EXCAVATIONS IN THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF THE PATRIARCHATE OF PRESLAV (Dimitar Ovcharov, Angel Konakliev – angeltg@abv.bg, Stela Doncheva) Another 25 m of the surrounding wall were explored and so, its total length known until the present moment became 105 m. The excavations of the building consisting of neighboring rooms arranged in a line continued. Rooms Nos. 8, 9 and 10 were thoroughly explored, while room No. 11 was partly excavated. The foundations of the rooms were preserved, but only several blocks of the wall were discovered in situ. The finds include several intact and a number of fragmentary ceramic vessels, iron tools, bone appliqués, a lead seal and two lead plates for stamping seals, and a bronze Byzantine coin. The finds date to the 10th and the beginning of the 11th centuries. Most likely, the surrounding wall was destroyed and the building was constructed during the second half of the 10th century AD, shortly before Preslav was conquered by the Byzantine Empire.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PRESLAV (Angel Konakliev – angeltg@abv.bg, Stela Doncheva) The explorations in the northern part of the Patriarchate, to the north of the Patriarchal Basilica, continued. Two water-conduits of terracotta pipes were documented in trench A-1, Western Sector. Most probably, the water-conduits lead to the Palatial Basilica. Part of a pavement of stone slabs was discovered at 2.50 m from the northern fence wall of the churchyard of the Patriarchal Basilica. Part of a pavement of stone slabs was also documented in trenches A-3 and B-3. The southern wall of a building, constructed of stones bonded with mud and 80 cm wide, was documented in the Central Sector. A pottery kiln was discovered in trench A-10 in the Eastern Sector. It is built of fragmentary bricks and has two chambers. A pavement of stone slabs leading to the square situated to the east of the Patriarchate was explored. An interior wall and a southern wall of a building, constructed of ashlars bonded with mortar, were discovered in trench B-11. The southern wall of a building, 15.50 m long and 0.80 – 1.10 m wide, constructed of uneven stones, was discovered in trenches A-9 and A-11. Twelve graves were discovered in the cemetery. Two iron knives and sherds were found in graves Nos. 1, 3 and 7. The graves date after AD 972, to the period when Preslav was not a capital. The finds from the excavations include pottery, iron tools, lead discs for seals, exagia, glass bracelets, crosses-encolpia, appliqués, parts of marble floor panels, etc. Seventy-nine coins were found: nine belong to the Byzantine period (late 10th – late 12th centuries) and seventy belong to the Late Bulgarian Mediaeval period (13th – late 14th centuries).

