Vinča (Tell)

In the village of Vinča, located on the banks of Danube, 14 km downstream from Belgrade (at the 1145th nautical kilometer), one of the largest and most significant prehistoric Neolithic Tell-settlements in Eastern Europe was discovered (Vinča Belo brdo).

Excavations

Excavations started in 1908 by a archaeological excavation team led by Miloje M. Vasić, the first schooled archeologist in Serbia.

Owing to Vasić's enormous energy and efforts, the central and at the same time most important part of prehistoric Vinča was excavated between 1918 and 1934. Interrupted by wars and financial troubles, but also aided by the Archeological Institute of Imperial Russia, as well by the British patron Sir Charles Hyde, Vasić excavated a large collection of prehistoric objects of art which are located today in the collections of museums and universitites throughout the world. The excavation was visited by numerous prominent scholars of the time: Veselin Čajkanović, Charles Hyde, J. L. Myres, W. A. Hurtley, Bogdan Popović and Gordon Childe.

Architecture

In the older Starčevo settlement, located in the deepest layers of Vinča, mud huts with tent roofs were discovered in which the settlers of the Starčevo-culture lived and were also buried. During the period of the Vinča Culture, houses were erected above ground with complex architectural layouts and several rooms, built of wood that was covered in mud. The houses in the settlement are facing northeast - southwest, with streets between them.

Economy

Beside agriculture and the breeding of domestic animals, the Neolithic settlers of Vinča also went hunting and fishing. The most frequent domestic animals were cattle, although smaller goats, sheep and pigs were also bred. The settlers of Vinča cultivated grain(einkorn and emmer, some barley). A surplus of products led to the development of trade with neighboring regions which supplied salt, obsidian, or ornamental shells (spondylus). The local production of ceramics reached a high artistic and technological level. Objects fashioned out of bones, horns and stone indicate great skill and dexterity of the craftsmen who produced tools for all branches of Vinča economy.

piritual life

The Neolithic settlers of Vinča ascribed great importance to spiritual life as is reflected by the enormous number of cult objects (figurines, sacrificial dishes, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic dishes). Over 1000 anthropomorphic figurines were discovered at Vinca. Unfortunately, the site was looted and many figurines ended up in the international arts trade.

Copper and Bronze Age

After the end of the Vinča-period, the site evolwed to Copper Age (Eneolithic Period) of the Baden culture, the Kostolac culture and the Bodrogkeresztur culture. They left behind exceptional works, most notably the Baden culture anthropomorphic figurines which have only been discovered at Vinča in such quantities. Bodrogkeresztur graves are rich in ceramic dishes.

During the succeeding Bronze Age, settlement with semisubterranean houses was constructed at Vinča by members of the Vatin Culture. They produced bell-shaped idols.

Roman and Medieval

Beside the brief appearance of Romans, Vinča also became an important medieval Slavic necropolis where people were buried from the 7th to the 17th centuries.

Vinča today

Excavations at Vinča were continued in 1972 thanks to the Committee for Archeological Investigation of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and are still continuing today. In 2001 the International School of Archeology opened, giving an opportunity to interested archeologists from the rest of the world to take part in the excavations. The Danube shoreline has been declared an archeological park according to the general urbanistic plan of the Museum of the City of Belgrade, with a permanent exhibition at the Museum which is shown to interested visitors by a custodian-guide. Since year 2002, the Tourist Organization of Belgrade has been organizing exclusive boat visits to Vinča.

Bibliography

* Dragoslav Srejović, The chipped stone industry from Vinča: excavations 1929-1934 (Okresana kamena oruđa iz Vinče: iskopavanja 1929-1934). Centar za arheološka istraživanja, Univerzitet u Beogradu, Filozofski Fakultet Knjiga 4.
*Dragana Antonović, Predmeti od glačanog kamena iz Vinče. Beograd : Universitet u Beogradu, Filozofski Fakultet 1992.
* Gordana Marjanović-Vujović, Nécropole médiévale Vinča. Belgrade, L'Association des sociétés archéologiques de Yougoslavie 1979. Inventaria archaeologica Jugoslavija fasc. 22.