Timok River Research Articles

The neolithic settlements in the Timok region and Djerdap gorge hinterland

For many years, the territory along the course of the Crni Timok river in northeast Serbia was not presented as an interesting area for early Neolithic excavation. However, recent inspection of older unpublished data, with newer reconnaissance, has shed new light on this period of prehistory. A larger number of sites have been discovered with similar topographical positions on the edges/rims of large areas or on ridges above river courses. Thanks to cooperation between the geographical project TOPOI from Berlin and the Archaeological Institute in Belgrade, work has begun on the production of a digital ?archaeological model of probability? (ARM), which will improve reconnaissance of this region. Alongside the only systematic excavation/investigation of settlements in Kucajna, 16 more localities have been confirmed, situated in the area between the Roman imperial palace of Felix Romuiana in the south and Bor in the north. They are located at the following sites: Cerova Faca and Dubrava in Brestovac; Kot 1 and 2, Pundjilov potok (Pundjil?s stream) in Metovnica; La Bunar in Sarbanovac; Smolnica, Abri above Lazareve pecine (Lazarus? cave), Donja Stopanja (Lower Stopanja) Kobila in Zlot. In the area around Felix Romuliana several settlements have been discovered: in sectors Intra and Extra muros, Kravarnik, Varzari, Petronj 2, sites between Magura and Rimski majdan (Roman mine) and Visicina Basta. From the examination of finds discovered at these sites it can be concluded that on the territory along the course of the River Timok the population of the Starcevo-Keres-Kris cultural complex was relatively well established during the early Neolithic period. The Neolithic occupation of the region had proceeded from the Djerdap gorge in the north and Sicevacka, Svrljiska and Trgoviska gorges in the south, towards the course of the River Timok i.e. the central part of north-east Serbia. The Mesolithic populations had gradually accepted the production of food. Utilizing the optimal climate and fertile soil, they improved their husbandry through new agricultural methods and the better domestication of animals. This experimental process demanded successive migrations, which impoverished the quality of soil and the seasonal movements of animals that needed to be tamed. By analysis of the topographical and geomorphologic character of this terrain, early Neolithic settlements can be described as being agricultural-livestock husbandry and livestock husbandry-hunting based. The first settlements were located on gently inclined terrains relatively close to water sources, at altitudes of 180 to 300 m. The second category of settlements were formed on uplands, offering a better view of the terrain, 230 to over 450 metres above sea level. These were probably short-term or seasonal settlements since such territories were usually unsuitable for habitation during the winter months. The poor geomorphology of the land, the magma-rock substratum and ill-drained soil, in combination with primitive agriculture, guaranteed greater soil erosion, which would destroy the economic worth of the soil. With the disappearance of the early- Neolithic population from this region, human habitation did not reoccur until several millennia later, during the middle Bronze age.

New record of endangered red alga Bangia atropurpurea (A. Roth) C. Agardh (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) in the Nisava river, Serbia

Bangia atropurpurea was found at two new localities in the Nisava River (Southern Serbia). In Serbia, this species is endangered. It has been found so far in the Trgoviski Timok River, the Gvozdovacka River and the Raska River. With the two new localities in the Nisava River, at present Bangia occupies four rivers (five localities). New findings are important for the protection of the biodiversity of red algal flora in the region, and provide useful information on the ecological preferences of the species in Serbia.

On the influence of Vatin and Verbicioara cultures in the finds of the Gamzigrad cultural group

The Timocka Krajina region has not been sufficiently investigated archaeologically, which coupled with the fact that a very small number of metal finds and remains have been discovered, makes the reconstruction of the start and end of the Bronze Age that much more difficult. Identification work in the area around Romuliana on two occasions in 2001 and 2008 led to the discovery of another 10 predominantly multi-layered sites dating back to the Bronze Age, of which 7 are highland settlements while 3 are lowland settlements located in the immediate vicinity of the Timok river or its tributaries. The discovered sites 1. Varsari, 2. Djokin Vis, 3. Kravarnik, 4. Mustafa, 5. Nikolov Savat, 6. Njiva Zore Brzanovic, 7. Petronj, 8. Potes-Petronj, 9. Strenjak and 10. Zvezdan; bare the characteristics of the material culture of the ?Gamzigrad group? of the Middle Iron Age. Besides known ceramic forms and characteristic ornamentation of this culture, there is a visibly strong influence of the Vatin (Crvenka-Cornes?i) and Verbicioara elements to a greater extent, and Paracin cultural elements to a lesser extent. Given that this material was collected during identification work, we are now aware of the stratigraphic relations between these elements, and have devoted more attention to common characteristics and interconnections from which certain conclusions can be drawn. Based on the finds from archaeological sites that have been excavated it can be concluded that the distribution of sites with Gamzigrad cultural characteristics is limited to a very small area, i.e. only to the vicinity of the Crni Timok river. Nearly at all sites, both highland and lowland, Vatin and Verbicioara elements are strongly visible on the ceramic materials. The geographic position of the Crni Timok, which is located in the area where the Paracin, Vatin and Verbichoar cultures connected and overlapped, could contribute to shedding light on the origin and characteristics of this phenomenon of the Middle Bronze Age in Eastern Serbia.

