Vrsenice: kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book |
| Published: |
Beograd
2009
|
| Series: | Monografije / Arheološki Institut <Beograd>
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| Subjects: | |
| Links: | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=022463656&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=022463656&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
| Item Description: | Zsfassung in engl. Sprache |
| Physical Description: | 195 S. Ill., Kt. |
| ISBN: | 9788680093574 |
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| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Vrsenice |b kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress |c Marko Popović ; Vesna Bikić |
| 246 | 1 | 1 | |a Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress |
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Record in the Search Index
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| adam_text | •rar
Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek
^
іШИШ
VRSENICE
A late antique and Serbian early medieval fortification
Summary
EMAINS OF A FORT on the site of Gradina-a
frequent microtoponym meaning »hillfort site«
—in the village of Vrsenice, sit on the top of a
conical hill whose southern side is connected by
a saddle to another commanding elevation. The
northern hillside is rocky and vertical, while the
eastern and western sides slope down steeply.
Access to the top has been easiest from the south¬
east, as evidenced by the approach path (figs.
2-А).
The archaeological excavation that began in
1987
and went on intermittently until
2001
ex¬
plored most of the flat hilltop with the remains
of fortifications (fig.
5).
The results of the systematic archaeological
investigations carried out on the site have made
it possible to look into various factors that led to
the construction and subsequent development of
the fortification. Main building phases have been
identified, namely four stratigraphically and
chronologically clearly distinguishable horizons:
1)
Roman, with the remains of a military post
(first half of the fourth century);
2)
late Roman
(last decades of the fourth-early decades of the
sixth century);
3)
paleo-Byzantine (sixth century);
and
4)
early medieval (ninth century and early
decades of the tenth). The identified phases have
been analyzed closely in an attempt to establish
their primary function and significance within a
broader central-Balkan context during the first
millennium AD.
The position of
Sjeničko Polje
(Field of
Sjeni¬
ca)
on a mountain-locked plateau with a harsh
continental climate has had a strong impact on
the development of the region and its historical
fate. The relatively spacious field is situated in
the borderland area between the western and
central Balkans (fig.
1).
It is bounded on the east
by the spurs of Pester Plateau that slope down
towards the
Novi Pazar
Basin and the source of
the
Raška.
The area was a watershed between pre¬
historic cultures, but also a contact zone between
southerly and westerly cultural influences. It was
a natural boundary between the Roman provinces
of
Dalmaţia
and Upper Moesia, or subsequently,
as a result of Diocletian s reforms in the late third
century, between the newly-formed province of
Praevalitana in the west, to which the fort at
Vrsenice belonged, and Dardania in the east. It
retained this kind of significance even in much
later times.
A relative scarcity of archaeological finds in¬
dicates that the area was sparsely populated in
prehistory. The Roman conquest of the central
Balkans brought little change to that population
pattern. The almost uninhabited area was incor¬
porated into the province of
Dalmaţia,
bordering
on Upper Moesia. The border between the two
provinces may be presumed with much certainty
to have run along the edge of Pester Plateau. A
fact that is relevant to our considerations is that
175
this central-Balkan area was rich in mineral resources. The
neighbouring province of Moesia was considered a mining
province, similarly to the eastern areas of
Dalmaţia.
Res
metallica
was the backbone of the provincial economy,
which significantly influenced the organization of Roman
administration in the provinces and their further develop¬
ment even in medieval times. This large mountainous area
was divided into mining districts incorporated into the im¬
perial domain, which played a significant role in the fact
that it remained a markedly non-urbanized area.
Sjeničko
Polje
with the
Raška
river valley was part of a sizeable impe¬
rial domain which included the Ibar mines and, as it seems,
those in eastern
Dalmaţia,
in the
Lim
river valley and in the
Srebrenica area. Such
a territorium
metalli
was not neces¬
sarily economically dependent on mining only; rather it
formed part of a larger fiscal domain which included impe¬
rial crop fields, pastures, settlements and whatever other
provincial resources deemed suitable for exploitation.
The opening of new mines and expansion of mining
operations was a long-term process. Mining in the Ibar val¬
ley area began as early as the second century, similarly to
the silver mines in the
Lim
valley and eastern Bosnia. Those
early Roman mining centres were interconnected by an im¬
portant regional road linking the west of the Balkans with
the Ibar valley and Kosovo. More recent research, including
a detailed archaeological survey, and especially the discovery
of a number of late Roman forts, have provided quite reliable
circumstantial evidence for the route of this road. It would
have run from Municipium
S
near modern-day Prijepolje in
the
Lim
valley, followed the
Mileševka
river to
Sjeničko
Polje
and continued south-eastward along its southern
edge. Upon exiting
Sjeničko Polje,
the road presumably ran
past the late Roman forts at Tuzinje, Trojan and
Ramoševo,
cut across
Koštam Polje
at the far eastern end of Pester,
passed beneath the late Roman fort on
Južac
above the
monastery of
Sopoćani,
and thence began descending to¬
wards the
Raška
river valley. It followed the course of the
river across the
Novi Pazar
Basin and apparently forked at
its eastern edge. One branch ran further east towards the
main trans-Balkan road, and the other headed towards the
Ibar valley via mountain canyons of Rogozna and
Banjska
(fig.
