ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF ZLATAR (Stela Doncheva – donchevastela@yahoo.com) Sondage No. 1 was carried out. Early Mediaeval pottery, metal appliqués and bronze melts were found at 20 cm in depth. The proto-Bulgarian stratum is up to 30 cm in thickness. A pit and remains of a furnace (an oval burned patch and a circular foundation of stones) were explored at 40 cm in depth. Remains of two other identical furnaces were discovered. A stone block with a round hole, probably a basis for a wooden post that supported a roof construction, was found. The finds from the workshop include sherds, fragments of melting-pots, metal appliqués and models, melts and charcoal. Remains of destroyed furnace with a stone pavement around it were discovered in sondage No. 2. Probably, a second workshop for producing metal adornments existed there. The finds from the archaeological excavations include metal appliqués, finger-rings, earrings and cone-like stamps, plus lead models of the same objects. An intact melting-pot and a lot of fragments of melting-pots, in addition to sherds of ceramic vessels, were also found. The chronology of the site is specified by Byzantine folles minted by Emperors Leo VI the Wise and Romanos I Lekapenos. The metallurgical center functioned during the first half of the 10th century AD.