EXPLORATIONS OF PIT SANCTUARY NEAR THE VILLAGE OF POLSKI GRADETS (Krasimir Nikov – k_nikov29@yahoo.com) Seventeen ritual pits of the Early Iron Age (11th – 6th centuries BC) were explored and the total number of the pits discovered reached 94. Some of them are small: 50 – 80 cm in diameter and up to 30 – 50 cm in depth. In some cases, the pits were filled with huge quantity of archaeological material. The existence of ritual pits–dolia was also noted. There was significant number of empty pits in certain areas of the sanctuary. The shapes of some ritual pits resembled specific vessels, while “seals” were discovered at different levels in the profiles of many of them. The presence of charcoal, ash and animal bones within the pits was typical. A ritual horseshoe-like ditch, oriented northwest – southeast on its long axis and open to the southeast, was explored. It was filled with pottery, animal bones, charcoal and lath-and-plaster fragments. According to the pottery, the ditch was dug and filled during the 8th – 6th centuries BC. Two large secondary ritual excavations with irregular shapes were discovered in the southwestern end of the ditch. Pottery, piled stones, animal bones and charcoal were found within the secondary excavations. A platform of stones, most likely related to ritual activities, was also discovered. Different stages of filling and “sealing” were traced in the profiles. The ritual excavations could be dated to the 5th – 4th centuries BC. The northeastern end of the ditch had an irregular shape. A small canal was dug in its central part. It was filled with single sherds, animal bones and lath-and-plaster fragments. The Archaic East Greek pottery allows the canal to be dated from the middle of the 7th to the second quarter of the 6th centuries BC.