105).
Vestiges of the posts whose function was to protect this
important road are particularly relevant to our considerations
because Vrsenice is very near its presumed course. It is a
well-known fact that the roads used for transporting pre¬
cious metals from the provincial mines to the centre of the
Empire were frequently raided. Raids were common both in
Dalmaţia
and in Upper Moesia, notably in its southern part,
Dardania (latrones Dalmatiae
et
Dardaniae). During the sec¬
ond and third centuries
beneficiarii
units were stationed at
posts deployed in significant numbers along the Dardanian
section of the Moesian roads. In addition to their primary
duty of securing metal shipments and »policing«, these units
were responsible for collecting taxes in kind, which, among
other purposes, were used for supplying the Danube legions.
A ROMAN MILITARY POST
Our attempt to elucidate the origin of the oldest structure
and occupation of the flat hilltop at Vrsenice is based on the
data outlined above. The assumptions about the route of the
Roman road, which has not been archaeologically attested,
are based on the features of the relief, on much later infor¬
mation about some of its sections and, in particular, on the
distribution of Roman forts which may have protected it in
late imperial times. If it ran along the southern edge of
Sje¬
ničko Polje,
it could have passed beneath the fort at Vrsenice
and, taking a southward turn not far from it, continued in
the direction of the fort at Tuzinje. Commanding the view
of the hilly southern edge of
Sjeničko Polje,
the hilltop fort
at Vrsenice would also have provided control of the road.
There is no clear evidence of occupation predating the
oldest excavated structure at Vrsenice. The use of the flat
hilltop apparently began with the construction of the stone¬
walled building discovered in the central excavation zone. It
was a nearly rectangular
trapezoid
building divided into
three rooms (figs.
12
and
35).
Its position was adjusted to
the rocky terrain cascading down west to east. The largest,
northern, room obviously had an upper floor (fig.
104).
In
one of the rooms a small tufa-vaulted cistern of a later date
has been discovered (figs.
13-14).
The available data being scanty, the purpose of the oldest
structure at Vrsenice can only be assumed from circumstan¬
tial evidence. Its position on a commanding elevation and in
176
MARKO
POPOVIĆ
VESNA BIKIĆ
relation to the presumed road, as well as the absence of any
contemporaneous structure in the vicinity, suggest a military
purpose. This is additionally suggested by the fact that the
building had had an upper floor and thus could have functi¬
oned as an independent lookout tower. That it had almost
certainly served a military purpose is also suggested by the
fact that it was incorporated in the later fortifications. An
analogous example has been registered on the site of
Gradi¬
na
at
Poštenje
on the eastern edge of the
Novi Pazar
Basin,
where an older structure of similar size, interpreted as a
beneficiarii
post, was incorporated in the fourth-century for¬
tification. We have presumed, with much caution, that the
oldest structure at Vrsenice was built in the early decades of
the fourth century and most probably functioned as a Roman
military post assigned to protect and control the road.
A LATE ROMAN FORT
The hilltop at Vrsenice received new fortifications in the 360s
or 370s, as clearly attested by excavation, and in particular by
coin finds, defining this
stratigraphie
horizon as late Roman.
The earliest deposit of this horizon has yielded a remar¬
kable and precisely dated sunken lime kiln (figs.
16-19).
The
date of the kiln immediately preceded the construction of
the late Roman fort, given that it was obliterated, infilled and
buried under the newly-built eastern rampart. The infill of
the kiln constitutes a closed find which is precisely dated by
the follii minted in
364-378
(cat. no
307).
Following a line dictated by the relief, the new rampart
enclosed an area of about
0.5
ha (figs.
20-25).
The flat hilltop
was walled on three sides (fig.
26).
The wall along its eastern
and western perimeters rose above quite steep slopes, while
the southern side, being more easily accessible, received a
wall reinforced by the main and only tower. Being naturally
protected by the vertically rising cliffs, the northern side
was not fortified. The fort was accessed from the southeast,
by a road whose trail is still discernible in the relief.
A long and spacious intramural structure built against
the western wall probably provided accommodation for the
troops
(
figs.
29-31 ).
The earlier military building was incor¬
porated in the newly-erected eastern rampart and probably
retained its original function. In addition to the two buildings,
the enclosure also contained few timber structures (figs.
27-28).
The structure of the cultural layer seems to indicate
that the fort was not used much.
Judging by the basic characteristics of its fortifications,
the stronghold at Vrsenice was one of many mountain forts
growing throughout the Roman Empire in late antiquity.
