EARLY FORTIFICATION IN THE INNER TOWN OF PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Yanko Dimitrov) The southeastern corner of the fortification was uncovered. A foundation pit of a wooden post containing sherds of the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century was explored. The layout of the eastern and the northern fortification line was tracked. The northeastern corner of the fortification was discovered, and the northwestern corner and the gates on the eastern wall were located. The fortification has a trapezoidal layout. Its area is more than 20 ha and the perimeter is c. 2000 m. The foundation of the fortification stockade consists of two ditches dug at c. 2.50 m in depth below the level of the 9th century. A foundation of stones and clay was discovered in the outer halves of the ditches and remains of palisades were found in their inner halves. The filling of the ditches and the nearby pits contains sherds of the 8th – first half of the 9th centuries. Several ramshackle stone buildings from the period before the middle of the 11th century and ten semi-sunken floored dwellings of the second half of the 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries were discovered in the northeastern part of the Inner Town. A sunken-floored dwelling with a stone stove and a vaulted oven was excavated above the northeastern corner of the early fortification. The dwelling dates to the middle or the second half of the 10th century and most likely, it was reused for a smithy. A bronze point of a sword handle, a copper cross–enkolpion, a copper ring showing an eagle, an iron carder and a fragment of a sickle or a reaping-hook, etc. were found during the excavations.

EARLY FORTIFICATION IN THE INNER TOWN OF PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Radoslav Vasilev) The eastern gate of the early timber fortification was discovered. The passage is more than 6 m in length and 2.70 – 2.90 m in width. Its walls consist of two rows consisting of four wooden posts each, placed in postholes down to 3.50 m in depth. During the 10th and the beginning of the 11th centuries, four sunken-floored houses and another building were constructed over the remains of the passage. Remains of a covered passage with timber construction were discovered at the level of the ancient terrain, at 45 – 50 m to the north, alongside the eastern wall of the fortification. Six pairs of postholes were excavated at 15 m in distance. Trenches for two parallel timber walls were discovered between the postholes. The passage was c. 3.50 m in width and more than 200 m in length. It connected the Palace of the Khans with the rampart of the inner earthen fortification of Pliska. The explored area was inhabited during the 10th – 11th centuries. More than 10 sunken-floored houses with stoves were discovered. Pottery was found. Two Christian graves, belonging to a woman and a child and coming from the latest occupation period in Pliska, and fragmentary stone funerary monuments were found in the southeastern sector. A trench for a palisade oriented to the north adjoined the northeastern corner of the fortification. A building constructed of stones and roofed with tiles, dated to the end of the 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries, was explored from the inner side of the fortification. Pavements and several sunken-floored houses were discovered close to the eastern and northern walls of the fortification. Pottery of the 10th – 11th centuries was found. The northern gate of the fortification was discovered. It is identical to the eastern gate. One of the earliest terracotta water-conduits of Pliska passed through the northern gate.

