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Periodization of late medieval necropolis in the Lower Serbian Danube Basin
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Most of the necropolis investigated in the Lower Danube basin have been generally dated between the 12th and 14th centuries. However, the grave finds indicate that there are significant differences between certain necropolis and against that background it is apparent that they could not date from the same time period. The main characteristic of the necropolis in Korbovo Vajuga and Prahovo are numerous bracelets and various variants of the earrings with biconical pendants. There were also found the earrings with granulated nodules, hoops with coils of wire on their lower segment and earring with spherical pendant decorated with the pseudo granulation. The necropolis at the sites Svetinja in Stari Kostolac and the cemeteries at Mala Vrbica, Kličevac and Čoka Arte are also chronologically close to the above mentioned necropolis. Another group includes the necropolis at which the mentioned finds are entirely lacking. These are the necropolis Kod Groblja in Stari Kostolaca as well as the cemeteries at Čezava, Manastir, Boljetin Ravna, Hajdučka Vodenica, Ušće Porečke reke, Ljubičevac and Mihajlovac. Between these two groups of clearly distinguished necropolis are the cemeteries at Ribnica and Brza Palanka characterized by the mixed finds known from both groups of the necropolis. The beginning of interment in the cemeteries at Korbovo, Prahovo and Svetinja could be dated not before the second half of the 12th century, while at Vajuga it is more precisely dated in the end of that century. The question is how long these cemeteries could have been in use. The coin finds confirm without doubt that they had been in use during the first decades of the 13th century and the cessation of burying could be related to the Mongolian invasion, which affected these regions in the beginning of the fifth decade of the 13th century at the latest. The gradual disappearance of the earlier jewelry could be observed through the rare finds in the 13th century cemeteries, while they are entirely lacking in the later burials. The changes in the inventory of the necropolis relate also to the appearance of new decorative objects including the jewelry made of small ornamental plates or the earrings shaped as question mark. Generally speaking, these cemeteries are characterized by smaller quantity of grave goods and among them are much more frequent the elements of clothing (buckles, buttons, clasps), which are almost entirely lacking in the earlier cemeteries. It could not be precisely established how long these cemeteries had been in use only on the basis of the grave finds but the cessation of burying could be indirectly related to the Turkish conquest of this part of the Danube valley.
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Pferdehirt Barbara
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Mirković, Miroslava - Pferdehirt Barbara: Die rolle des Militärs für den sozialen aufstieg in der römischen kaiserzeit, Römisch-germanisches Zentralmuseum, Forschungsinstitut für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Monographien Bd. 4 - Starinar
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Pinctada margaritifera box from Viminacium
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A Pinctada margaritifera box was unearthed at Viminacium in 1985, at the site of Pe}ine, in a grave containing cremated remains. It was made from the shell of a pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera), an exotic clam whose habitat is tropical seas: the Indo-Pacific region, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea. Based on the grave type and a coin found in it, the box has been dated to the second half of the first and the first half of the second century AD. Morphologically and functionally, it represents a rare find in the territory of present-day Serbia and, together with the finds from Aquincum and Savaria, it is also a rare find of P. margaritiferae in the Central Balkans. It is a high-prestige item, indicative of contacts between Viminacium and the Near East, i.e. the area of present-day Israel, Jordan and Syria, where the workshops producing Pinctada boxes are alleged to have been. This text discusses the geographic-historical and, in particular, functional aspects of the P. margaritifera box as a symbol of Venus and a cultic prop in initiation rites.
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Podgorac Iron Age hill-fort
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In 2004 a survey of a prehistoric hill-fort surrounded by a dry stone wall was carried out at the site Kornjet, in the village Podgorac, East Serbia. An amount of pottery from the Early Iron Age (phase Lanište I) and some twenty arrow-heads of thin sheet iron were found on that occasion. Three bronze objects were found earlier at the same site, while in private collections there are some 40 large iron axes as well as several hundred iron arrow-heads.
