few years before 907. While the church can be ascribed to no later than the 10th century, some scholars have suggested that it may have been constructed directly on top of a much earlier late Roman basilica due to its antiquated plan. A possible donor (ktetor) of at least part of the church's construction is a high-ranking church official (chartophylax) named Paul, who is mentioned in an inscription inside the church. The main part of the work was likely funded by Simeon, who may have acted as a chief sponsor. There is debate in Bulgarian academic circles as to whether the church was built as a monastery church or as a separate cathedral. If the buildings neighbouring the church are interpreted as the residential part of a monastery, it was most probably established after the construction of the Round Church, during the rule of Tsar Peter I (r. 927–969). The absence of entrances on these buildings on the sides facing the church and the presence of a large atrium make it unlikely. Another argument against the Round Church being a monastery church is its location, isolated from other buildings yet accessible to the public outside the inner city. Scholar Bistra Nikolova considers it a city cathedral and compares it in function to the Great Basilica in Pliska. Another researcher, Krastyu Miyatev, sees it as a royal church of Simeon, but art historian Nikola Mavrodinov and archaeologist Totyu Totev insist it belonged to a monastery from the beginning. The earliest excavations of the site were carried out in 1927–1928 by archaeologists from the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia and the Bulgarian Antiquities Society under the direction of Yordan Gospodinov. A second effort headed by Krastyu Miyatev resulted in a much more in-depth study, and archaeological research at the site is ongoing. In 1927, the Round Church, along with the entirety of medieval Preslav, was proclaimed a historical and archaeological reserve and placed under state protection as a national antiquity. In 1970, it was individually included in the list of monuments of culture of national importance with a publication in that year's State Gazette, issue 46. As part of the Veliki Preslav architectural reserve, the Round Church is listed as No. 98 among the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria. The Church of St Petka in Ruse, opened in 1944, was built as a reconstruction of the Round Church in Preslav. The Round