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PRESLAV (Angel Konakliev – angeltg@abv.bg, Stela Doncheva) The explorations in the area between the early wall, the building consisting of parallel rooms arranged in a line and the basilica continued. The stone slabs of the later pavement and the wall of the building consisting of parallel rooms arranged in a line were discovered. The foundation of the wall is 85 cm deep and 1.50 m wide. There were wooden posts under the foundation penetrating to a depth of 30 – 40 cm. The wall of an earlier building with a complex layout and its foundation are situated under the later building consisting of parallel rooms arranged in a line. The wall and its foundation were built of ashlars bonded with mortar. Pilasters and an entrance were documented in the eastern part of the earlier building. The pavement inside and around the earlier building consisted of stone slabs. Two drains were explored: one built of stone slabs and another constructed of bricks. Two lead seals and Byzantine coins of the 11th century were found inside the drain built of slabs. The two pits were thoroughly explored. One of them was 1.60 m in diameter and 70 cm in depth and contained fragmentary glass bracelets, a pearl cross and 47 coins. The finds from the archaeological excavations include a decorated bone awl, appliqués, belt points, fragmentary glass and bronze vessels, a bronze encolpion, bronze crosses, glass bracelets, finger-rings, Byzantine anonymous coins and scyphates, lead seals and a bronze exagia.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PRESLAV (Angel Konakliev – angeltg@abv.bg, Stela Doncheva) The explorations were concentrated in the northwestern part of the Patriarchate. A stratum of the 13th – 14th centuries was explored. A pavement of slabs and two places for stirring mortar were documented and two water-conduits were discovered. A hoard of silver coins was found, including two Venetian grossi of Lorenzo Tiepolo and Pietro Gradenigo, five Serbian grossi of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin (1282 – 1321), 38 imitations of Venetian grossi of Giovanni Dandolo, five imitations of Serbian grossi of King Stefan Dragutin (1276 – 1316), eight imitations of Serbian grossi of King Stefan Uroš II Milutin and one imitation of a Bulgarian grosso of King Michael II Asen (1246 – 1256). A gold Byzantine hyperpyron of Andronikos II Palaiologos and Michael IX Palaiologos, probably related to the coin hoard, was found nearby. The finds from the excavations include anonymous Byzantine folles, coins of the 13th – 14th centuries, a silver Groschen of Sigismund III Vasa, a lead seal of Bulgarian King Peter I (AD 927 – 969) with Queen Maria (Eirene) Lekapene, three halves of lead seals, two lead discs for striking seals, an iron cross, a bronze cross-encolpion, a buckle, a zoomorphic appliqué in the shape of a bird and fragments of architectural decoration.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS IN PRESLAV (Angel Konakliev – angeltg@abv.bg, Stela Doncheva) The explorations were carried out in Sectors 160 – 161. An oven was discovered at 80 – 90 cm in depth. It was built of stone slabs and was 1.60 m long, 90 cm wide and 60 cm high. A water-conduit, 9.80 m long, was explored in trenches 307 and 198. Its terracotta pipes were 15 cm in diameter. Parts of a second water-conduit were documented in trench 189. In addition, part of a third water-conduit, probably related to the baths at the southwestern end of the basilica, was discovered. Two more silver coins, belonging to the hoard discovered in 2008, were found: the first one minted by the Bulgarian King Michael II Asen (1246 – 1256) with his mother Eirene Komnene and the second one minted by Doge Giovanni Dandolo. The finds from the excavations included several anonymous Byzantine folles, Late Mediaeval coins, 20 para minted by Sultan Mahmud II in Constantinople in 1838 – 1839, a lead seal showing Saint Mary, a bronze finger-ring with a four-leafs rosette, fragments from glass bracelets, a bronze belt buckle and appliqués, terracotta spindle-whorls, iron knives and spatulas, and Late Mediaeval sherds.

PRESLAV (Angel Konakliev – angeltg@abv.bg, Stela Doncheva) The explorations continued in the northwestern part of the site. A water-conduit was discovered, situated close to the water-conduit documented in 2009. A third water-conduit was discovered to the west of both water-conduits and a pit was explored, containing a huge quantity of iron slag that originated from the metallurgical kiln situated to the east of the water-conduits. The primary northern wall of the fence that surrounded the basilica was documented. It was 11.80 m long, 1.10 m wide and preserved up to 70 cm. The foundation of the wall was constructed of stones bonded with mortar and ashlars, some of them 65 cm by 45 cm by 30 cm in size, were placed on it, while the construction over the ashlars consisted of stone slabs, c. 80 cm by 40 cm in size. The primary pavement of stone slabs, arranged according to the layout of the wall of the fence, was documented. The drain documented in 1990 was situated under the pavement and continued under the wall of the fence. It was 50 – 55 cm wide, 30 cm deep and was built of stone slabs. Twenty-two pits were documented, containing ashlars, sherds and scyphates. A human skeleton and a skeleton of a horse were discovered on the bottom of the pit located in Trench 188. The coins from the excavations included a bronze coin of the 4th century AD, anonymous Byzantine folles of the Classes A1, A2, B and I dated to the beginning of the 11th century, coins of the first half of the 13th century, including Latin imitations mostly of the Type A and Bulgarian imitations, copper coins of the Bulgarian Kings Mitso Asen (1256 – 1257) and Konstantin Tih – Asen (1257 – 1277), a copper coin of the Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander (1331 – 1371) minted in Shumen during the 1370s, coins of the rulers of the Despotate of Epirus, Thessalonica and Thessaly Theodore Comnenus Ducas (1216 – 1230), Manuel Comnenus Ducas (1230 – 1241) and John II Orsini (1323 – 1335), and a silver imitation of a grosso of Giovanni Dandolo.

