The studies in the village of "St. Nikola" began in 2003, when the foundations of an early Christian basilica were discovered, which was restored with donations after coordination and prescriptions from the National Archaeological and Archaeological Research Center, and an adjacent necropolis. In 2007, regular archaeological excavations began. The settlement is located in the northeastern edge of the "Pirin" National Park at 1100 m. above sea level and is 4.5 km. east of Bansko. It was built on a natural stone hill with sheer cliffs on three sides with a height of 100-120 m. The foundations of numerous stone walls bonded with mortar from buildings and facilities with a preserved height of up to 3.00-3.20 m. and a thickness of 0.65 m. were discovered. All of them are surrounded by a fortress wall, built of much larger and processed stones with a thickness of 1.10-1.20 m., which outlines an area of ​​about six acres, including the inner city. The settlement was burned once, but the stone walls were rebuilt again, only the mortar was made of clay. From the drillings carried out outside the fortress wall, where the foundations of stone buildings continue to be revealed, we can assume that the size of the settlement is about 25-30 acres. Numerous ceramic vessels of various shapes and sizes, ceramic slabs for construction and flooring, tegulae from the roof structure, loom weights were found. The iron objects are very diverse: spears, arrows, knives, hoes, axes, needles, pickaxes, wedges, nails, etc. The jewelry is mainly made of bronze and iron - fibulae, bracelets, rings, earrings, buttons, belt buckles. A significant amount of glass fragments from window glass and from vessels of various shapes were found. The greatest variety was found in coins made of different metals and covering a huge period from the 4th century BC to the 18th century AD. This is also the time of the existence of the settlement according to the materials found so far. It is also interesting that nowhere in the historiography, in the sources and in the local traditions and legends is the name and location of this settlement mentioned, which according to the discovered archaeological materials enjoyed great economic prosperity. Only from this place is the panorama of the entire Razlog Valley revealed and all strategic roads can be observed. To the east through the "Momina Kula" pass is the road to Nicopolis ad Nestum, to the north through the "Yundola" pass to the Thracian Lowland and to the west through the "Predel" pass to Skaptopara/Blagoevgrad/ and the interior of Bulgaria. In 2013 The architectural structures discovered up to that time have been preserved, restored and adapted under the project "Bansko - Crossroads of Civilizations". Suitable tourist trails, steps and railings have been built for access to the archaeological site with signposts. There are also designated areas for relaxation.