EXPLORATIONS IN PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Radoslav Vasilev) Two parallel trenches from the foundations of the timber fortification wall were documented in Trench VII. The finds include pottery of the 8th – 9th centuries AD, belt decorations, three lead seals, scales, an exagia, a cross, a clasp for book, spindle whorls, awls, astragals, gaming jettons, glass bracelets, arrowheads, a key for a padlock, a knuckle, chisels and a Byzantine coin of the 10th century. Cultural stratum of the 10th – 11th centuries was explored in Trench VIII. Three sunken-floored houses and pit No. 1, containing a miliaresion of Emperor Michael VI Bringas, were explored below the stratum. Semi-dug sunken-floored houses and a Christian cemetery with graves arranged in rows were discovered in Trench IX. A grave of a girl, 10 – 11 years old, was discovered under the floor of House No. 4. The grave goods include a copper earring, a gold earring, three glass bracelets, a small bronze buckle, a copper appliqué and a necklace of glass beads. The foundations of the northern and the western walls of the timber fortification consist of two parallel trenches. A stone slab showing a primitive human image in relief was found in a building of the first half of the 11th century situated in Trench X. A pavement of stone slabs and a building of the mid 10th century were documented. A pottery kiln was discovered in House No. 1 situated in Trench XI and a nomisma minted by Emperors Constantine VII and Romanos II was found. The finds include pottery of the 10th – 11th centuries, a small cross, belt appliqués, a buckle, a belt point, arrowheads, a knife, gaming astragals, and two copper coins minted by Emperor Leo VI and by Emperors Constantine IX and Zoe. A water-conduit was discovered in Trench XII. The finds include spindle whorls, belt appliqués, a copper finger-ring, an iron cow-bell, glass bracelets and a gold tetarteron minted by Emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Radoslav Vasilev) The explorations in the Small Timber Fortification, located in the northwestern sector of the Inner Town, continued. Trenches from fences, which adjoined the northeastern corner of the fortification, were explored in Trench 12. The northern line of the fortification, which consisted of three parallel trenches with a total width of c. 4.50 m, was explored in Trench 13. Foundations of stones were documented. Walls of mud bricks were constructed over the foundations. There was a bed for a wooden palisade, up to 25 cm wide, at the inner part of the main trench. The southeastern corner of the fortification was documented in Trench 14. Nine structures from the second half of the 8th to the middle of the 11th centuries were discovered. A trench parallel to the fortification, containing pottery of the 8th – 9th centuries AD, was documented to the south. The fortification had a trapezoidal layout and an area of c. 1.9 ha. During the first phase of its existence it was a separate fortification. During the second phase it coexisted with the newly constructed Large Timber Fortification, which surrounded the residence of the end of the 8th – beginning of the 9th century AD. The remains of the timber fortifications lie under layers containing materials and structures of the 9th – 11th centuries (buildings, semi-dug sunken-floored houses, midden pits). Two Christian burials of a child and a young individual were discovered in Trench 14. Glass beads of a necklace were found in the child burial. Remains of a forge and iron slag were discovered in Trench 13. A mould for glass production was found in Trench 14. The finds of the layer dated to the 10th – 11th centuries include sherds, animal bones, bronze and copper crosses, belt appliqués, finger-rings, earrings, buttons, pendants, book clasps, glass bracelets, an amulet, an iron chisel, a silver appliqué showing an openwork bird and Byzantine coins.

EXPLORATIONS IN PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Radoslav Vasilev) An area of c. 350 sq. m was explored. Three foundation trenches (two of them with a Г-like layout) from the northern line of the Large Fortification were discovered in sondage IX. The northern trench surrounded the Small Timber Fortification. The other Г-like trench shaped the northwestern corner of the Large Fortification. The foundation trenches had beds for palisades and foundations of clay and stones. The transverse trenches explored in 2006 shaped an entryway between the Small and the Large Fortification, over 3.50 m wide. Layers over a rectangular platform, dug into the ground, were excavated in sondage XIV. The walls of the platform had wood seatings. The upper layer contained materials of the 10th – 11th centuries. The southeastern corner of the Small Fortification was situated under the central part of the platform. A chamber of bricks, 38 cm by 34 cm in size and 30 cm in depth, was discovered under the platform. Two rectangular pits with stone stoves built inside were explored. The finds include pottery and a bronze earring of the first half of the 9th century AD. The outer trench of the Large Fortification was documented. The southwestern corner of the Small Fortification and the surrounding outer trench of the Large Fortification were discovered in sondage XV. The Small Fortification was enlarged to the south during its incorporation in the Timber Fortress. A foundation trench of a timber building was documented to the west of the Small Fortification. The building was removed before the construction of the Large Fortification. Pottery of the 8th – 9th centuries AD was found. Routes of timber fences from the second half of the 9th to the middle of the 11th centuries were traced. A burned building, a semi-dug sunken-floored house and midden pits were explored. The finds include pottery of the first half of the 11th century, anonymous Byzantine folles of class C and D, and a bronze exagia.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Radoslav Vasilev) The relationship between the Small Timber Fortification and the Large Timber Fortification was explored. It was found that an extension of the western wall of the Small Timber Fortification turned to the east and thus it shaped the southwestern corner of an extended fortified area that covered c. 1 ha. The extended area was protected with a double palisade plastered with sun-dried bricks from the three sides, while from the north it was connected with the primary area of the Small Timber Fortification. The integration of the Small into the Large Timber Fortification was done in specific way: although the Small Timber Fortification was enlarged, it still remained separated in the back side of the Residence of the Khans. The foundations of the entrance of the Small Timber Fortification were discovered in sondage XVIII situated in the middle of the southern fortification wall. They were situated under two later semi-dug sunken-floored houses of the 9th – 11th centuries, which contained an anonymous Byzantine follis of Class A2, two lead seals (one of them belonging to “Petros, the Domestikos of the Scholai”) and a glazed jug. A house with a stove was explored in sondage XV, dug out above the ditch of the fortification wall. A coin of Leo VI the Philosopher was found in the stratum above the house. A sunken-floored platform, 15 m wide and up to 1.40 m deep, was discovered above the southeastern corner of the Small Timber Fortification which was burned in AD 811 during the invasion of the Byzantine army led by Nikephoros I Genikos. The floor of the platform was paved with bricks. Three cooking stoves were built under the floor and several ovens, probably used during ritual ceremonies, were constructed nearby. The sunken-floored ritual platform dated to the first half of the 9th century AD. An amphora-like vessel was restored with sherds found in 2008 and it showed the engraved symbol of the proto-Bulgarian Khans: IYI. Seven structures of the 8th – 11th centuries were discovered in sondage XIV.

PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Radoslav Vasilev, Tihomir Tihov) The Small Timber Fortification was explored in the northwestern part of the Inner Town. It was the predecessor of the Large Timber Fortification, which was explored from 1977 to 2006 and was the most inner fortification in Pliska before the city was destructed by the Byzantine army in AD 811. Trench XIV. A platform paved with bricks and wooden boards was explored. The southeastern corner of the Small Timber Fortification was documented below it. The platform was constructed immediately after AD 811. A stove with an adjacent chamber of bricks No. 3, chamber of bricks No. 4 and three pits were discovered. Chamber No. 3 contained a copper earring, a glass bead, shells from eggs, a terracotta spindle whorl, a bone awl, bones from animals and fish, and sherds of the 9th century AD. Chamber No. 4 contained a copper earring, animal bones and sherds. The chambers were used for ritual activities and were situated close to stoves Nos. 1 – 3 where the food was cooked. The remains from the rituals were placed inside the pits. Pit No. 2 contained terracotta spindle whorls, 14 knucklebones and a piece of quartz. The platform was used for public meetings and rituals. Trench XVIII. The southern entrance of the Small Timber Fortification had a layout similar to the layout of the southern entrance of the later Citadel of Pliska. There were ovens close to House No. 2. A stove with two chambers and a storage pit containing shovels and an axe were discovered in House No. 1. In addition, spindle whorls, awls, jewelry and a coin of Nikephoros II Phokas restamped over an earlier emission were found in House No. 1. Trench XX. Over 15 semi-dug sunken-floored houses and two Christian burials of adults dated to the 10th – 11th centuries were explored. Trenches of timber buildings of the 8th – 9th centuries AD were documented. The finds included pottery, three coins of the 4th – 5th centuries AD, a fourrée of Basil I the Macedonian and Constantine, a follis of Leo VI the Wise, anonymous Byzantine folles of Classes A1, A2, B and C, an Ottoman silver akçe of Sultan Mehmed II, finger-rings (one of them with a plate showing a bust of Christ), belt appliqués, crosses-encolpia, arrowheads, a bronze mace, terracotta and lead spindle whorls, and bone awls.

PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Radoslav Vasilev, Tihomir Tihov, Gergana Ilieva) The explorations in Trench XX in the central part of the Small Timber Fortification continued. Different dug out structures were explored, situated under the debris of stone buildings of the middle of the 11th century and the relevant stratum containing anonymous Byzantine coins and pottery. Five Christian burials of the 11th century were discovered. The deceased in Grave No. 1 was a young man with wounds on his skull who survived some time after being wounded. Fourteen sunken-floored houses were explored, part of them with clay ovens and others with stoves. A kiln was discovered in House No. 8 and it had a funnel for compressing the air that entered its opening. The finds that were discovered in the houses and the storage pits included awls, terracotta spindle whorls, metal jewelry and pottery of the 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries. A reservoir was documented, 8.50 m by 8 m in size and over 5.50 m in depth. A rectangular stone shaft was discovered on its bottom with a well dug out beneath. At some moment, the reservoir was filled with debris and sherds, the latest ones dated to the first half of the 11th century, including from Pecheneg cauldrons. Remains from baths of the end of the 8th – first half of the 9th centuries AD with a water-conduit of terracotta pipes were documented. Postholes and trenches from foundations of timber constructions of the end of the 8th – first half of the 9th centuries AD were discovered. Trenches for the foundations of a large timber building were documented, containing sherds of the first half of the 9th century AD. Most timber constructions were built after the stone fortification wall of Pliska was constructed, but some of them were synchronous to the Small and the Large Timber Fortifications. A residence was built on the site during the first decades of the 9th century AD, at the latest.

PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Radoslav Vasilev, Tihomir Tihov, Gergana Ilieva) Debris from a stone structure dated by anonymous Byzantine folles Class A2 was discovered 40 cm deep in the central part of the fortification (Trench XX). The lower stratum contained fragments from terracotta pipes of water-conduits, a follis of Nikephoros II Phokas overstruck over an earlier follis of Romanos I Lekapenos or Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, and an anonymous Byzantine follis Class A2. The stratum dated to the end of the 10th century at the earliest. A bath, 6.50 m by 4.50 m in size, was documented. Two shafts connected to a water-conduit were explored to the north and to the west from the bath. Sunken-floored House No. 16 was destroyed by fire. A stone stove was explored in its northeastern corner. A Christian burial was discovered under its floor. Two Christian burials of children and one of a woman were excavated in the adjacent area. Another Christian burial of an adult was discovered to the east of Trench XX. The graves dated to the end of the 10th – first half of the 11th centuries. Storage pits were explored, containing sherds from pots and amphorae of the 10th – 11th centuries. One pit contained bones from a horse, a cow, a lamb, a dog and a bird. Another pit contained an anonymous Byzantine follis Class A2. The pit-reservoir was c. 7.50 m in diameter and the well inside was over 7.10 m in depth. The large timber building of the second half of the 9th century had postholes to accommodate timber columns driven down to 1.40 m into the ground. The large timber building with foundations built in trenches dated to the first half of the 9th century and was 25 m by 6 m in size. Horizontal timber beams were placed on the bottom of the trenches. Sherds and a Byzantine lead seal of the first half of the 9th century were found. The timber buildings and structures discovered in that part of Pliska dated to the end of the 8th – 9th centuries.

PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Radoslav Vasilev, Tihomir Tihov, Gergana Ilieva) Debris was discovered over an area of c. 20 sq. m located in Trench XX, in the middle of the Small Timber Fortification. The debris consisted fragmentary mortar, bricks, roof-tiles, terracotta pipes from water-conduits, terracotta pipes from wall hypocausts and stones. The building material that was suitable for reusing was extracted from the debris around the middle of the 10th century, at the latest. Only the dugout part of the building was preserved, 6.90 m by 3.45 m in size, and sherds of the 9th – 10th centuries and animal bones were found. A layer of mortar up to 15 cm thick was documented on the floor and a pavement of bricks of the hypocaust was constructed above it. The room belonged to a domestic bath located in an aristocratic residence inside the Inner Town, dated around the middle of the 9th century AD, at the latest. The residence was related to a new phase in the urbanization of the Inner Town that occurred during the reign of Prince Boris I (AD 852 – 889). According to the historical sources, there were residences of the boyars from the Prince’s entourage built in Pliska in that time. Sunken-floored houses of a settlement of the second half of the 10th – first decades of the 11th centuries were explored in the periphery of Trench XX. Earlier sherds were discovered in sunken-floored House No. 21 which dated to the end of the 9th century AD, at the latest. Two storage pits were explored, one of them containing a gilded bronze belt appliqué and sherds of the end of the 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries. Christian burials Nos. 12 – 14 were explored, dated before the end of the 10th century. The finds from the excavations included two anonymous Byzantine folles of the Class A2 and the Class D (dated to AD 1050 – 1060), which is the latest coin discovered in Trench XX.

PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Tihomir Tihov, Radoslav Vasilev) In Trench XX the dug out structure with a well faced with stones were explored. Sherds of the 10th – 11th centuries were found, including a sherd from an amphora with a stamp with the personal name: +TOMAC. A coin of Constantine X Doukas and Eudokia was discovered and it dated the filling of the dug out structure with earth not before the AD 1060s. House No. 21 had a stove and its walls were faced with wooden boards. Its western side adjoined the palisade. An earlier timber building was documented under the palisade and a follis of Nikephoros I Genikos and Staurikios was found there. The palisade and House No. 21 dated after AD 811. Baths No. 2 of the first half of the 9th century AD were discovered. The building was 60 sq. m in size and had three rooms. The entry room was an apodyterium with frigidarium. The second room had a niche for a tub and was a tepidarium with walls that were heated, judging from the _tubuli_. The third room was a caldarium with praefurnium. The furnace was on the northern wall of the baths. Sunken-floored Houses Nos. 19, 22 and 23 were explored, dug into the ruins of Baths No. 2. Christian Grave No. 15 belonging to a young girl was discovered above the debris of House No. 19. A later pit containing three Byzantine coins: one anonymous follis of the Class A2 and two anonymous folles of the Class C (AD 1042 – 1050) was dug into the debris of House No. 22. House No. 23 partly destroyed a cistern built of bricks and a water conduit. Four storage pits related to the houses were explored. One of the pits contained an anonymous follis of the Class A1 (AD 970 – 976) overstruck on a coin of Nikephoros II Phokas. The finds from the excavations included a lead seal of the AD 830s – 840s belonging to “Ioannes, Patrikios, Protospatharios and Imperial Oikistikos”.

PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Tihomir Tihov, Gergana Ilieva, Radoslav Vasilev) In Trench XXI, three strata were documented to the northwest of Baths No. 2. Trenches and postholes of timber structures were documented in the middle stratum and a dug out structure was identified in the lower one. Sixteen sunken-floored houses, two domestic ovens, a forge and 17 storage pits of the 10th – 11th centuries were explored in the upper stratum. They belonged to the settlement explored in Trench XX. In Square 13, a stone building of the 11th century was documented, built over the stratum with sunken-floored houses with stoves and clay domestic ovens outside the houses, dated to AD 975 – 1050. Two querns were found in House No. 6. A coin of Romanos I Lekapenos overstruck by Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos was found in House No. 10 and a coin of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos overstruck with an anonymous Byzantine follis of the Class A1 (AD 971 – 976) was found in House No. 7. In addition, the finds from the sunken-floored houses included pots, cups, dishes, jugs and pitchers of the 10th – first half of the 11th centuries, sherds from Pecheneg cauldrons of the AD 1030s – 1040s, anonymous Byzantine folleis of the Class A2 (AD 976–1035) and Class D (AD 1050–1060). The explorations of the dug-out structure with a well continued. The well had a square layout and was faced with stones. It was 11.50 m deep and contained animal bones and skeletons, three human skeletons, sherds of AD 975 – 1050, coins, the latest ones being two coins of Constantine X Doukas, with and without Eudokia Makrembolitissa. In addition, the finds from the excavations included small crosses, belt appliqués, earrings, finger-rings and fragments from glass bracelets.

PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Tihomir Tihov, Gergana Ilieva, Radoslav Vasilev) In Trench XXI, six sunken-floored houses (Nos. 15 – 20) were explored. Two ovens were discovered in House No. 15; an iron ax, a lead plate-amulet with a Cyrillic inscription containing a prayer against fever and sherds of the end of the 10th – beginning of the 11th century AD were found. Sherds of the 10th century AD were found in House No. 17. An earlier occupation period during the 10th century AD was identified in the quarter, attested with Houses No. 4 and Nos. 17 – 20. A building constructed of stones of the middle of the 11th century AD was explored; two Christian graves belonging to a baby and a small child were excavated close to it. Two storage pits (Nos. 17 and 18) were explored. Four trenches of timber fences of the second half of the 9th – beginning of the 10th century AD were documented. A building of the first half of the 9th century AD was explored, 7 m wide and over 20 m long, consisting of three sunken-floored rooms with walls faced with timber boards. Postholes were discovered; they accommodated wooden posts that supported the roof. A large stone stove and an oven, up to 1.70 m in diameter, were discovered in the central room. Another similar oven was discovered in the western room as well. The rooms were used as workshops and living quarters.

PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Tihomir Tihov, Gergana Ilieva) In Trench XXI, the upper stratum of the 10th – 11th centuries AD was entirely excavated. A Christian burial of a young man was discovered. Querns were discovered in Houses Nos. 2, 3A and 12. An anonymous Byzantine follis of the Class A1 (AD 969 – 976), which was an overstruck follis of Nikephoros II Phokas, was discovered beneath the floor of House No. 2, providing a _terminus post quem_ for its construction. Sherds from glazed pottery indicate that the house existed in the first decades of the 11th century AD. The early sunken-floored building was situated beneath the structures of the 10th – 11th centuries AD; its eastern part was beneath Bath No. 2. The sunken-floored building consisted of three parallel rooms arranged in a line, without entrances between each other, and an antechamber longitudinally located in front of them. Postholes were documented. The walls were faced with wooden boards and vertical posts that were placed over horizontal wooden beams dug into the floor. A stone stove and a clay domestic oven situated close to each other were discovered. The building was ridge-roofed. The finds included bone awls, fragments from bricks and roof-tiles, a fragment from a tegula with an incised letter: Y (a sacred proto-Bulgarian symbol), sherds mostly from pots, but also from a jug and a pitcher-amphora, bones from sheep/goats, birds and fish. Judging from the pottery, the building existed during the first half of the 9th century AD, but it was built after the Small Timber Fortification was destroyed in AD 811 by the Byzantine army led by Nikephoros I Genikos.

PLISKA (Pavel Georgiev – pavel_g@gbg.bg, Tihomir Tihov, Gergana Ilieva) The foundations of the Small Timber Fortification was 2.20 – 2.30 m wide and consisted of two parallel trenches. The outer trench accommodated a stone structure and the foundation of the palisade that consisted of posts up to 18 cm in diameter. Three occupation layers were documented on the site. The top layer contained debris from buildings, including sunken-floored ones. Building No. 1 was ramshackle and had a foundation of stones. Two hearths and several querns were discovered close to it. The finds from the building included sherds of c. AD 1000 – 1050 from pots, amphorae and glazed tableware. The occupation layer beneath Building No. 1 contained finds of the end of the 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries AD. A sunken-floored house with two ovens was discovered there. Midden Pit No. 2 was also discovered, containing a lead cross – encolpion, a piece of another lead cross – encolpion, an iron arrowhead, a fishing hook and sherds of c. AD 1050. Building No. 2 constructed of stones was partly excavated. It was partly dug into a layer containing an anonymous Byzantine follis of Class A2 (AD 976 – 1030/1035). The occupation layer of the 10th – 11th centuries AD contained fewer structures. A second early underground building was discovered. A dugout with an oven, dug deep into the bedrock was explored. The finds from the dugout included sherds from pots of c. AD 800 – 850, bones from birds, small mammals, fish and a shell of a river clam. The early underground building was constructed after AD 811 when Pliska was burned down by the Byzantine army. At least two underground buildings existed at the inner side of the western fortification wall of the Stone Fortress, each one being several dozens meters long and consisting of sunken-floored rooms with ovens or stone stoves. These buildings were probably occupied by the builders of the Stone Fortress.