Stobi is an ancient town in R. Macedonia which has been excavated since the First World War. Although there are some indiciations of an earlier settlement, it is generally accepted that the town existed between the 2nd century BC and the 6th century AD. During the joint American-Macedonian (Yugoslav) research project in 1972-74, near the eastern tower of the inner rampart, parts of the northern and eastern wall with 7 niches, which belong to a large building, were discovered. The excavation of this building was renewed in 2003-2005, in the frame of the research project entitled as "Roman Forum". It is a large public building, with rich architectural features. The building is oriented in E-W direction, and measures 35 m in length and 22.50 m in width. On the eastern wall there is a wide doorway and 6 arched niches, on the northern wall there are 4 niches, and 10 niches were discovered on the southern wall. The walls are preserved up to 5.50 m, and the niches are between 1.90 and 2.20 m wide. The arches are adorned with an arched modeled marble decoration. The area between the arches in the upper part is coated with mortar, decorated with painted geometrical ornaments in al secco technique, and the lower part, up to 4 m height, is coated with marble slabs decorated with carved floral motifs in shallow and deep relief. Among the abundant movable archaeological artifacts (ceramic and glass vessels, decorative bone and bronze objects and coins), parts of marble sculptures which adorned the niches as well as parts of marble columns has drawn special attention. The building dates to the 2nd century AD. Remains of the burned beams suggest that it was destroyed in a heavy fire towards the end of the 3rd century AD, as most part of Stobi.

The Civil Basilica in Stobi was uncovered in 1937 for the first time. After that, in the period between 1955 and 1957 another excavation campaign was undertaken which revealed couple of construction phases. In 2001, 2004 and 2005 there were new excavations in which two buildings, one above the other, were discovered. The later one is called Basilica A and the older one is named Basilica B. The Basilica A has three naves and occupies an area of 29.50 m x 21 m. The central nave is wider than the other two on the sides. It is separated from them by stylobate walls which have 4 pairs of column bases and two pairs of pilaster bases at their ends. Later, other rooms with unknown purpose were added to the building. In one of these rooms an onyx vessel was discovered. Fragments of fresco – decoration were found by the walls. There are no Christian elements discovered in Basilica A. The Basilica B was mostly destroyed by the construction of the Basilica A. The apse is the best preserved part. According to the finds this building is dated in the 4th century AD. In 1955 around and inside the Basilica A were uncovered medieval graves. In 2004 and 2005 the number of graves reached 41. The skeletal remains of the deceased were put in cist constructions of sandstones with their head on the West side i.e. facing towards the East. This cemetery existed from the end of the 11th to the beginning of the 13th century.

The area to the East of the Episcopal Basilica was excavated in 2004 and 2005. In 2005, the street named “Via Epsicopalis” was completely uncovered. It is paved with marble seats from the theatre and it connects the Basilica with the palace called “Casino”. Along the street and to the opposite of the Basilica were uncovered parts of houses. These houses were built between the radial walls of the theatre. They were not excavated during the campaign. A room attached to the apse of the Episcopal Basilica was also excavated. A massive destruction layer from the walls of the basilica was removed before reaching the floor of the room. The layer contained a very large central column from a window and impost capitals. The floor of the room was made of sandstone slabs.

The House of Peristeria is one of the largest buildings from the 4th century discovered at Stobi. This mansion has a central peristyle and many different rooms around it. The name of the family Peristeria is written on the mosaic in one of the two triclinia. A female member of this family is donor of a part from the mosaic in the Old Episcopal Basilica. The trenches in 2005 were put in couple of different rooms of the house. The northwest triclinium is located in the center of the house with an apse on the west side and entrances at the north and the east. The first excavations of this area were done in the ‘70s. In 2005 the whole room was excavated to the bedrock. The wall foundations were documented as well as the bedding for the floor. The floor is paved with sandstone slabs. Sherds of kitchen vessels from the 4th – 5th century and fragments of an amphora, a lamp and a molded bowl from the 2nd century BC were discovered. 4 coins were also found. Three of them belong to the 4th – 5th century while one of them is from the 2nd century BC. Room 1 is in the south part of the house. On the west side it has entrance connected with the peristyle and on the east side there is an exit to the Via Principalis Inferior. A pit filled with ash was found in the north part of the room. In the south part, below the floor there were remains from older buildings dating from the 2nd – 1st century BC.