Many have been registered in the central Balkans as well,
but few have been explored. Owing to detailed archaeological
surveys, those in Bulgaria and Macedonia are known a little
better. Unlike the strongholds defending the Danube limes or
major towns, where Roman military architecture was at its
best, these mountain forts, being of local or regional signifi¬
cance, had nothing impressive about them: modest ramparts,
few towers and simple gates. Their main advantage in stra¬
tegic terms was an inaccessible, naturally defended position,
which therefore required neither very strong nor intricately
designed defences. Viewed in that context, the fortification
at Vrsenice fully fits into the picture of late Roman military
architecture in the Balkan interior. It was one of many forts
of regional significance built during the fourth century to
defend the main roads and economic resources. It is yet to
be established if all these forts formed part of a more or less
integrated defensive system shielding the interior, or their
function was limited to maintaining local or regional security.
At this point, however, the insufficient body of archaeologi¬
cal data and the small size of the sample make it difficult to
discuss this complex and intriguing issue in a more meaning¬
ful manner.
As a result, the reasons that led to the construction and
decided the role of the new fortification at Vrsenice can pri¬
marily be looked at in a local context. In the
Raška
region,
remains of more than twenty-five, usually relatively small,
forts of the fourth to sixth centuries have been registered so
far. Their distribution gives a clue to their primary function.
A few of them are aligned along the presumed route of the
road running from the west across
Sjeničko Polje,
Pester and
the
Novi Pazar
Basin towards the Ibar valley and Kosovo (fig.
105).
The fort at Vrsenice is one of them. Functionally, they
replaced the earlier posts which we have conditionally termed
beneficiarii
stations. Obviously, during the fourth century,
increasingly frequent barbarian incursions into the weaken¬
ing Empire prompted the construction of stronger posts to
defend the major roads. The late Roman forts scattered on
177
the slopes of Mt Golija or further south, in the
Tutin
area,
were almost certainly built for the purpose of protecting the
local mines.
Viewed in that context, the fort at Vrsenice would have
primarily been intended as a garrison post. How strong the
garrison was cannot be inferred from the archaeological re¬
cord only. The number of troops certainly varied, which must
have depended on several factors. It seems reasonable to as¬
sume that the garrison could not have been stronger than a
few dozen troops. As noted above, the late Roman deposits
indicate that the fort was not particularly intensively used
in the late fourth and during the fifth century or even that
it might have occasionally been abandoned. It remains an
open question if it was attacked or besieged, but nothing
suggests devastation or considerable damage.
The biggest and apparently the first destruction it sus¬
tained took place in the 510s. An earthquake caused the col¬
lapse of the eastern rampart, while the earlier Roman building
lost its entire southern wall. Evidence of similar destruction
has been registered on the systematically explored fortified
sites in the
Raška
valley. An earthquake levelled part of the
northern wall of the fortress at
Ras,
similarly to the one at
Poštenje,
where such damage has been registered on the older,
eastern, wall. In both cases, the ensuing restoration involved
rebuilding on a more stable terrain. At
Ras,
the restoration
has been dated to the first decade of Justinian s reign.
The observed destruction may be quite reliably related to
the catastrophic earthquake of AD
518
with the epicentre in
southern Dardania, in the area of modern Skopje. It caused
considerable damage in the adjacent areas, including that of
Vrsenice.
A
PALEO-BYZANTINE
FORT
Apparently the fort was restored soon after the damage it
sustained in the 510s, possibly as early as the 520s or 530s.
The renovation works involving repairs to the rampart and
additions on the eastern side produced a somewhat more spa¬
cious paleo-Byzantine fort (fig.
32).
Instead of the collapsed
eastern wall, a new one was built nearer the slope at a distance
of
10
to
20
m
from the original one. The new wall had a new
gate (figs.
33-34).
The defended enclosure was now
0.7
ha in
area instead of the initial
0.5
ha.
The role of the new fort in the defensive system was not
essentially different: it remained just one of several hundred
mountain forts in the Balkan provinces of the Empire be¬
tween the fourth and sixth centuries. Some differences in
functional terms are observable from the structure of the
paleo-Byzantine horizon, which shows a much more inten¬
sive use of the intramural area. Unlike the earlier periods,
remains of several settlement-type log houses have been
registered, which suggests permanent occupation. The finds
from the houses include a few livestock bells, suggesting
livestock breeding as an activity of the intramural population.
On the other hand, there is no reliable evidence for a signi¬
ficant military presence.
The remains of the houses indicate log homes between
12 m2 and
40
mz in area and two basic types in terms of wall
construction (figs.
39-44).
House
2
differs from the others
insomuch as it rested on a dry-stone substructure more than
a metre high, while all the rest, with minor variations, would
belong to the other type: houses with walls of logs
( 15-20
cm
in diameter) laid one upon another and almost as a rule
resting on one or two rows of stone. The relief dictated that
all had their western side cut into the slope, but no retaining
walls were used. Logs could have been notched together at
the corners, while a more solid building method would have
involved the use of upright posts at the corners and along
the house walls, usually on the internal side. In some cases,
the interior wall surfaces were coated with mud, as clearly
shown by House
3.
