RESCUE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS IN THE ‘BALAK DERE’ FORTRESS (Boni Petrunova – boni_boon@abv.bg) The ‘Balak Dere’ fortress is situated on the riverbank of Arda, near the town of Ivailovgrad. Treasure hunting excavations within the ruins of the fortress were registered. The so-called ‘large building’ partly damaged by a clandestine excavation was explored. The preserved parts of the wall are of dry-stone construction. A sondage was made within the building’s interior, close to the northwestern curved part of the wall. A floor level of mortar, sand and ancient bricks was registered at c. 1 m in depth. The ‘large building’ was presumably constructed in modern times, but its wall lies on earlier buildings. A sketch of the fortress was prepared. The fortress has an area of c. 1 ha. and its western and eastern gates were located. Some of the significant finds are: a gilded bronze applique that belongs to the first sub-type of the so-called ‘Preslav’ belt adornments with heart-like shape and palmetto decoration coming from the 9th – 10th centuries, a small spherical copper bell and a small double-pyramid-like bronze bell both dated to the 8th – 9th centuries. Thirty-four coins were found during the excavations: the earliest coins date to the 4th century AD and were minted by Constantius II, seven Byzantine coins date to the 13th century, while the latest coins are three Ottoman akce of the 15th – 17th centuries, which determine the latest period of occupation in the fortress.