The excavations were carried out at the area to the east of the Theater, towards the two defensive walls. During the work of three months, a segment of 50 meters of the Eastern (Inner) defensive wall was uncovered. The wall is very impressive and it is well preserved to the height of 4.5 meters. It has two phases of construction. Marble blocks and seats with inscribed names of Stobi’s eminent people, were taken out from the Theatre and built in the fortification wall during the first phase. On top of the wall, there are mortar beddings for lines of tiles which are missing. They were removed immediately after the destruction of the wall and probably reused in later buildings. It is most likely that the Inner Wall was built at the end of the 4th century or the beginning of the 5th century due to barbarian attacks and constant floods by the Crna River. The layers of flooding are well documented with the excavations on the outside. Strata from the 5th and 6th century were investigated inside the wall. The area was occupied by huts and poor houses which were built much later then the first construction phase of the defensive wall. To the west, towards the Theatre, a building with two underground chambers was discovered. The architectural concept, the masonry of rectangular blocks and the marble decorative elements discovered all around it, point out that this building is some kind of temple with hypogeum. We don’t know yet to which deity the temple was devoted. In the 5th and the 6th century the walls from the poor houses abutted the walls of the temple. The inventory of this year excavations is represented by typical Late Antiquity sherds, 142 coins, fragments of glass vessels, various metal objects, architectural decorative elements and a female head of a marble sculpture discovered in one of the many dump pits.

The archaeological excavations at the ancient town of Stobi in 2009 were performed in 6 sectors and total area of 9900m2. Besides buildings, the excavations provided a large number of objects: 3568 coins, approximately 700 different metal objects, 150 terracotta figurines, glass, jewellery and hundreds of intact and fragmented ceramic vessels. 1. In the Temple with Hypogeum, discovered for the first time in the year of 2008, both underground rooms were completely excavated. The inner surface of the walls is coated with thick layer of plaster. The temple was looted in the antiquity and “visited” again during the 19th century. On the surrounding area, numerous houses with several building phases dated in the period between 4th and 6th century AD were discovered, along with one large structure firmly built of bricks and stones. Its excavation next year will complement the image of the town organization in its southeastern part during the Early Roman period. 2. The excavation at the ancient Theatre was carried out in the eastern half of the cavea and the scene building. During the 6th century AD, in the time when the theatre was not in use, houses were built between the radial walls. The large circular kiln found in the eastern part of the scene building points that during 5th or early 6th century AD it was adjusted for pottery workshop. Above the houses built on the perimeter wall of the theatre, the fallen apsidal wall of the Episcopal Basilica was discovered along with two window impost capitals painted with monogram of Christ and peacock. They have carved grapes, fish and crosses as well. The lower zone of the capital was gilded. Also, the skeleton of the theatre was revealed i.e. the radial walls, the two halls below the cavea and the mortar beddings for the marble seats. 3. Most exciting in this year project was the excavation of the Western Cemetery in Stobi in front of the city gate Porta Heraclea. 84 graves in several strata, with different burial ritual and grave constructions dated in the period between second half of the 2nd century BC and 4th century AD were discovered. Among the richest burials are: “The grave with 115 terracotta figurines”, “The urn grave” and “The grave of the lady” with abundance of grave offerings. In the time between 4th and 6th century AD on the same area the Late Antique suburbia of modest houses was built. Their remains were discovered above the cemetery. 4-5. The Early Byzantine town of Stobi from the second half of the 6th century AD was excavated across the Episcopal basilica and above the Semicircular Court. Over an area of 4500 m2 the complete urban structure of the town was revealed, with the main street and houses on the both sides, divided by narrow alleys and small squares. Most of the houses are built on top of the earlier structures with many phases of rebuilding in different manners. The finds in the houses speaks about the life in Stobi during the 6th century, before the city was abandoned. The Northwestern Fortification Wall with five square towers has been excavated in length of 324 m. 6. The Building with Arches (i.e. the Roman Forum) has been continuously excavated in the past five years. It gave attractive results in this years’ excavation, with its grandeur and the beautiful mosaics with geometrical motives (in the opus sectile technique) found in both of the apsidal rooms. The marble sculpture of Aphrodite, found in the large room, is a gift for the city from an unknown citizen of Stobi. It represents a real masterpiece of the Roman art from the 2nd century AD. The excavations were expanded to the north of the building, where a part of the city from the Late Antiquity was discovered notable for its modest architecture.