PRESLAV (Angel Konakliev – angeltg@abv.bg, Stela Doncheva) The explorations were concentrated in Quarters 161 and 162. The eastern part of the northern fence of the churchyard of the basilica and the pavement close to it were discovered in Square 320. A segment of a water-conduit, 15.60 m long, was discovered in Trench 196. The stone slabs of the pavement in the churchyard of the basilica were arranged at 40 cm above the water-conduit. The southern part of the building, documented in 2010, was discovered. The wall of the building was built of stone slabs bonded with mortar, 95 cm wide and 17 m long. Twenty-four pits were explored, containing Late Mediaeval sherds, marble elements from floor mosaics and scyphate coins. Two pits contained segments from cornices with floral decoration, one pit contained an ashlar with inscription and another pit contained a segment of a marble column from the Roman period with partly preserved Latin inscription. The finds from the excavations included bronze and lead crosses, bronze belt points and appliqués, earrings, glass bracelets, a pendant, 155 coins: anonymous Byzantine folles of the Class A1 (AD 969 – 976), the Class A2 (AD 976 – 1030/1035) and the Class B (AD 1030/1035 – 1042), billon coins of Manuel I Komnenos, coins of Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos, Bulgarian imitations of the Type C, Latin imitations of the Type A, coins of John II Orsini, Despot of Epirus, copper scyphate coins of the Bulgarian Kings Konstantin Asen (1257 – 1277) and Ivan Alexander (1331 – 1371), an Ottoman silver akçe of Sultan Murad I and a copper mangir of Sultan Murad II.

PRESLAV (Angel Konakliev – angeltg@abv.bg, Stela Doncheva) The excavations were carried out in Sectors 161 and 162. The explorations of the northern wall of the churchyard of the basilica continued. The secondary wall of the churchyard was moved at 6.40 m to the south from the line of the primary one. The surrounding walls were 90 cm wide, built of stones bonded with mortar and preserved up to 90 cm in height. The northern surrounding wall was cut by a later water-conduit dated to the 11th century and synchronous to the other several water-conduits in that area. Stone slabs from the primary pavement of the churchyard were discovered. A draining shaft, 90 cm by 75 cm in size and 70 cm deep, was explored in the northwestern corner of the churchyard of the basilica. The water in the draining shaft drew away via a drain built of stone slabs, 35 cm wide and 20 cm high. A wall in rubble masonry connected with terracing the terrain during the 11th – 12th century was discovered. Late Mediaeval sherds, scyphates and architectural details were found. A building of the Byzantine period, built of stones bonded with mortar, was discovered. The finds from the excavations included fragments from multicolor marble mosaics, three lead seals, styli and book clasps, bronze and glass jewelry. In addition, 83 coins were found: the earliest ones were two anonymous Byzantine folles of Class A2 (AD 976 – 1030/1035), while the latest one was a copper scyphate of the Bulgarian King Konstantin Tih (AD 1257 – 1277). The coins also included two anonymous Byzantine folles of Class B (AD 1030/1035 – 1042) and one of Class I (AD 1075 – 1080), Latin imitative coins of the 1240s – 1260s, a follis of Constantine X Doukas and Eudokia Makrembolitissa, a billon nomisma of Andronikos I Komnenos and another billon nomisma of the ruler of Thessalonica Theodore Komnenos Doukas (AD 1224 – 1230).

PRESLAV (Angel Konakliev – angeltg@abv.bg, Stela Doncheva) A sector between the Palatial Church and the Patriarchate Basilica was explored. A pavement of stone slabs arranged over a mortar layer was discovered, dated to the 11th century. Walls of the two buildings, which dated to the 12th – 13th centuries and were documented a few years ago, were explored. The wall of the first building was constructed of stones bonded with mortar and was 80 cm wide. The wall of the second building, which measures 6 m by 4.20 m, was constructed in rubble masonry and was 80 cm wide. The extension of the drain built of bricks was discovered. The drain began from a shaft 1.50 m by 1.60 m in size. A non-canonical Christian burial of a man was explored. The body was cut in two parts buried at 50 cm from each other. An iron reaping hook was found on the pelvis of the dead, probably used to cut the body apart. A new water-conduit was discovered, located to the east of the other five water-conduits discovered to the north of the Basilica. The finds from the excavations included coins, including three Byzantine folles and a Serbian silver grosso from the hoard discovered a few years ago, marble slabs from pavements, two small bells, one of them in the shape of a patriarch cross, sherds of the 10th century and of the 12th – 13th centuries.