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All soul is immortal (Plato)
No full textIn this paper, the authors dealt with the idea of souls of the deceased taking a journey from and back into our known
world. In order to achieve this, a soul would need light to reach the Afterlife, but also some light to return safely. The
idea of a souls’ return journey was debated by several ancient philosophers, among others Plato and Cicero. One pos sible material manifestation of this idea is the fact that many times, oil-lamps were placed into graves that had never
been used before, as well as those that were placed into graves upside-down. The motifs depicted on the deposited
oil-lamps were possibly meant to encourage the deceased to take the journey back, while some were meant to make
them remember this life easier and become eager to come back. Also, oil containers (jugs) that were deposited as
grave-goods contain large amounts of oil, which might also be explained with the idea that a soul was expected to go
to the Afterlife, but also come back and use all of the oil
Late Neolithic chronology in the contact zone between the south edge of the Carpathian Mountains and the Pannonian plain. The case study of Vršac region
Get PDFThe Late Neolithic period in Southeast Serbian Banat is marked by a host of Vinča
culture sites located between the Danube and the Vršac mountains, the south end of the
Carpathian mountain range in this area. It is a predominantly flat landscape enclosed by
extensive former marshes of Mali and Veliki Rit in the northwest, Vršac mountains in the
northeast, and Deliblato sands and River Nera in the southwest and the southeast. Over
40 late Neolithic sites are known throughout the area, most from surveys, but some also
excavated. Between 2020 and 2022, as part of the Regional Absolute Chronologies of the
Late Neolithic in Serbia project, funded by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, At and
Potporanj sites were radiocarbon dated to produce detailed, Bayesian statistical model-based
chronologies that could be used as a local chronological reference for future researchers
of the Late Neolithic in the region. In this chapter, we present unified chronological data
attributable to the beginning and ending phases of the Neolithic in this region
Bone skates from the medieval site of Crkveno Brdo (Serbia)
Get PDFThe paper presents the results of the analysis of six worked bones discovered during archaeological excavations of the medieval settlement at the site of Crkveno Brdo. The site is located in the municipality of Senta, in the vicinity of the village of Gornji Breg, at a distance of about 1.5 km to the south-west of the village centre. During the archaeological excavations in 2019, part of the settlement dated from the 11th to the 13th century was excavated. Additionally, the existence of cultural layers, dated in a wider chronological range between the 11th and the 15th century, was revealed. The results of the analysis of the worked bones indicate that bones of the most important economic species, mainly horse and cattle, were used as a raw material between the 11th and the 13th century. Out of the total number of finds, five specimens represent skates with identical macro and micro traces of manufacturing and use, while the sixth finding can be interpreted as a pointed tool with rough production traces
Систематска археолошка проспекција јагодинског краја: Основне смернице пројекта, принципи и методе истраживања
Get PDFУ циљу побољшања система заштите археолошке баштине и сакупљања научно-истраживачке грађе, покренут је пројекат Систематска археолошка проспекција јагодинског краја, који се од 2022. године спроводи кроз сарадњу Завичајног музеја Јагодина и Археолошког института, Београд. Прва истраживачка кампања била је усмерена на обилазак терена у сливу Белице, Јошанице и Штипљанске реке, приликом чега су обиђена 13 сеоска атара у којима је документовано 48 налазишта са којих је прикупљено 3619 примерака покретног археолошког материјала, од неолита до новог века. Поред стандардних метода просторног документовања налазишта и стилско-типолошког детерминисања археолошког материјала, уз упоређивање и синхронизовање са подацима из старе музејске евиденције, стављен је акценат на истраживања образаца насељавања и прикупљање грађе о палеоекономским потенцијалима у околини насеља