The archaeological investigations continued in the same sectors from 2009, in order to remove the baulks and complete the results from the previous season. 1. The Temple with hypogeum was completely excavated in the interior and phases from the 2nd to the 4th century were documented. Pieces of marble sculptures and an impressive marble vessel were discovered on the floor in the first underground chamber. The excavations also revealed oil lamps and transport amphora on the floor of the second chamber. The area outside the temple remained largely unexplored, although the temenos wall, the entrance to the chambers and the two hearths in front of it were investigated. Especially important is the discovery of the front side of the temple and the remains of the steps which lead to the pronaos. The complex around the temple was also a focus of the excavations. The documentation of different settlement phases is just the beginning of the research in this very important urban area. The most exciting discovery in the Temple sector was the previously unknown city gate in the southern part of the fortification. The gate, which has steps made of theatre seats, was closed during the 6th century AD. Two paved streets lead from the gate to the center of the town and along the inside of the fortification wall. An inner tower was also excavated in the southeast corner of the city wall. Remains of an earlier defensive wall were found beneath the floor of the tower. 2. In the Theatre sector, buildings from the second half of the 6th century and their phases were investigated. The pottery kiln from Late Antiquity, located at the east end of the scene building, was also excavated. The excavations completely revealed the lower part of the cavea, while the upper part was investigated between the radial walls. The bedding for the diazoma, the vaults connecting the radial walls and three arched entrances in the radial corridors below the summa cavea were documented. Since only the arches are revealed so far, it is clear that the floor of the corridors is covered with at least 3-4 meters of debris from Late Antiquity. 3. The so-called North-Western Necropolis was excavated for the first time in 2010. The necropolis is located next to the northwestern part of the defensive wall. The burials date from Late Antiquity and the deceased are placed in arched tile graves with very few or no offerings. 225 of the 252 excavated graves belong to children. 4. Test trenches were placed along the Northwestern Fortification Wall in order to investigate the foundations. Besides the foundations and the burials from the previously described necropolis, the test trenches revealed remains of earlier buildings mainly destroyed by the construction of the city wall. Some of the remains may belong to an earlier fortification. 5. The removal of most of the baulks at the area above the Semicircular court revealed a complete picture of the urbanization of this part of Early Byzantine Stobi (second half of the 6th century). The results are based on the excavation of the undisturbed context of at least ten houses and the streets between them. The houses have several phases but only the last one is fully documented. Besides the material from Late Antiquity, the two stratigraphical trenches revealed Hellenistic and Iron Age sherds in the lowest layers. One of the most important achievements of this year’s excavations was the complete excavation of the so-called “House with a triclinium”, the largest and most beautiful building from the second half of the 6th century. The conservation of the house will begin in 2011. 6. The excavation of The Building with Arches continued inside the building while four trenches were also set outside the walls. These trenches will reveal the outer side of the walls, which are needed for the planned conservation. Inside the building, a few arched tile graves were excavated. In addition to the excavation, preventive conservation of the opus sectile floor in the second apsidal hall of the building was carried out. 7. The excavations in the south isle of the Episcopal Basilica revealed the south wall of the Old Episcopal Basilica from the 4th century, on which important layers of wall paintings with geometrical motifs are preserved. Remains of an older wall were documented as well but there is no further explanation for it due to the limited excavation area.

