestern corner of the fortress, measuring 7.85 m by 5.05 m and 6.90 m by 7.55 m respectively and adjoining the inner side of the fortification walls. The western fortification wall was 95 m long. A semicircular fortification tower, 4.10 m long and 3.20 m wide, with an entrance 1.50 m wide, was situated at 41 m from the northwestern corner. A semicircular fortification tower, 5.20 m long and 3.60 m wide, with an entrance 1.65 m wide, was documented on the eastern fortification wall. A rectangular fortification tower, 8.30 m long and 5.15 m wide, was discovered on the northern fortification wall. The total length of the fortification wall was 240 m. The fortress covered an area of 0.3 ha. It functioned during the 4th – 6th centuries AD. During the 10th – 13th centuries the fortress was reconstructed and reoccupied. A second fortification wall existed at the foot of the hill and a water-supplying tower was documented close to the river. The finds from the excavations included a provincial bronze coin of Septimius Severus, AE 3 of Constantius II minted in AD 348, АЕ 3 and AE 4 of Valentinian I, AE 4 of Theodosius I, two AE 4 of Arcadius, a metal plate with inscription that reads FVDOX, a fragment of marble votive relief with Greek inscription containing the names Πυρρος and Αυλουτραλις, two belt buckles of the Sucidava Type of the 6th century AD, an iron two-part military fibula of the end of the 4th – 5th century AD, an iron two-part military fibula of the 5th century AD, a bronze two-part military fibula of the 5th century AD, a bronze two-part fibula of the 6th – beginning of the 7th century AD, a lead commercial weight of 1670 g (5 librae), a pair of iron scissors of the 4th – 5th century AD, a coin of Constantine X Doukas, a billon scyphate of Isaac II Angelos, a billon scyphate and a billon trachea of Alexios III Angelos, a Latin imitation of a billon trachea of John II Komnenos.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF ZELENDOL (Tsvetana Komitova – komitova@abv.bg) The fortress covered an area of 0.3 ha. A tower with a semicircular layout was built on the eastern fortification wall and there was another one on the western wall. A tower with a rectangular layout and a staircase was built on the northern fortification wall; it probably served as a residence of the governor of the fortress as well. Room 1 was discovered, 5.75 m by 6.25 m in size, adjoining the northwestern corner of the fortification wall. The walls of the room were built of roughly-cut stones bonded with mortar. A fragment from a Latin inscription on the base of a marble statue was discovered in the northern fortification tower. The fortress was built in the 4th century AD. Sherds from the Chalcolithic period and the Late Bronze Age (end of the 13th – 12th centuries BC) were found beneath the stratum of the Late Antique fortress.

CHUKATA FORTRESS (Tsvetana Komitova – komitova@abv.bg) A foundation layer for the construction of the fortress during the 3rd – 4th century AD was documented to the west of the wall, containing sherds of the Chalcolithic period and the Late Bronze Age. The excavations of Room 1 and the northern fortification tower continued in the northern part of the fortress. Sherds of the Late Chalcolithic period, the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age were discovered beneath the stratum of 4th – 6th centuries AD in Room 1. The floor in the fortification tower was paved with stone slabs. Sherds of 4th – 5th centuries AD and a coin of Constans minted in Thessalonica in AD 337 – 346 were found. Subsequently, the floor level was raised and was plastered with mortar. A hearth was discovered close to the southern wall of the tower. The first step of the staircase leading towards the upper floor of the tower was placed over a layer of mortar. A capital of a column was found.