Plaošnik Archaeological Site, Ohrid (must see)

Barely 825 feet downhill from Samoil's Fortress on Ohrid hill is the Plaosnik Archeological Site, an ongoing excavation and research site of early Lychnidos, aka Ohrid. The main find on the site is the church built by Saint Clement in 893. The church was built on the foundation of an earlier Christian basilica.

The early basilica was dedicated to the legendary 4th century martyr, Saint Panteleimon, whose name means "All-merciful." The Ohrid Literary School was founded on this site by Saint Clement in the 9th century. The school became the leading center of Slavic culture. Saint Clement was buried in this church in a tomb built by himself.

Under Ottoman rule, Saint Clement's was converted into a mosque called the Imaret Mosque. The mosque was a memorial by Sinan Chelebi of the prestigious Turkish family of Ohrizade. The remains of the mosque were relocated in 2000. It had been covering the earlier Christian church and basilica.

Discoveries as of 2007 include the baptistery of the five aisled basilica. There are mosaic tiled mosaic floors dated from the 4th to 6th centuries. The mosaics show forms of fanciful animals, curvilinear geometrics, and swastikas as symbols of a nourishing sun. In 2007, 2,383 Venetian coins were discovered, linking Venice and Ohrid in trade.