Three projects for archaeological excavations and five projects for conservation were realized by NI Stobi during 2011. Coordinator of all of the projects was Silvana Blaževska. The excavations conducted at the House of Peristeria and the Western Necropolis in the period between April and August, were financed by the Macedonian Government as part of the major project for archaeological excavation at Stobi. The second phase of the conservation of the mosaic from the House of Peristeria was part of the same project. The excavations in the House of Peristeria were focused under the mosaic in the eastern triclinium. The bedding for the mosaic was documented at the beginning as well as the drainage and water supply system for the central fountain. Under the bedding, habitation layers from the 1st – 3rd century AD were excavated. The most interesting discovery was a pottery kiln from the 1st century AD. Below the habitation layers part of a Hellenistic cemetery from the 3rd/2nd century BC was revealed. The four graves from the time of Phillip V and Perseus contained ceramic vessels, terracotta figurines, metal objects and an oil lamp. Judging by the pottery, the lowest layer which rested on the bedrock belonged to the Late Bronze Age and Transitional period (11th/10th century BC). The remains are modest, due to the later activities but they are fine evidence for the continuous habitation of Stobi since prehistory. After reaching the bedrock the excavated soil was put back, consolidated and new bedding for the mosaic was placed. 24 graves were excavated at the Western Necropolis. Most interesting are the graves with rectangular mud brick construction and the grave with 34 terracotta figurines. Especially intriguing are the figurine of a gladiator and the figurine with a male and female struggling over an amphora. These two depictions are discovered for the first time in Stobi. Cleaning and retouch of the different parts were done during the second phase of the conservation of the mosaic from the House of Peristeria. The activities took place in September and October. The end of the third phase i.e. placing back the mosaic in its original position is expected in the first half of 2012. Besides the excavations, the conservation and restoration of the fountain in the triclinium was another activity in the House of Peristeria. This project was realized in October. Funded by the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, the last stages of the project for conservation of the frescoes from the Episcopal Basilica were finished in the period between April and August. After the consolidation, attachment to honey comb panels, cleaning and retouch, the wall paintings are well conserved and prepared to be placed back in their original position. Before that, a temporary exhibition of the most interesting parts will be opened in 2012. The collaboration with the Balkan Heritage Foundation from Bulgaria resulted in three different international projects: the Workshop for Conservation Documentation and Restoration of Roman Pottery, the Workshop for Fresco Conservation and Documentation and an Archaeological field school. During the workshops in June, several Roman vessels were conserved as well as small part of the frescoes from the eastern wall of the Old Episcopal Basilica. The excavations were conducted in the area of the 6th century housing complex. In August and September, five rooms of a house from the second half of the 6th century were investigated. Fragments of cooking and storage vessels, metal objects, bone objects and coins were the common finds. At the same time with the field school, the unrevealed parts of the House with a triclinium were excavated. Trenches for documentation of the stratigraphy under the floor were placed at different places. At the end of the year, during the last two months, the walls of the House with a triclinium were conserved. This was the first phase of the project for conservation of the building while the second phase i.e. conservation of the floors will be conducted in 2012.