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Population of Viminacium during the Migration Period
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In the 1980s, at the site of Viminacium - Više Grobalja, 31 artificially deformed skulls were discovered at the necropolis ascribed to the Gepids. These skulls attracted much attention from anthropologists as they represent the largest series of artificially deformed skulls in this part of Europe. Another 63 skulls, showing no traces of artificial deformation have, thus far, been disregarded, hence they will now be published in more detail and those best preserved, illustrated in this paper. In 2006, the published archaeological analysis confirmed that this site is, in fact, a case of two necropolises from the Migration Period, which were, however, spatially and chronologically linked. They were named as Viminacium II, specifically Više Grobalja 1 and Više Grobalja 2. The older necropolis (1) contained 36 skeletons, and the younger (2), 58 skeletons. This paper includes another two Viminacium necropolises from the Migration Period - the necropolis of Burdelj (i.e. Viminacium I) with 66 graves and the necropolis of Lanci (i.e. Viminacium III) with 15 graves. Simply stated, the anthropological characteristics of the skeletons from these four necropolises of Viminacium from the Migration Period - Burdelj, Više Grobalja 1, Više Grobalja 2 and Lanci, excluding the previously published artificially deformed skulls, demonstrate a low degree of heterogeneity. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 47018: Viminacium, Roman city and military camp - research of the material and non material culture ofinhabitants by using the modern technologies of remote detection, geophysics, GIS, digitalization and 3D visualization]
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Pottery manufacture in the Studenica Monastery
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Relying on indicative finds of clay rods, the article examines different aspects of pottery production in the Studenica Monastery. Apart from identifying the pottery kiln and manufacture area, several questions are raised concerning the organization of pottery production and its users. Explanation of the production context enables us to understand the place of this monastery in the economy of the early Nemanjić state. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177021: Urbanization Processes and Development of Medieval Society]
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Pottery shreds as tools in late Neolithic Vinča
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Over the last few years, careful analysis of a large quantity of ceramic material found during excavation at Vinca has identified a significant number of ceramic fragments with clear use-wear traces. Recycled fragments of ceramic vessels are characterized by the presence of damage and deformation caused by abrasive processes i.e. contact of the fragments with hard material. All recorded recycled fragments can generally be divided into two basic groups: fragments representing tools with a working edge, and fragments with traces of abrasion on their outer surface. The largest group comprises fragments whose edges form the working edge of a tool, rounded or flattened through use and so becoming smooth. In contrast to so-called burnishers (the secondarily used, striped handles with traces of the action of water, manifesting in a uniformly rounded break) with ceramic tools only one edge of the fragment is rounded and used; the remaining edge indicates a completely normal break. In addition, most fragments also have abrasions directly beneath the working edge, which indicates holding the tool at a certain angle during use. That damage can occur both on the exterior and interior surfaces. It is striking that in a large group of fragments, the rim is used as a working edge. Tools are mostly fragmented, but it appears that their shape was not modified before use. In that sense, two straight polygonal tools can be distinguished (T. I/1a-b), or tools which are rectangular in shape with rounded corners (T. II4a-b), preserved complete. In most cases, these are fragments of bowls, so tools usually have polished or burnished surfaces, but ornamental parts formed by burnished lines or channelling are also noticeable. Fragments of rough fabric were never used as tools, but only those with an admixture of fine sand. Very rarely, actually in two cases, fragments of amphorae were used as tools (T. IV/2,5). Usually the upper parts of vessels were used, although there are several exceptions, where parts of the base and body were used as well (T. IV/3). Also, in the damaged area straight depressions can often be noticed, which apparently represent some kind of negative impression of the object on which they were used, or, in rare cases, the whole working surface is step-like. The second group of fragments do not generally differ from the first group as regards their form and the surface treatment. The difference can be seen in the distribution of damage. To be precise, the zone of intensive abrasion lies on the surface of fragments and is manifested by complete removal of original surface, while across it, marks caused by contact with hard material often result in deep incisions, which can be seen with the naked eye. These marks can be found on the most protruted parts of vessels i.e. on the shoulder, apart from two cases concerning the shoulder, or the thickened rim of an amphora (T.V/1,5). Finally, we should emphasise the fact that not one ceramic tool has been found around an architectural structure. Specimens originate from archaeological layers or contexts which do not represent a specific zone of activity (destruction layers, ditch filling, posthole, levelling layers etc) but in contexts in which waste material was deposited. From that perspective, one