Višestruke biografije glačanog i abrazivnog kamenog oruđa u kasnom neolitu Srbije
Get PDFCilj ovog izlaganja je da razjasni upotrebu termina ponovne, prolongirane, sekundarne i reciklažne upotrebe u okviru glačane kamene industrije, kao i da prikaže najučestalije primere upotrebe glačanih i abrazivnih alatki u sekundarnom kontekstu u kasnom neolitu Srbije. Fokus je pre svega stavljen na oruđe za „svakodnevnu upotrebu“ i načine na koje se ono preusmeravalo kroz razčličite segmente operativnog lanca
The Late Antique dietary habits in Western Serbia: a case study of the Čačak – Dvorište Gimnazije site
Get PDFThe analysed faunal material was collected during the rescue archaeological campaigns conducted between 2014 and 2018 by the National Museum Čačak at the Dvorište Gimnazije site in Čačak (Western Serbia). The Late Antique building remains, constructed in the 3rd–4th century, preserved at the foundation level were discovered at the site. After its destruction, building was reused during the late 4th and the 5th century but in a more primitive manner. Remains of a few pits, hearths, and probably primitive dwellings belong to this horizon. The 3rd horizon at this site dates to the Late Medieval period (the 15th and the first half of the 16th century), and it is represented by a Christian necropolis dug into the Roman building. Faunal material is more abundant in the Late Antique period than in the Late Medieval context. The remains of mammals form the majority of the faunal sample. Domestic species are more frequent within the assemblage and include cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, horses, dogs, and cats. Furthermore, wild species are represented by wild boar, red deer, roe deer, fox, and hare. The most common are the remains of cattle, followed by pigs and caprines. Among wild mammals, the most numerous remains belong to wild boar and red deer. The greater importance of domestic mammals is expected for the Late Antique and Medieval archaeological sites in Serbia. In addition, the bird remains were confirmed as well. Among them, the remains of chicken were the most numerous. Since this is a newly discovered site, additional archaeological excavations in the vicinity are needed to create a broader picture of this site and its role within the currently unnamed ancient settlement that lasted throughout the centuries by the Western Morava River. Moreover, new zooarchaeological research will enable a better understanding of human–animal relationships of the inhabitants of this settlement in the past
The history of the domestic cat in Central Europe: human-induced dispersal or natural introgression?
Get PDFAdvances in paleogenomic research have provided new information about domesticated animals,
but we still know little about the history of cats. Until now, only one subspecies, the Near
Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica), was known to have been domesticated. The domestication
areas were assumed to be the Near East and Egypt. From this region, cats spread to the
Mediterranean and beyond. It has been accepted that the Roman legions played the primary
role in the expansion of cats through northern Europe. However, we found that cats that carried
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes of wildcats from the Near East were present in Central
Europe as early as the Neolithic, well before Roman times, and may have been associated
with Neolithic expansion. Our new results reveal the presence of the mtDNA haplotypes of the
Near Eastern wildcats in Poland even in the pre-Neolithic period. This may suggest that the
Near Eastern wildcats could have spread across Europe independently of agricultural expansion.