The investigations at Stobi in 2012 were carried on five locations: the Temple, the Theatre, the Episcopal Basilica, the West Necropolis and the Semicircular Court. The excavations in the temple area continued to the north and south of the building. The north side (in front of the steps of the temple) yielded the most significant discovery. Many architectural elements of the building were found on a use level from the 5th century. Besides the pediment and architrave blocks, an oversized marble sculpture of Isis was unearthed, revealing the deity to whom the temple was devoted. The sculpture was found almost 40 years after the discovery of an inscription that mentions a _sacrum Isidi_ in Stobi. The head and the hands of the goddess are not preserved, while the rest of the sculpture exceeds the length of 2 metres. Judging by the style and the resemblance with the Isis in the Capitoline museum, it probably belongs to the Hadrianic era. The altar was found just below the sculpture, on the original use level of the temple. Two bases for statues or inscriptions were found to the west of the steps. A sacrificial pit with several ceramic flasks was found on the south side, in front of the entrance to the subterranean chambers. The excavations of the Theatre were focused on the eastern half of the ima cavea. The goal was to explore the space between the radial walls in order to understand the process of construction and prepare the area for conservation. Red lines and roman numerals were discovered on the walls, marking the sequences of construction and the successive deposit of soil between them in order to create an artificial terrace. The central radial corridor and the two rooms on each side of the corridor were excavated as well. These parts of the theatre were used even during the late antiquity and were incorporated in the newly built houses. The most significant discovery is that the two rooms to the east and west of the radial corridor served as exits with stairways that led to the central box of honor. The layers below the nave of the Old Episcopal Basilica were excavated in order to reveal the history of the area and prepare the terrain for a new bedding of the mosaic, removed due to conservation. Layers with material from the Late Hellenistic and Augustan period reveal that in a certain period of time there were modest houses which were leveled before the Old Basilica was constructed. No remains indicating that the church was preceded by _domus ecclesiae_ were found. The rooms of the complex surrounding the Semicircular Court, to the west of the Episcopal Basilica, revealed material from the second half of the 6th century. Judging by the finds it could be presumed that they mainly served as workshops and stores in the last years of the existence of the city. 47 graves were excavated at the Western Necropolis. The most interesting discovery is the grave of a soldier from the 1st century BC. The deceased was buried with his iron spear, wooden shield with a bronze conical umbo and an iron dagger. Among the finds there was a small bronze application with an eight rayed star.

During 2013, National Institution Stobi realized 3 excavation projects as well as 8 projects for conservation and restoration of architecture and moveable finds. The first excavation campaign in April, May and June included investigations at the Western Necropolis and the Theatre, financed through the capital projects for excavations supported by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia. Besides the 13 graves uncovered at the Western Necropolis, the imperative of the NI Stobi archaeologists was the street that leads from Porta Heraclea to the south. Given that the graves are arranged on both sides of the street, significant information for the development and the organization of the necropolis was brought to light. The grave offerings documented included ceramic vessels, a glass vessel, many terracotta figurines and two iron strigils. The excavations at the theatre were concentrated in the eastern half of the central circular corridor, which is 35 metres in length and 2.5 metres in width. The habitation deposits from Late Antiquity and the Medieval Period were the principal subject of the excavations. The new interesting information is that the corridor was used as part of the dwellings erected above the theatre during the 6th century and later during the 11-12th centuries. Four secondary entrances were opened between some of the radial walls of the ima cavea in order to approach the central corridor from the newly- built houses. The second excavation project i.e. the International Field School co-organized with the Balkan Heritage Foundation took place in August. Participants from several different countries during the two sessions (15 days each) were directly involved in the excavation and documentation process of two rooms from a 6th century building, located near the Porta Heraclea. A particularly interesting discovery was the three infant graves dug in the hard-packed earthen floors of the both rooms. The excavations in August and September, along the western foundation of the Temple of Isis, revealed the deposits before the construction which indicate that in the earlier period the area served for deposit of debris. A few pottery sherds from the Iron Age (7th century BC), the Classical period (4th century BC) and the Hellenistic period (3-2 centuries BC) were found among the dominant material from the 1st century AD. A large number of fresco fragments were discovered together with the 1st century pottery.

