EXPLORATIONS OF THE HARMANA FORTRESS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GOLITSA (Ventsislav Dinchev – vdintchev@abv.bg, Veselka Katsarova, Hristo Kuzov, Zdravko Dimitrov) The Harmana fortress, which is the central one in a fortified complex of three fortresses interconnected with barrage fortification walls, was explored. The cultural stratum is tiny and three occupation periods can be specified. The first period dates to the 4th century AD and precedes the construction of the fortress. The absence of monumental architectural remains testifies that buildings with light construction existed in that period. The second period is related to building of the fortress, which has an octagonal layout. The length of the fortification wall is almost 400 m and the protected area is c. 1.2 ha. The width of the fortification wall is 2.60 – 2.65 m. Remains of pentagonal tower with an outer staircase are located in the western angle of the fortress. Circular towers were located in the southwestern, southern and northern angles. The sondages carried out in front of the northern and the southern towers showed that the fortress and the adjacent barrage fortification walls were synchronous. The width of the walls of the towers and the barrage fortification walls reached 3.25 m. Remains of a building, most likely barracks, are situated in the centre of the fortress. According to the coins found, the building of the fortress dates to the first half of the 5th century AD, presumably the early years of the reign of Theodosius II, while the conflicts with the Ostgoths during the 470s and 480s were related to its end, which was marked by a conflagration. The building reconstructions during the last occupation period were minor. Most likely, in the end of the 5th century AD the military garrison that protected the fortress was replaced by federates. The finds of that period include coins of the 6th century AD, the latest one minted by Justinus II and Sophia.