example can particularly be distinguished, a tool with a working edge found near the ceramic substructure of a oven. By analysis of the distribution, shape and kind of damage, as well as the position and shape of the working edge, it is possible to reconstruct the direction of movement and position of the tool during use. Scraping tools show marks in the form of dense incisions, visible both macroscopically and microscopically. They can also be characterised by a pronouncedly rounded working edge. Bearing these characteristics in mind, tools from Vinca with rounded working edges can be categorized as tools for scraping away excess clay and for thinning the surface of unfired vessels. They were held at right angles or slanting in relation to the vessel, with the working edge horizontal or also at an angle or lateral to the working edge, so that the vessels walls were thinned by movements in various directions. Ceramic tools were not specialized, and were undoubtedly multi-functional. They could have been used for smoothing and polishing. This is supported by the fact that abrasion traces are parallel or distributed in various directions. A group of tools with a flattened working edge, judging by preserved marks, had a rather different function. There are indications that these were held at right angles to the vessel but that the movement was not lateral. The tool was probably held with the working edge in a vertical position, so that burnished decoration could be carried out by using up/down movements, when it was necessary to make thin burnished lines of uniform thickness and with clearly defined edges. Bearing in mind traces of 'negative' impressions of the item on which the tools were used, the tool could also have been used in a left-right direction, when it was used to execute the burnished zone typical for upper bowls' parts. One of the important characteristics of ceramic tools is the use of the rim of a broken vessel as a working edge. This is a very logical choice. Bowl rims have a naturally rounded and often symmetrical, sharpened shape. Thus, craftsmen got a ready-made thin, relatively sharp tool, so there was no need to modify a fragment or re-shape it for the working edge to obtain the desired shape. Likewise, as mentioned before, the existence of a negative impression on work edges, usually rims, makes it probable that such tools were used to shape and burnish the rims of vessels. It is an interesting fact that most of these tools comprise fragments of bowls, and this is not coincidental. Important role in the appearance and form of traces caused by abrasive processes is played by characteristics of the abrasive, i.e. tool, such as hardness and granulation. All bowls are characterised by their fine fabric and fine-sand admixture, thin walls, burnished or polished surfaces and firing in a reduced atmosphere. These characteristics are very significant regarding the reaction of material to mechanical stress. A reduced atmosphere during firing increases the hardness of ceramics. Ceramics with fine granulation and lower porosity show greater resistance to mechanical stress than ceramics of rougher fabric with larger quantities of a coarse admixture. Burnishing and polishing lead to the compression of particles on surfaces, which creates a hard, compact structure, resistant to abrasion. It was especially convenient to have tools made of materials with identical characteristics as material they were used on. Analysis of ceramic fragments from the early phase of the Late Neolithic settlement at Vinca indicated an exceptional number of recycled vessel fragments, shaped as tools and used in the process of shaping and modifying ceramic surfaces. Since this concerns a new class of archaeological finds, it is necessary to suggest a direction for future research, particularly experimental, which would, together with microscopic identification of use-wear traces, reveal completely the activities in which ceramic tools were used.
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Problems in the study of the medieval heritage in the Lim valley
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Discussing the results of archaeological investigation at two important medieval sites - remains of the monastery of St George at Mažići near Priboj and of the church at Drenova near Prijepolje - the author puts forward his critical observations that make significant revisions to the conclusions suggested by excavators. The remains of a monastery at Mažići have long ago been identified with the monastery of St George in the župa (district) of Dabar known from early 13th-century records. In the 1310s a monastery of St George is referred to in association with the toponym of Orahovica. After a long gap, the monastery is referred to again several times in the 1600s until its final destruction in 1743, as St George’s at Orahovica or simply Mažić(i). The report following systematic archaeological excavations suggests the unacceptable and unfounded conclusion, with dating and interpretation that the monastery church was built in the 13th century, received additions in the 14th, and was renovated in the 16th-17th centuries when there was a hospital attached to it. Careful analysis of the structural remains and the site’s stratigraphy clearly shows that the monastery was built on the site of a medieval cemetery of a 14th-15th-century date, which means that the church and its buildings cannot be older than the 16th century. The author also argues against the assumed presence of a monastic hospital, the assumption being based upon metal artifacts misinterpreted as "medical instruments" (parchment edge trimmer, compasses, fork!!!). The author’s inference is that the ruins at Mažići are not the remains of the monastery of St George, which should be searched for elsewhere, but possibly the legacy of a 14th-century monastic establishment which was moved there