Archaeologia Bulgarica ХХIII, 1 (2019), 1-31 1 The ceramics centre was researched without interruption in the period 1971- 1979 by B. Sultov. Typology and Chronology of the Red Slip Ware from the Roman Manufacturing Complex in the Varbovski Livadi Site near Pavlikeni (North Bulgaria) Stiliyan IVANOV Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to identify the chronology of the red slip ware produced in the manufacturing complex in the Varbovski livadi locality near Pavlikeni. The classification presented here is based on data obtained during the ar- chaeological researches in the area in recent years. Well dated precise parallels from the area concerned helped build a reasonably accurate chronological picture concern- ing the development of the manufacturing complex near Pavlikeni. From the data col- lected it can be assumed that its activity began during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (118-136 AD) or the early years of the reign of Antoninus Pius (136-161 AD) at the latest and continued without interruption until the invasion of the Costoboci in the early 170s AD. Key words: Roman red slip ware, Lower Moesia, North Bulgaria. The study of the local ceramic production on the territory between the Danube and the Balkan mountain range became possible only af- ter the discovery of the ceramics centres on the territory of Nicopolis ad Istrum in the 1960s and 1970s. Without doubt, the most compre- hensively researched is the manufacturing complex in the Varbovski Livadi site near Pavlikeni 1 (map 1). The archaeological excavations brought to the discovery of the remains of three architectural com- plexes and approximately fifty pottery kilns (fig. 1) (Sultov 1985; Владкова 2011). Thanks to the conducted research we now possess a high number of complete preserved vessels, tens of thousands of frag- ments and defectively made articles from the kilns (fig. 2). The data represent sure evidence of an intensive production process. In recent decades, sufficient ceramic material was found and pub- lished, which allows for a more precise dating and typology of the pot- tery produced in the already known centres. The purpose of this pa- per is to identify clearly the chronology of the red slip ware produced in the manufacturing complex in the Varbovski livadi locality near Pavlikeni. The classification presented here is based on data obtained in recent years during the archaeological researches in the area. Classification Developing a new classification is necessary for several reasons. In the first place, it is the lack of clear criteria for making such classification in the previous studies related to the red slip ware from the researched area. Secondly, the definition of specific categories of vessels as “earth- enware with two handles” as found in the classification of B. Sultov (Sultov 1985, 75-79) is not acceptable because it can be applied for a variety of forms (bowls, jugs, etc.). To distinguish among the different