The Roman theatre at Stobi is a building with long history of excavations starting in 1924 with the campaigns of Balduin Saria. Beside the first investigations, significant projects are the excavations in the 1970s directed by Elizabeth R. Gebhard and the new systematic excavations of NI Stobi led by Goce Pavlovski, initiated in 2009 and still ongoing. The realization of a conservation project for the theatre begun in 2013. The excavations in 2014 were conducted in the eastern half of the central circular corridor and in the ima cavea segment of the eastern radial corridor. The circular corridor is 2.5 metres wide, around 6 metres high and the excavated half is around 40 metres long. The campaign lasted four months. The results include a level of abandonment of the theatre from the end of the 4th century and series of floor levels with three screen walls from the 5th and 6th centuries Given the results from the excavations in 2013, it can be concluded that the corridor was continuously occupied since the moment when the theatre went out of use at the end of the 4th century, through the 5th and the 6th century, until the 12-14th centuries. Due to the lack of chronologically sensitive material it remains unknown if there was a gap between the end of the 6th and the 12th century. A context of abandonment was documented in the eastern radial corridor in the form of a steep level of use with traces of burning and layers of ash. As part of the same context, a coin hoard of 70 bronze coins was found in scaffolding hole. The coins have not been cleaned and judging by some better preserved samples they date from the end of the 4th century. Probably towards the end of the 5th or during the 6th century, the slope was leveled with a fill and the corridor was included in the new houses built on top of the theatre. The walls of the circular corridor were exposed to the height of 3 metres and there are 1-2 metres left to be excavated to the levels of construction and use of the theatre. The walls reveal two types of masonry. The lower one bears traces of red lines used as markers during the construction process. These lines are identical with the red lines and the red Roman numerals documented on the radial walls of the ima cavea in 2012. The excavations in 2014, also revealed the surface of the preserved remains from the eastern analemma making visible the changes that occurred during the alteration of the architectural concept of the theatre from a western model into a building similar to the Roman theatres of Asia Minor.

The goal of the excavations is the exploration of the area between the Theodosian Palace and the so-called Prison. The excavations started from the southwest corner of the Palace towards the southeast. Two new baulks were formed along the limits of the excavations from 1929. The western baulk is along the street Via Principalis Superior following the present tourist pathway and the west outer wall of the Palace. The room in the southwest corner of the Theodosian Palace, originally excavated in 1929, was reopened at the beginning of the excavations in 2014. The removal of the massive layer of dirt that came from the baulks of the old excavations, as well as the collapsed stones from the south wall, revealed the old excavation trenches along the north wall and the apse of the triclinium of the Palace. These trenches were filled at a later stage with soil that contained cement from preventive conservation, cans and plastic bags from the 1990s. A male torso of a nude male deity was uncovered in the fill of the trench along the apse. After clearing the area, it was visible that the west and the south wall were built after the apse of the triclinium was constructed. These three walls were made of sandstone and lime mortar. At a later stage, the room was divided with the establishment of a screening wall made of sandstone and mud. At the same time, a circular structure, also made of sandstone and mud, was built in the eastern half. This structure was revealed in the excavations of 1929 and its floor was disturbed by excavation to a level where the stones are preserved higher up. It is also possible that the north part of the structure as well as the north part of the room was removed during the past excavations. A small segment of the original floor level of the room was documented in the disturbed north part. The floor is made of layer of yellow clay, 5 m thick. A number of 49 small weights made of lead stripe were found on the floor. Two floor levels of beaten earth were documented in the western half of the room. The later floor is contemporary with the screening wall. A rectangular platform made of stones was documented in the southwest corner of the room. The second floor level is older than the wall but it was not documented in the eastern half due to the damage from the past excavations. Two oval pits, filled with soft soil and stones, were dug from this level. The cleaning of the pits was the last action in this season’s excavation of the room. The results of the excavations suggest a general conclusion that the room was built later than the triclinium of the palace, the foundations of the north walls is 10-15 cm wider on both sides than the upper portion and the original floor level was made of yellow clay. The floor was renewed multiple times and in the 6th century, the time of the last floor level, the room was divided with the construction of a wall. The eastern half of the room had a circular structure with unknown purpose. To the south of the Palace, a trench occupying one square of 5 x 5 metres was set. The trench revealed three levels of use with destruction layers of collapsed stones on top. The highest level is from World War I when a ditch was dug, located in the eastern end of the square. The second level probably belongs to the medieval period and the lowest level where the excavations stopped seems to be the surface of intact deposits from the 6th century.

