Bronze age settlement in churchyard of Gradac monastery

Abstract

During 2005 and 2008, a team from Republic Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute carried out preservative, sondage, archaeological and revision exploration of the Church of Holy Virgin in Gradac monastery. The 2005 exploration aim was to uncover geomorphology and characteristics of soil and its moisture penetration, to make insight in condition of ground zones, uncovering of attached structures and archaeological material, obtaining stratigraphic data, all in purpose of obtaining data for making the Main Project for preserving the Church of Holy Virgin from moisture. The first phase of work started in 2008, and it included work on western, north-western and south-western part of the church. During these explorations, 9 sondages were opened and a drainage pit, in total area of 130 m? and total depth of 3 m. Beside medieval cultural layer and medieval necropolis, a prehistoric layer of 0.5-0.6 m depth was found which was documented with four residential horizons as well with other belonging archaeological material originated in period of the end of Early Bronze Age and Middle Bronze Age. Pottery from older prehistoric layer in Gradac, which was documented with two residential horizons, mainly consists of fragments of pottery made of weaker, refined clay, with smooth surfaces and with range of colour from brownish to dark grey. These are fragments of dishes and larger spherical pots with two vertical handles on wider part of body. Some fragments are decorated with wartlike bulges or recesses made with fingers. From fine pottery, there are pear-shaped amphorae with thin sides, bowls and cups. Beside pottery, in this layer there were also few fragments of different shapes made of Rozhnac stone, flints and quartzite, part of stone axe with perforation whose upper part is shaped into secant and two fragmented millstones made of quartzlathyte, a mineral found in mountain Golija (Pl. I-III). Analogies to this pottery are found in sites in Milica Brdo in Ljuljaci, several sites in region of Krusevac and in Kosovo and Metohia. Pottery of the earlier layer is made of better refined earth with additives of fine grained sand. It has smoother surface with light brown colours. Distinctive items are fragments of biconical and S profile bowls with lingulate handles and wartlike bulges and fragments of cups with emphasized curved handles that exceed the height of mouth edges. Beside this, there is also, in less numbers, pottery of rougher shapes, which mainly includes smaller pots of conical or biconical shapes with flat or slightly curved edges. Some fragments are decorated with fingerprints or notches and some of them have plastic ribs and engraved lines (Pl. IV-V). This pottery from earlier layers from Gradac is similar to pottery from sites in Morava Basin, regions of Krusevac, Kraljevo and Kosovo. Explorations of these settlements, though small by exploration area, gave precious data about residential architecture. Residential structures have been situated in middle and topmost part of the plateau and we assume that this settlement area has not been expanded, but that new buildings have been built in place of old ones. Remaining of these structures shows that they were solid and relatively commodious. Entrance, together with economy part, was on the south side. At the end of Early Bronze Age, settlement was abandoned, but it was reestablished in lesser scale during Middle Bronze Age. Reason for this could be a stable period during Middle Bronze Age, change of economy and beginning of migrating cattle breeding. Gradac settlement was completely abandoned during Middle Bronze Age and was not reestablished again in Prehistoric period.