ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PLOVDIV (Vesselina Vandova – v.vandova@abv.bg) The site is located to the southwest of Ploskata Mogila Settlement Mound, which was explored with sondages in the beginning of the 1970s. In 2015, destroyed layers were explored down to 1 m in depth in Sector I, containing mixed material of the Early Chalcolithic period, the Early Bronze Age, the 1st millennium BC and the Roman period. A stratum containing finds of the Early Chalcolithic period and single sherds of the Late Neolithic period was explored beneath. Destroyed layers were explored down to 1.10 m in depth in Sector II, containing mixed material. A stratum containing finds of the Early Chalcolithic period was explored beneath. Early Chalcolithic pits and dug out structures were explored in both sectors, containing sherds, fragments from anthropomorphic terracotta figurines, flint, stone and bone tools, fragments from burned wattle-and-daub, animal bones and single Late Neolithic finds. The flint artifacts included nine typological tools, 11 flakes and five splinters. The retouched flakes prevailed. Two flakes were produced from flint of the Ravno Type and displayed typical Chalcolithic features. Two flint elements from sickle with traces from use were identified. Pits of the 5th – 3rd centuries BC containing Thracian sherds were discovered. Part of a farm building was explored. Its walls were built in rubble masonry and were 60 cm wide. Eight dolia were discovered. The finds from the farm building dated to the end of the 2nd – 3rd centuries AD.

PLOSKATA MOGILA SETTLEMENT MOUND (Rositsa Mitkova – mitkova.1965@abv.bg) The site was situated to the north of the River of Maritsa. Sondage excavations were carried out on the settlement mound in 1973 – 1974 and its southwestern periphery was explored in 2015. During building works in 2017, strata were destroyed on part of the site. In 2018, rescue explorations were carried out. The strata were over 5 m deep, containing sherds of the Early and the Late Neolithic period, the Early Chalcolithic period and the Early Bronze Age. A destroyed house with an oven was documented, probably of the Late Neolithic or the Early Chalcolithic period. A pit of the Late Iron Age and two pits of the Roman period dug into the settlement mound were also explored.