The Temple of the Egyptian Goddess Isis is located in the southeastern part of the archaeological site of Stobi, to the east of the Theatre. Тhe wider area includes the Temple with a surrounding court outlined by a stylobate and additional complex arranged around the court to the east, west and south side. One of the rooms has an apse in the eastern wall and its function is still unknown. The Temple and the surrounding complex were built in the first half of the 2nd century AD. The temple was destroyed in the first half of the 5th century, after what, the whole area was rearranged during the 5th and -6th centuries into a residence. The Temple was discovered in 2008, fully excavated between 2009 and 2012, and finally conserved in 2012. The goal of the systematic excavations in 2014 was to document the Late Antique strata in front of the Temple (to the north and northeast from the steps of the building), exposing the northeast corner of the stylobate and understanding the relation between the apsidal room of the complex and the temple. The excavations to the northeast of the steps, revealed the remains of two buildings from the 6th century AD. Only a corner from one room has been exposed from the first building because the remaining part extends into the north baulk. The walls were mainly built of large roughly-shaped sandstone bonded with mud but there are sections formed by small sandstones and fragmented tegulae. The floor level is made of beaten earth and damaged by a pit with the diameter of 1.15 metres. The remains of two rooms of a contemporary building were exposed to the east of the first building. Room A was excavated in its full extent, while room B continues into the eastern baulk. To the west of the building there are low screening walls that probably belong to a porch. The walls of the second building were also built in the same manner of sandstone, fragments of tegulae and mud. The entrance in room A is located at its southeast corner. The threshold has a vertical sandstone slab on the inner side to prevent rain water entering the room. The floor levels of both rooms are made of beaten earth. Fragments of cooking pottery, mainly from the 6th century were found on their surface. The excavations continued under the floor levels of rooms A and B. An older floor level of beaten earth was documented in room A with the remains of a hearth. The hearth is located in one of the corners of the room and its floor is made of fragmented bricks. A small semicircular wall was revealed under the floor of room B, and below it there were remains of three other walls forming a room of a different building from the early 5th century AD, the period when the dismantlement of the Temple of Isis had begun. Fragments of the entablature from the Temple were found at the same level of this building. The floor of the room was made of beaten earth and it had traces of fire on the surface. The walls are damaged by the later interventions. The deposits between the earlier and later floor levels are formed by soil with mortar, marble chips and mosaic fragments with unknown origin. To the east of the Temple, a floor level of hard packed soil with mortar was documented between the stylobate and the walls from the complex around the Temple. An extension of the complex was revealed to the northeast, right next to the so-called “apsidal room”. The walls are identical to the rest of the complex and they are made of bricks, stone and lime mortar. One of the walls has a secondary established threshold made of molded marble blocks. The level where the excavations stopped in 2014 is 0.5-0.7 metres higher than the level of use around the Temple and 0.3 metres than the level of the stylobate.