The absence of clear archaeological evi¬
dence only allows the assumption that the log houses had
hipped roofs covered with straw. The floors were of beaten
earth thinly coated with clay. Food storage pits have been
discovered in two houses.
The modest domestic architecture attested at Vrsenice
is typical of mountain forts in late antiquity and it has been
registered at other sites of the type. It is observable that wood
was the main building material. Abundant forests in the cen¬
tral Balkans were a decisive factor in choosing the building
method and the type of domestic architecture not only in
late antiquity but in subsequent periods as well.
A completely novel element within the paleo-Byzantine
fortification was a church, which was built on the ruins of
the earliest military building (figs.
35-38).
It was a one-nave
178
MARKO
POPOVIĆ
VESNA BIKIĆ
building with a narthex on the western side and a semicircu¬
lar apse on the eastern side, as indicated by the traces sur¬
viving on the bedrock. The sizes and proportions of the
naos
and the narthex were largely decided by the configuration
of the terrain and the earlier wall remains. As a result, the
church had two floor levels. The floor of the narthex was at
a higher level and a semicircular stairway descended into the
nave constructed on the flattened natural rock. The
naos
and
part of the sanctuary fully coincided with the largest room
of the earlier building. There were no traces of plastering on
the wall remains or among the building debris.
The presence of religious buildings within paleo-Byzan-
tine forts is neither rare nor unusual. Of relevance to our
considerations are the churches within smaller mountain
forts. In the
Raška
region a few examples have been inves¬
tigated. In the surroundings of Vrsenice, vestiges of sacral
buildings have been registered within the forts at Tuzinje
and Grgaje. But the explored fort churches are too few to
allow any inference about their former number or exact role.
It is an open question whether they were used by the inhabi¬
tants of the fortified enclosures or they functioned as regional
religious centres safely protected by the walls. An interesting
issue for future research, when more data become available,
is the relationship between intramural churches and those
built outside but near the walls, such as the one at
Samograd
in the
Lim
valley or the basilica near the fortress of
Ras.
The
archaeological evidence obtained at Vrsenice provides some
clues to the role and significance of this paleo-Byzantine
fortification, which should be looked at in the context of
similar developments in the Balkans.
The early decades of the sixth century, and especially
Justinian s reign, were marked by the Empire s efforts to re¬
gain and assert control south of the Danube. Justinian s
concept of the defence of the Balkans gave a central place to
northern Illyricum, which included Praevalitana and the
adjacent eastern provinces. In addition to renovating the
forts along the limes, the focus was on organizing defence
in depth in order to prevent barbarian incursions into the
interior of the Balkans: a system of strongpoints was sup¬
posed to protect the hinterland of the Danube border as a
barrier blocking access to the Adriatic provinces. The em¬
phasis was on renovating and strengthening the decaying
earlier forts rather than building new ones. Procopius
De
aedificiis provides telling information about this huge under¬
taking, listing hundreds of renovated and newly-built forti¬
fications in the Balkan provinces of the Empire. What is im¬
portant is that he apparently listed only the major ones.
Namely, judging by the neighbouring province of Dardania,
given that there are no such data for Praevalitana, their
number seems to have been much larger. Procopius lists
61
renovated and
8
newly-built fortifications or a total of
69
strongholds in Dardania. On the other hand, in the
Raška
region alone, which was part of Dardania, a detailed archae¬
ological survey has registered the remains of nearly twenty
fortifications in use in the sixth century. As this is a rela¬
tively small portion of the former Roman province, only one
(Arsa) or
perhaps two of the registered forts were included
in Procopius list, apparently those that were larger and
more important and therefore apparently under the juris¬
diction of central authority. All the rest, being only region¬
ally important, seem to have been the responsibility of local
communities. The paleo-Byzantine fort at Vrsenice no doubt
was one of them. It seems reasonable to assume that it fun¬
ctioned primarily as a refuge for the local population.
Whether it formed part of a possible regional defensive sys¬
tem is difficult to say, but it is not implausible. Nothing
suggests its violent destruction in the sixth century.
Occasional fires that consumed the intramural timber
houses cannot be reliably interpreted as a consequence of a
battle for the fort, but rather as a common occurrence in
timber-built settlements.
The effort to restore the institutions of the Empire and
the damaged system of defence on the Danube border, quite
successful throughout Justinian s reign, was not a lasting
achievement. Barbarian incursions, especially frequent in
the second half of the sixth century, led in the early seventh
century to the final collapse of classical civilization in the Bal¬
kan interior. The process affected the
Raška
region, although
it does not seem to have been on the main barbarian routes.
The patchily-known archaeological record does not permit
us to follow the course of events that led to the demise of
early Byzantine settlements and forts in the region. It is yet
to be seen whether the process was triggered by destruction
and devastation or the overall state of insecurity and danger
179
A LATE ANTIQUE AND
SERBIAN EARLY MEDIEVAL
FORTIFICATION
compelled the population to abandon their settlements and
resettle in coastal towns or in safer inland areas.