Consequently, the natural range of Near Eastern wildcats may have been much broader than
previously assumed. To understand how and when domestic cats appeared in Central Europe,
we performed a target enrichment of ca. 57,000 genomic SNPs. We believe that this will allow us
to definitively determine whether the appearance of the Near Eastern wildcat mtDNA in Central
Europe was a natural admixture between the two subspecies or whether it was a human-induced
dispersal of tame/domestic cats. The study is supported by the National Science Centre, Poland,
grant no. 2019/35/B/HS3/02923
Caričin Grad (Justiniana Prima): Research, Restoration and Presentation
Get PDFCaričin Grad is one of best preserved early Byzantine cities, revealing several fortification lines around the urban core, suburbs, workshop areas, a water supply system which included the aqueduct and dam, and a fairly untouched landscape. This all makes the site unique and gives its researchers the opportunity to study the issues of its establishment, short life and monuments in a most comprehensive way. Its remains provide a possibility for truthful presentation of this unique heritage
Singidunum and its Area in Late Roman and Early Byzantine Times
Get PDFThe important Roman city and the legion's base of Singidunum was located on a dominant site overlooking the confluence of the Sava and the Danube, in the area of the later Belgrade Fortress which has witnissed many changes over the past millennia. The remains of Singidunum are therefore hardly noticeable, which is particularly true of the later phases of the city. Destroyed by the Huns in 441, the city found it self under the Sarmatian and, from 471, Ostrogothic rules, to be reclaimed by the Empire in the early 6th century, when Anastasius settled the Heruli in its area. Although the urban layout is know only roughly, the areas of the cemeteries are better researched, illustrating the shriking of the urban area and population changes
Results of the research of the prehistoric hillfort of popovica near Sokobanja
Get PDFУ раду су презентовани резултати археолошких ископавања спроведених током 2022. године на градинском налазишту Поповица код Сокобање (Зајечарски управни округ, источна Србија). Локалитет до сада није био археолошки истраживан, иако је одраније познат захваљујући подацима из евиденција Народног музеја Србије, Народног музеја Ниш и Завичајног музеја Књажевац. Пробна сондирања су изведена у оквиру пројекта Археолошка истраживања налазишта из раног гвозденог доба на територији општине Сокобања, у организацији Археолошког института, Београд и Народне библиотеке „Стеван Сремац“ у Сокобањи. Отворене су четири сонде на основу којих су добијени подаци о вертикалној стратиграфији, одликама покретних налаза и остацима праисторијске архитектуре. Јасно су установљене три фазе насељавања градине, дефинисане према стратиграфским јединицама и стилско-типолошким карактеристикама керамичког материјала. Издвојени су хоризонти гвозденог доба, средњег/позног бронзаног доба и позног енеолита, који се према доминантним културним манифестацијама могу везати за Басараби, Бубањ–Хум IV и Коцофени–Костолац културу. Осим тога, спорадично су проналажени делови грнчарије који имају елементе вучедолске, гамзиградске и Медијана II–III културе, уз присуство површинских налаза латенске керамике израђене на витлу, која уједно документује остатке девастираног слоја из најмлађе фазе насељавања градине. Поменутим истраживањима су откривени и остаци сухозида који је вероватно био елемент фортификационе архитектуре из праисторије.This paper presents the results of archaeological excavations carried out in 2022 at the site of the hillfort of Popovica, near Sokobanja, in eastern Serbia. The site of Popovica has not been archaeologically excavated until now, even though it has already been known from surveys and accidental finds from museum records in Belgrade, Niš and Knjaževac. Test trench excavations were carried out as part of the project Archaeological research of sites from the Early Iron Age in the territory of the municipality of Sokobanja, organised by the Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, and the Public Library “Stevan Sremac” in Sokobanja. Four trenches were opened, on the basis of which data on vertical stratigraphy, material culture and remains of prehistoric architecture were obtained. The research documented 3,597 mobile archaeological findings, namely, ceramic fragments, animal bones, flint, worked stone and daub. Most of the findings are ceramics fragments, 3,211 in total, out of which 475 specimens were selected as indicative of chronological and cultural characterisation. Almost no material from the historical phases of the past was recorded in the researched layers, therefore, on the basis of the research conducted so far, it can be concluded that Popovica was an exclusively prehistoric site. Three settlement phases were clearly established at the hillfort, identified on the basis of stratigraphic units and stylistic-typological traits of the ceramic material. Horizons from the Iron Age, Middle/Late Bronze Age and Late Eneolithic were singled out, which, according to the dominant cultural manifestations, can be linked to the Basarabi, Bubanj–Hum IV and Coţofeni–Kostolac cultures. Additionally, pottery pieces with elements of the Vučedol, Gamzigrad, Paraćin and Mediana II-III cultures were found sporadically, with the presence of surface findings of Late La Tène ceramics made on potter’s wheel, documenting, at the same time, the remains of the devastated layer from the most recent phase of settling of the hillfort. The mentioned research also revealed remnants of a drywall, which were probably the remains of prehistoric fortification architecture. The drywall most likely had two construction phases, considering the fact that two of its elements with different extension direction and different techniques of stacking stones were registered