ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF BRANKOVTSI (Emilia Evtimova – ema_ev@abv.bg, Katya Melamed) The site was situated on the right bank of Smradla River. Two silver and five copper Ottoman coins of the 15th – 16th centuries and sherds dated from the 16th century onwards were found on the site. Thirty-seven sondages were carried out. Three houses were discovered in Sector North and sherds, animal bones and coins were found. A Byzantine tetarteron of the 12th century, several small iron knives, nails, an arrowhead, a bronze bracelet and sherds from sgraffito pottery were found in House No. 1. Remains from c. 10 houses built in wattle-and-daub were discovered on the site. The finds included sherds, animal bones and iron nails. Two construction periods were documented in the settlement: 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries and late 11th – 13th centuries. A large number of sherds from sgraffito pottery and a Latin imitative coin of the Type A (1204 – 1261) minted in Constantinople were found in House 1. At the end of the 13th century the village was burned down. Two coins of Radu I of Wallachia and a bronze coin of Władysław III Jagiełło were found on the site. The osteological analysis showed the presence of oxen, pigs, goats, sheep, deer, roes and boars. Thracian sherds of the Late Iron Age and a drachma of Dyrrhachium minted in 230 – 229 BC were also discovered on the site.