It was in that period, as reliably evidenced by archaeolo¬
gical finds, that the fortification at Vrsenice became deserted.
It cannot be established with certainty whether this took
place in the late sixth or in the early seventh century. Nothing
suggests that the fort was demolished or burned down,
especially because no evidence of fire has been registered in
the church ruins. It seems that the abandonment of the for¬
tified enclosure at Vrsenice should be viewed in the context
of the collapse of central authority and the migration of the
Greek-speaking population following the breakdown of the
defence system on the Danube in the early years of the sev¬
enth century. A similar picture appears to emerge from
other smaller paleo-Byzantine forts that were not on the
main routes of barbarian incursions.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS FROM THE LATE ROMAN
AND PALEO-BYZANTINE HORIZONS
The distinctive features and role of the fort at Vrsenice are
additionally elucidated by various objects for everyday use
such as pottery and tools. The largest group of finds is that of
pottery. Of about
13,000
potsherds more than
4,380
(ca
32%)
come from closed contexts (figs.
19, 28, 40, 45-50).
The pot is
the most frequent shape
(114
pieces), followed by bowls
(66),
while lids, plates and jugs are significantly less frequent. To
judge from the quantity of fragments, however, the propor¬
tions of jugs and lids appear to be significantly higher, making
them the third largest group to pots and bowls, but their
highly fragmented state allows no typological classification.
The ceramic assemblage from the two late antique hori¬
zons is almost entirely locally produced. The ware is of good
quality and gives the impression of standardization, largely
as a result of its quite uniform technological aspect. For most
of the ware the fine-grained sandy clay, often tempered with
quartz (mica) and rarely with sparse pieces of crushed lime¬
stone, was used. Most of the ware was fired to grey and brown
grey. The vessels were modelled symmetrically and fired at
proper temperatures, while the glazed pieces show an evenly
textured and coloured glaze adhering well to the body.
Glazed ware accounts for more than
7%
of the late antique
pottery assemblage (fig.
48),
but its proportion in the total
number of fragments varies by horizon—
13%
in the late
Roman and
7%
in the paleo-Byzantine. The group consists
of standard types of jugs, bowls and pots coated with an
olive-green glaze (cat.
nos.
1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 16, 19, 36, 39,
40, 43, 44, 48).
Owing to the distinguishable
stratigraphie
units and
levels, it has been possible to establish which shapes were
characteristic of individual phases of the late antique period,
as well as some general characteristics. From the available
sample it seems that the older horizon, dated to the second
half of the fourth and the fifth century, shows clearly defined
shapes (types) with little variation in rim and body outline.
The younger horizon, roughly dated to the sixth century,
gives a somewhat different picture, and although standardiza¬
tion is obvious, minor variations, especially in bowls, give a
more diversified typological picture. It also appears that the
early-Byzantine vessels were more decorated than before,
and with horizontal and wavy incisions (figs.
40/11, 24, 25
and
50/3, 9, 13,45/1).
The late antique pottery assemblage includes an insigni¬
ficant number of fragments of pithoi and amphorae. The
absence of pithoi raises an important question as to food
storing methods, and perhaps even more important ques¬
tions concerning the nature of the settlement in the late
Roman and early Byzantine periods. Almost completely absent
are also vessels manufactured in specialized pottery-making
centres—tiny fragments of two amphorae (cat.
nos.
56, 57)
—and just as rare are the finds of luxury vessels—only four
terra
sigillata
plates of north-African provenance (cat.
nos.
62-64).
The absence of amphorae may be explained by the
site s location, and it seems reasonable to assume that the
supplies intended for the garrison came repacked in more
easily transportable containers. On the other hand, this and
the scarcity of other imported vessels may be indicative of a
low level of the fort s involvement in trade and supply net¬
works in the period.
The ceramic assemblage also includes three lamps, which
differ from one another formally and technologically (fig.
51).
In addition to the abundance of pottery fragments, the
two horizons have also yielded glass, mostly individual glass¬
ware fragments which are difficult to define typologically. A
few shapes have been identified, such as drinking glasses
180
MARKO
POPOVIĆ
VESNA BIKIĆ
(fig.
52/1-8
and
12-14),
a goblet (fig.
52/16),
a bowl (fig.
52/17),
a bottle (fig.
52/9)
and lamps (figs.
15
and
18),
all
free-blown and ranging in colour from translucent whitish
and yellowish to yellow-green and olive-green, while blue-
coloured are few. Fragmented flat glass used for windows
accounts for
55%
of all glass finds (cat. no.
125).
Unlike the
glassware, it was cylinder-blown. The fragments show various
colours, the greatest proportion of them being translucent
whitish and yellowish to greenish and olive-green. Most come
from the younger, or sixth-century, deposits, and the only
earlier find has been recovered from the infill of the lime
kiln dated to AD
360-380.
Bone and antler artefacts are very few. Worthy of atten¬
tion are four fragmented two-row combs (fig.