The season of 2015 at the theatre started with excavation of the higher segments in the eastern half of the central circular corridor to the level made of green grinded bedrock, after what, this corridor and the eastern radial corridor were excavated by following of every context at the whole area. Five levels of use with their repairs and six layers between them were documented as part of the Late Antique deposits. The quantity of archaeological material includes animal bones, pottery and bronze coins that date from the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 6th century. A grave with a child inhumation was discovered at the last level of use documented in 2014. The removal of the Late Antique deposits was followed by excavation of five levels of use belonging to the period when the theatre was active. Тhe same levels were documented in the circular and the radial corridor. The highest level of use was formed by a massive layer of grinded green bedrock with clay structure. The layer was 0.4 to 1.2 metres thick, depending on the excavated segment of the corridors. The surface of the layer was the last level of use of the active theatre. It is very likely that the repairs of the vault and circular wall III in the eastern end of the circular corridor were done in the 4th century, as suggested by the coin of Constantius II, discovered in the mortar of the preserved remains of the vault. The second lowest documented level of use has crumbled mortar on the surface along the circular wall III and it can be roughly dated in the 2-3 centuries, due to the discovered coins of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius (as Caesar) in the layers above. It is interesting to note, that right under the surface of this level, there were few small fragments of mortar with traces of red colour which have fallen off from the face of circular wall III. Also, it is important to note that the layer below the level contains large quantity of white and pink chips, pointing to stone carving activities. The same layer is documented in other parts of the building as well. The lowest documented level of use bears the remains of lime, clay bricks and stones, indicating construction activities. A series of trenches were dug from this level, but they remain unexcavated and without known purpose at the end of the season 2015. The analysis of the circular walls, exposed to a height of around 5 metres, reveals two phases of construction and one phase of repair. The first phase includes three manners of arrangement of the stones as the result of the work of different masons, probably in a longer period of time. During this phase, the masons used red painted lines as markers. The second phase usually starts right above the highest red line and it has unified manner of stone arrangement that includes almost rectangular sandstone. The work in this phase begun some period after the activities of the first phase had stopped and it was probably done by different masons in a relatively shorter period. The repair of the circular wall III is the last stage in the history of the corridor from the period when the theatre was active. The eastern half of the excavated area of the circular corridor was covered by a restored vault which happened after the wall was repaired. The repair was done by large sandstone blocks in the shape of irregular squares.

The excavations in 2015 are the continuation of the work from 2014 in the room located at the southwest end of the Theodosian palace (Room 7), and in the trench to the south of the Palace. The screening wall and the semicircular structure in room 7 were removed and the excavations continued under the last floor documented in 2014. Two floor levels made of hard- packed clay were documented after the removal of a layer of brown soil with small stones. The floors were directly one above the other. The older level had traces of fire along the south wall of the room and a small area with grinded mortar in the southeast corner. The fill under the two floors is a layer of brown soil with stones, pottery sherds, glass shards and animal bones. The uncovered level under the fill represents the original floor of the room and it was made of hard packed yellow clay. All of the three levels were damaged along the north wall a trenches from the excavations in 1929. The floors were also damaged by the two pits documented in 2014. Two infant burials were documented from the level of the original floor of Room 7. The first grave is a shallow oval pit covered by tegulae. The deceased infant was inhumated buried with a NW-SE orientation (head placed to the NW). The second grave is also a shallow oval pit that contained the skeletal remains of two infants, oriented W-E (heads placed to the west). The grave was covered by stones and a fragmented brick. At the end of the excavations of room 7 in 2015, it is clear that this was the last room of the Palace to the south. Its southern wall is actually the outer wall of the Palace. This means that the Theodosian Palace and the Prison are certainly two different buildings which were probably divided by a street at a much lower level. The excavations in 2015 revealed that the destruction layer visible in the trench to the south of the Palace, at the end of season 2014, belongs to a building connected with the western room of the so-called Prison. Contours of walls, built of mud and sandstone, were discovered to the north of this room. The walls form two rooms that are divided by a screening wall with a doorway. The surface of pebbled street is visible under the destruction layer of stones to the west of the rooms. At the northwest corner of the two rooms, the street turns towards NE, i.e. towards the Theodosian Palace. The street is not parallel with the south wall of the Palace and it is much later than the exposed and presented remains. The direction of the street leads diagonally across the Theodosian Palace and it is probably related to later phases of the 6th century that were removed during the excavations in the 1920s or 1930s. The trench documented in 2014 along the outer side of the south wall of Room 7 was completely revealed. It is probably a trench from World Wwar Ione that damaged the pebble street.