from an as yet unknown location most likely about the middle of the 16th century. The site at Drenova, with remains of a church destroyed by land slide, has been known since the late 19th century when a stone block was found there bearing the opening part of an inscription: "+ Te Criste auctore pontifex...", long believed to date from the 9th-10th century. Following the excavations, but based on this dating the church remains were interpreted as pre- Romanesque, and the interpretation entailed some major historical conclusions. From a more recent and careful analysis, the inscription has been correctly dated to the 6th century. With this dating as his starting-point, the author examines the fieldwork results and suggests that the block is an early-Byzantine spolium probably from the late-antique site of Kolovrat near Prijepolje, reused in the medieval period as a tombstone in the churchyard, where such examples are not lonely. It follows that the inscribed block is not directly relatable to the church remains and that it cannot be used as dating evidence. On the other hand, the church remains show features of the Romanesque-Gothic style of architecture typical of the Pomorje, the Serbian Adriatic coast. According to close analogies found for some elements of its stone decoration, the date of the church could not precede the middle of the 13th century. The question remains open as to who had the church built and what its original function was, that is whether a monastic community center round it. Its founder may be sought for among members of the ruling Nemanjić house, but a church dignitary cannot be ruled out. Anumber of complex issues raised by this site are yet to be resolved, but the study should be relieved of earlier misconceptions. Fresh information about this ruined medieval church should be provided by revision excavations in the future.
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Procopius’ pontes
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Fortification protecting the Trajan’s bridge on the Danube near modern village of Kostol was registered as Pontes by the Byzantine historian Procopius in the 6th century. The first investigators of this site M. Garašanin and M. Vasić explained its name as plural - Bridges, considering that plural form of the fortification name is a result of the existence of another smaller bridge over the Danube branch, used to divert the river course. In addition, there are also the hypotheses that original name of the site was Inter Pontes or Ad Pontem. According to our opinion, Pontes is a late, dialectal form of the original name Pons-Bridge, so it should not be understood as a proof of the existence of another, smaller Trajan’s bridge. There are many registered analogies for similar changes of monosyllabic nouns of III declension in the Late Antique Latin in the Balkans. The other possibility is that this toponym was from the very beginning Pontes, as it sometimes in the classical Latin means bridge with many arches. In any case there was only one bridge.
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Prosopomorphic vessels from Moesia Superior
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The prosopomorphic vessels from Moesia Superior had the form of beakers varying in outline but similar in size. They were wheel-thrown, mould-made or manufactured by using a combination of wheel-throwing and mould-made appliqués. Given that face vessels are considerably scarcer than other kinds of pottery, more than fifty finds from Moesia Superior make an enviable collection. In this and other provinces face vessels have been recovered from military camps, civilian settlements and necropolises, which suggests that they served more than one purpose. It is generally accepted that the faces-masks gave a protective role to the vessels, be it to protect the deceased or the family, their house and possessions. More than forty of all known finds from Moesia Superior come from Viminacium, a half of that number from necropolises. Although tangible evidence is lacking, there must have been several local workshops producing face vessels. The number and technological characteristics of the discovered vessels suggest that one of the workshops is likely to have been at Viminacium, an important pottery-making centre in the second and third centuries.
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Rastko Vasić
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Jovanović, Dragan - Rastko Vasić: Die nadeln im Zentralbanken (Vojvodina, Serbien, Kosovo und Makedonien), Prähistorische Bronzefunde (PBF) XIII, Band 11: Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 154 strane teksta, 4 slike u tek - Starinar
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Reflecting on Illyrian helmets
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The so-called Illyrian helmets, with a rectangular opening for the face, are a frequent topic in archaeological literature for several reasons. They are distributed over a large territory - on the Balkan Peninsula and beyond, so many archaeologists from various countries were involved in their study. Then there is the great diversity of forms, where each type or subtype represents a theme in itself posing various questions, and finally new Illyrian helmets appear all the time, even in regions far from their main concentration areas, or with unfamiliar details, demanding new analyses and explanations. The author discusses their division into types and subtypes, chronology, variants, and comes to the conclusion that a proper study of this theme will be possible only when various aspects of their appearance, including ancient written sources as well as the material culture of this period in particular regions, are taken into consideration because of their complex and versatile role in ancient Balkan history.
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