New find of the rare and endangered species Bangia atropurpurea (Roth) C. Agardh (Rhodophyta) in Serbia

Data about distribution of Bangia atropurpurea (Roth) C. Agardh indicate that this species was found on relatively small number of localities in freshwaters in Europe and world. In Red List of Algae, in some countries, this species is defined as a extinct (Ex) (Poland) or as endangered (En) (Slovakia). In this study, morphological and ecological characteristics of rare and endangered species B. atropurpurea that was found on three localities in Serbia: in Trgoviski Timok River (East Serbia), Gvozdacka Reka River (West Serbia) and Raska River (South-western Serbia). The Raska River is new find of the species B. atropurpurea.

Demographic situation and perspectives of Budzak

One of the oldest populated areas in East Serbia is Budzak. There is an assumption and archeological finds that people had lived in Budzak already during the bronze age (1400-800 years BC). Turbulent historical, cultural and economic factors brought changes to the demographic picture of this area. From the end of the 19th century (1879) till the beginning of the 21st century, the population decreased for more than 3 times, and the number of members per household for 5 times. Faced with harsh conditions of mountain life and lack of perspective, the population intensively emigrated to the lowland areas around the Beli Timok river and to the surrounding towns. For slightly more than half a century (from 1948 to 2002), the population of Budzak deceased for 84,32%, and the number of households for 39,04% with the basic index from -80 to -90, only in Kalna about -60. This decrease also caused the decline in the average number of members in one household from 5,26 in 1948 to 1,35 in 2002. In 6 of 14 settlements, there was not a single birth in the period from 1999 to 2003. Annually, 3-4 children are born, and more than 70 inhabitants dies. Today, the rural population of the Knjazevac Municipality is very old and in the phase of the deepest demographic old age (average age is 47,3 years). In the Budzak area, few settlements have the average population younger than 60 years. Judging by the long-term trend of birthrate decrease and the accelerated ageing of the population from this area, the question has to be asked: in 30-50 years in Stara Planina Mountain in the Budzak area, would there be human life at all, or there would remain historical monuments as the evidence that generations and generations of people had lived there and had their culture and customs.

The silt carrying in Jerma river basin

The silt carrying in the upper part of Jerma river basin in amount of 82.3 t/km/year is relatively high, considering the situation in all Serbia. The specific silt carrying in the upper part of Crnica river basin is 23.9 t/km/year (Manojlovic P.), while it is even lower in the basin of Crni Timok river (3.5 t/km/year; Manojlovic P, Gavrilovic Lj. 1991.). In the Kolubara river basin, the specific mechanical water erosion is between 4.6 t/km/year (Gradac) and 73.2 t/km/year in Tamnava basin (Dragicevic S. 2002). Greater erosion in the upper part of Jerma river basin is result of great part of metamorphic stones that intensively disintegrates and significant anthropogenic influence in Znepolje. The great slopes at the left side of the basin, under the Ruj mountain, should be considered, too. That doesn't mean that the erosion is strong, because, for example in the basin of Beli Timok, between Knjazevac and Zajecar, it is 186 t/km/year. Following regression, base on flow and silt concentration values can calculate the silt carrying very precisely: t/day=6251+26875 - C+1058 - Q Based on beta coefficients (0.73 for silt and 0.31 for flow) it could be concluded that concentration of silt has greater influence on erosion, than flow. More interesting is the influence of seasonal factor on the carrying of suspended silt. Months with the highest amount of carried suspended material are March, April and May. During these months 50.5 % of average yearly value is evacuated from a basin. Similar excessivity has been noticed in the other basins (Dragicevic S. 2002), only in other months.