53/1-4),
an
ornamented oblong plaque which probably was part of a cloth
or leather bag (fig.
53/7),
and fragmented casings (figs.
53/5-6
and
54).
Personal adornments and accessories are relatively scarce.
To be set apart are two well-preserved fibulae (figs.
52/1-2
and
56/1),
an iron omega-clasp discovered in the oldest layer
overlaying the natural rock (cat. no.
138,
fig.
55/3),
as well
as the fragment of a small U-shaped buckle of Byzantine
provenance, the one-part variety (fig.
55/7)
usually dated to
the first half of the seventh century. A smaller belt
appliqué
(fig.
55/6)
shows typological features of the »heraldic« style.
From the closed contexts of houses come two bronze rings
(fig.
55/4-5).
The fourth-to-sixth-century layers have yielded few
weapons, which is a fact that bears relevance to elucidating
the role and significance of the fort in late antiquity. In ad¬
dition to four arrowheads of various types (fig.
57/3-6)
and
a short throwing spear (javelin) (fig.
57/2),
the most impor¬
tant find is a spear which, typologically, is a Byzantine ver¬
sion of the late-Roman spiculum, a type of weapon rarely
occurring in the central Balkans.
More than twenty multi-purpose knives for everyday
use have been found, most of them of the same type, single-
bladed and tanged (fig.
58).
In addition to knives and other
bladed tools, the associated equipment includes undressed
pieces of local sandstone used as whetstones.
Iron tools are relatively frequent, especially those used
in carpentry (figs.
59/1, 3, 6; 60
and
61/3, 12, 15, 17)
and
leather working (fig.
61/6,16, 18-19),
while agricultural tools
are represented by a single well-preserved sickle (figs.
59/2
and
60/1).
There are also iron tines of wool- or flax-combs
(fig.
61/7-11),
found scattered in the late Roman horizon.
Agriculture obviously was not an essential preoccupation
of the military unit or whoever might have lived within the
enclosure. The reason may be found in the climate, but also
in the fact that livestock breeding, still a major economic
activity in the region, could provide a much more effective
food source. This appears to be suggested by the finds of live¬
stock bells, recovered mostly from closed contexts—the houses
from the younger horizon, and therefore more precisely
dateable to the sixth century (figs.
62/1-5
and
63).
Stone masonry tools include a short stone chisel (fig.
61/4)
and what has been identified as a device for carrying
stone (fig.
59/4).
A smaller hammer (fig.
61/2)
and a pointed
chisel (fig.
61/5)
may be classified as multi-purpose tools.
The finds from Vrsenice include only two steels of the
characteristic crescent shape (fig.
64/2-3).
The younger hori¬
zon has yielded a well-preserved stylus, a metal instrument
used for writing on wax-covered tablets (fig.
64/1).
The metal finds also include five iron keys, accounting
for a high proportion in the metal assemblage. Some of the
keys were intended for wooden locks (fig.
65/1-5),
but that
there also were metal locks is indicated by a find from the floor
of House
3
(fig.
66/2),
which can reliably be dated to the first
half of the sixth century. A partially preserved iron padlock
apparently also belongs to the same horizon (fig.
66/1).
Nails and other connectors used in timber construction
constitute a sizeable group of finds (figs.
67-70).
Metal parts
for various types of lighting devices (figs.
71
and
73/10-11)
have also been recovered, as well as a portion of a massive
chain (fig.
73/8).
In contrast to iron, bronze is exceptionally rare. The de¬
posit of the late Roman horizon overlaying the subsoil has
yielded a sheet-bronze strainer (fig.
72/1),
which, from its
stratigraphie
context, may be dated to the second half of the
fourth century. A somewhat younger find comes from the
storage pit in House
3:
several heat-deformed fragments of
a bronze vessel, possibly a kettle.
The two late antique horizons have yielded a total of
twelve spindle whorls, eight of which of stone (figs.
74-75),
181
three of bone (fig.
76)
and a single ceramic, as well as eight
ceramic, probably loom, weights (fig.
77).
AN EARLY MEDIEVAL SERBIAN FORT
The stronghold at Vrsenice was deserted for more than two
centuries. Its restoration, clearly attested in all explored
zones, may be quite reliably dated to the ninth and partly to
the tenth century. The older fortifications were partially re¬
paired, but they also received considerable additions (fig.
78).
Obviously, the western rampart with the tower was still
in a good shape and thus was only repaired, with possible
timber additions. The existing line of the eastern rampart was,
however, disregarded and a new one was built to enclose the
rest of the gentle eastern slope to the point it becomes steep
and craggy, whereby the defended area was considerably
enlarged.
The new medieval rampart, about
3
m
thick, was founded
on the natural rock. The rampart was encased at front and
back with dry-stone walling for which large stones and
boulders were used, while the infill consisted of stone rub¬
ble and subsoil-type earth (figs.
80-81).
