past horizons10 A subterranean chamber approached by steps on the lower left hand side, having the groundwater extracted by the local fire brigade When FYROM ( the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia) was part of Yugoslavia, most Balkan archaeologists believed that Bylazora was probably to be found beneath the modern city of Veles. But the ruins discovered at Veles were far too humble ( and late) to be the legendary Bylazora. In 1976 Professor Ivan Mikulcic, after a survey of central FYROM, suggested that a large plateau near the town of Sveti Nikole might prove to be a more promising site to hunt for Bylazora. Some exploratory soundings were made before and after FYROM independence ( 1991) that lent hope to this suggestion. In 2008 Mr. Aleksandar Danev, director of the Peoples' Museum of Sveti Nikole, contacted us at TFAHR to initiate an in- depth, long- term project to excavate the site. Mr. Danev had heard of the TFAHR International Field School, which offers excavation opportunities to teachers, students, and volunteers from all over the world. On his invitation, we brought the fi eld school to what may be the legendary Bylazora. We used past soundings and old robbers' trenches to launch our excavation season. In the fi rst weeks we exposed two sections of thick, substantially built walls on the acropolis, probably part of the city's inner defenses. We also cleared, at the foot of the hill, a subterranean stone building with a descending staircase. It had been discovered accidentally while the area was being quarried for road base material. The structure has been called by various archaeologists a tomb, a reservoir, a fortifi ed cistern, and a ritual bath. Our plan, having fi nally excavated down to the last step, was to sink a few judiciously placed soundings in and around the structure to get a better clue as to what it might have been. All plans were proceeding smoothly, until the night of July 3, 2008. That night a torrential downpour and hail storm, the likes of which the locals claim they had never seen, wreaked havoc with the excavation; trenches collapsed, balks were washed away, and many squares were turned into deep, muddy swimming holes. The rains certainly put the structure at the base of the hill under water for the rest of the season, but new vistas opened on the acropolis. As we cleared the wreckage from the storm, we discovered near the defensive wall of the acropolis a long Cleaning storage pithoi in the ' squatters' level

11past horizons and wide ramp. Where the ramp intersected the wall, the foundations of a small tower were unearthed. But as we followed the ramp to the south, uphill, we came across a large threshold with a square socket hole, probably for a beam of a lock socket to secure a double gate. We were on a threshold ( literally), but a threshold to what? The answer to that question has to wait until 2009 because what lies beyond the threshold is presently beneath two metres of dirt. We believe that the ramp is no ordinary paved street because all along the ramp we found roof tiles, indicating that it was a roofed incline leading to undoubtedly a very special building. Our excavation showed that the " ramp- building" was destroyed well before the fi nal days of Bylazora in the second century BC. We found two strata of " squatter" habitations within the ruins of what we did uncover of the " ramp- building." The abundant pottery from the earliest squatter stratum dates to the fourth century BC, meaning that the ramp- building had to have been built and destroyed before that date. In one area of the dig we did come across evidence of the last days of this city. Inside the northern defensive wall more evidence was unearthed of fl imsy squatter huts built up against the wall itself. But all these remains show the signs of having perished in an immense confl agration: thick ash deposits, burnt pottery, and masses of burnt mudbrick. Were these what the last inhabitants left behind them when their beloved city and last redoubt went up in fl ames? Eulah M. Matthews and William Neidinger are the project directors for the Bylazora International Field School. F or its International Field School and Excavations in FYROM, TFAHR accepts students, teachers and volunteers from all over the world. Applicants must be 18 years of age and speak English. No experience is required. The 2009 excavation season at Bylazora will take place in June and July, 2009. The aim of the annual TFAHR International Field School is to teach the archaeological process from actual excavating to artefact analysis, restoration and documentation. There are also occasional evening lectures and field trips to other archaeological sites in FYROM. No university credit is offered. Information and applications will be posted on the TFAHR website in January 2009: www. tfahr. org ? Ancient sources discuss the strategic position of Bylazora, Inner defensive wall ( over one metre wide)