Sector 3

Within Sector 3 there were three initial trial trenches dug along the previously set direction for the sector.
Despite the relatively modest data of the first two trial trenches, the withdrawal of the south profile of trial trench 2 hinted the rich sequence of data discovered in this area in the course of the last two months. The first discovered facility is an annex to tower 8, attached to its southern side, which was used as an expansion of the functional space of the defence in the late XVII and XVIII century. Independently from it, at a several meter distance, a rectangular construction was discovered, lifted with a plinth on dry wall and above ground construction in mortar, which is for the time being called “porch”. The most exclusive movable finds discovered in this sector are directly connected to it.
- bronze vessel discovered at its oldest floor level;
- dedicated Old Slavonic inscription of capital significance for the late medieval epigraphic, preliminary dated for the late XIV/XV century;
- group of frescoes of the inner church decoration, roughly dated for the same period.
The last find implied the existence of a church facility in the immediate vicinity, which was also indicated by the necropolis which is radially spread on the whole plateau.
South-east of the porch in the course of May there was part of a capital facility of hard construction discovered. By expanding the excavated area, the east segment of this construction defined at the east side with an apsis was discovered. This finally confirmed the sacral character of the facility, that is, a church whose reconstruction is preliminary related to the period of Ottoman Middle Ages, most probably XV or XVI century. The continuation of the excavations will provide a complete opening of the construction that is still partially under recent soil layers, as well as its detailed analysis.

Sector 3А

With the excavations in the sector 3A, at the area of G2, G3, H2 and H3 squares, on the inner side of the fortification walls, vestiges of constructions, built in prehistoric technique of wooden construction and mortar were discovered.
The size and disposition of the construction still can not be determined because of the destruction of the eastern parts by constructing the monumental fortification wall. Still, by expanding the sector to the north and west, there is space opened to discover a broader and far more defined organization of the occurrences and vestiges of the oldest settlement on the Kale so far.

Based on the numerous movable archaeological material (pottery, bone and stone tools etc), most probably these are vestiges of a spacious settlement of the copper era – the Eneolithic (4 millennia B.C.) with constructions (houses, storages, pits) partially dug into a thick layer of red clay.