It might have had
internal timber binding, such as registered in some of the
better explored analogous examples, but no such traces have
been observed. The original height to the wall-walk might
have been between
3.5
and
4
m. The wall-walk might have
been surmounted by a wooden gallery such as often occurs
on the top of masonry ramparts. The possibility should not
be ruled out that a palisade with loopholes shielded the
front side of the wall-walk (fig.
106).
The palisaded dry-stone and earthen fortifications were
a long-standing form of defensive architecture, traceable
from later prehistory until the medieval period. In terms of
construction, territorially the closest analogy for the early
medieval stronghold at Vrsenice can be found in the dry-
stone fortifications of the fortress of
Ras.
which have been
dated to the late eleventh century. Analogous examples of
an earlier date have not been discovered in Serbia, nor have
they been registered among the quite well-explored early
medieval strongholds in north-eastern Bulgaria. Nor are they
characteristic of Russia and Poland, where fortifications typi¬
cally consist of earthen ramparts combined with wooden
structural elements. The almost exclusive presence of earth¬
works in those regions can be easily explained by the avail¬
able natural resources, because stone is relatively scarce as
compared to wood. In mountainous and, especially, rocky
regions such as the western Balkans, stone-built fortifica¬
tions are normally expected instead of earthworks. Given
the insufficiency of archaeological investigation in Serbia,
however, this type of early medieval military architecture
remains poorly known. Although the only available analogy
is the fortress of
Ras,
it may be said that the dry-stone ram¬
part at Vrsenice shows the characteristics that assign it to
the early medieval period, while its closer dating depends on
the finds recovered from the site.
The relatively poor state of preservation of the struc¬
tures within the early medieval rampart does not allow the
precise reconstruction of the layout of the enclosure and
therefore the ensuing observations should be taken with
caution. The western zone of the site has yielded the remains
of a single, smaller-sized, early medieval house, although
the structure of the cultural layer suggests that this was not
the only such dwelling. Without further information about
their original size and interrelationship one cannot infer about
the possible use of this zone for intramural settlement or its
population density. In the central zone, however, stone
footings of three to four timber structures have been found.
Their sizes and arrangement suggest a set of buildings
rather than the habitual settlement layout (fig.
83).
House
4
might have been the main building, while the other two or
three houses probably enclosed a central courtyard. It seems
reasonable to assume that this complex functioned as the
residence of a local lord. In the northern part of this zone the
remains of an earlier, paleo-Byzantine, church have been
discovered. The church obviously was neither renovated
nor considered a sacred place. There are indications that its
ruins were used as a dwelling for a period of time.
Unlike the intramural area of the late Roman fort, the
gentle eastern slope, now incorporated into the new early
medieval enclosure, has yielded no structural remains or any
other evidence of human occupation. The reasons may be
various. The usual explanation proposed in similar cases
amounts to population sparsity, extensive use of the defended
area, and relatively short phases of occupation. This expla¬
nation, however, seems to contradict the obvious effort to
182
MARKO
POPOVIC
VESNA BIKIĆ
enlarge the fortified area. In all probability, a different ap¬
proach may lead to an answer. Apart from playing a role in
the regional system of defence, small mountain forts, both
early medieval and older, had an important function as places
of refuge. The enlarged defended area might have been used
as a refuge for the local population and their livestock, their
staple economic resource.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS
FROM THE EARLY MEDIEVAL HORIZON
Fragmented pottery constitutes most of the archaeological
material recovered from the early medieval horizon. There
are also, but much more infrequent, finds of personal and
domestic artefacts—spindle whorls (fig.
103),
millstones,
knives and whetstones (figs.
99-101),
scarce pieces of
weaponry (fig.
97),
tools and other metal finds (fig.
102).
Being for the most part typologically undistinguishable
from the artefacts from the earlier horizons, they have been
dated according to their
stratigraphie
contexts, a method
which certainly is not a very reliable one, given possible in¬
trusions from older deposits. Despite possible errors in
chronological attribution, this remains a substantiated at¬
tempt to take as comprehensive a look as possible at the
last, early medieval, phase of the fortification. In contrast to
the presence, if minor, of metal finds, the youngest horizon
has yielded no glass whatsoever. A similar, though not quite
clear, picture emerges for bone artefacts. On the other
hand, iron slag, dated to the early medieval horizon by the
context of find, indicates that some of the metal assemblage
might be of an earlier date.
The early medieval pottery assemblage can be divided
into several groups according to technology, shapes and
provenance, with locally produced ware being absolutely
predominant, and the presence of import virtually insignif¬
icant. The horizon has yielded a total of
4,849
shards, of
which
2,061
(more than
42%)
from closed contexts. »Bread«
casseroles constitute the most numerous group
(92
to
95),
followed by slightly fewer lids
(85
to
91),
pots
(66)
and a
single bowl (figs.
79; 82; 84-94; 95/1-2).
Two groups of locally produced vessels are readily re¬
cognizable (fig.
88).
One group is of a fairly good quality
and comprises pots and the bowl. The clay was tempered
with sand, mica and, to a lesser extent, small pieces of lime¬
stone. The vessels were modelled on the slow hand-turned
wheel and fired to a range of light colours, mostly shades of
buff, red and brown (fig.
89).
The other group, comprising
casseroles and lids, were hand-made of straw-tempered clay
occasionally containing small stones. Only a few pieces differ
in that they were made of sandy clay and wheel-thrown.
Similarly to pots, they were fired to buff and reddish brown.
Pots come in three sizes (volumes): small, medium and
large, more or less uniform within each category. They give
an overall impression of a homogeneous group, but their
outlines, and especially decoration, vary. For the purpose of
clarity it has therefore seemed best to discuss them within
the groups defined by the style of decoration. In that way it
has been possible to establish which type shows the highest
frequency, a piece of information that may prove useful in
studying the regional pottery production at large.
Two types of pots can be described as fully defined and
standardized products. One of them, belonging to medium-
sized cooking vessels, is that of globular or ovoid pots decora¬
ted with more or less regular parallel incisions (figs.
82/10;
85/13; 86/2; 88/5, 19-21; 89/1-3).
They are more numerous
than most
(13)
and account for
20%
of all pots. The other is
small-sized globular pots, accounting for the same proportion
and standing out by their decoration that combines notches
and incisions (figs.
83/4-7; 88/7, 9, 10, 12, 13;
and
90).
Most vessels show a few different patterns of wavy and
horizontal incisions (figs.
79/2; 82/1, 8-9; 85/1, 4, 6, 7, 9-11;
86/1; 88/1, 2, 8, 16, 17, 23, 24; 91; 92/1-3).
A rather homo¬
geneous group consists of vessels with simpler patterns—a
few wavy lines incised with a stick round the rotating body
(figs.
85/3, 4; 86/4; 87/2; 88/4, 6, 15),
in some cases inter¬
secting with one another (figs.
84/3; 88/9),
and rarely com¬
bined with horizontal incisions to produce more intricate
patterns (figs.
86/1; 88/3, 14).
In addition to constituting the second most numerous
group of pottery, lids come in no less than eight different
shapes. They are cone-, calotte- and bell-shaped, deep and
shallow, and probably were used for preparing food as well
(cat.
nos.
90-97).
By contrast, casseroles come in only three
shapes defined by the position of the wall in relation to the
bottom: conical—with straight or curved wall set at an oblique
183
A LATE ANTIQUE AND
SERBIAN EARLY MEDIEVAL
FORTIFICATION
angle to the bottom, and with the wall almost perpendicular
to the bottom (cat.
nos.
98-102).
There is also a tiny vessel,
a toy in the form of an upright-walled casserole (fig.
88/40).
The presence of imported pottery—amphoroid jugs-
amounts to fragments of two handles (fig.
95/3, 4),
which
allows no further analysis. It should only be noted that ampho¬
roid jugs were manufactured in Bulgaria, most prominently
in the ninth and tenth centuries.
The early medieval horizon has yielded one quite remar¬
kable find, a massive oblong container reminiscent of the
casserole (fig.
87).
Its size, distinctive shape and thick walls,
however, rule out its use as a hearth vessel. In the absence
of any analogy in the excavated and published material, the
vessel has been classified as a brazier.
The early medieval pottery assemblage from Vrsenice is
quite distinctive in relation to other contemporaneous finds
from Serbia in terms of its features, quantity and reliable
stratigraphie
context. Namely, the vessels have been found
inside and round the houses; moreover, the recovered pottery
provides quite reliable evidence for establishing the chrono¬
logy and, in same cases, the function of the structures. From
its features—technological, formal and ornamental—as well
as from analogies, the pottery may be roughly dated to the
ninth and tenth centuries.
The only piece that stands out from the rest is the pot
showing a combined pattern of fingernail-made notches
and horizontal incisions (figs.
84/1
and
93).
Yet another of
its distinctions is a shallow groove along the outer side of
the rim, a detail typically occurring in the technologically
more advanced pottery produced in later periods, mostly in
the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The little that is known
about early medieval central-Balkan pottery only allows us
to look at this piece as a curiosity whose significance cannot
be fully assessed at present. There is. of course, a theoretical
possibility that such pots, expressive of a new formal and
ornamental concept, sporadically occur even earlier, but in
this case that would mean nearly a century earlier than the
chronology established for the Balkans.
This pottery is fully defined by its decoration, which, in
addition to other features, makes it quite recognizable. On
the other hand, similarities to other finds from the region,
notably from the nearby fortress of
Ras. are
too general and
too few to assign the assemblages to a single production
group, with the exception of lids and casseroles that occur in
similar proportions and quite similar shapes on both sites.
The same goes for the pottery from some sites in Bulgaria as
well as from the known Slavic sites in central Europe. None¬
theless, in terms of general features, mode of manufacture,
presence of certain shapes and decoration, our material is
closest to the finds from the fringes of the
Čačak
Basin. The
analogy does not amount to a similarity between vessels, most
of all pots as the most relevant group, but between the ceramic
assemblages in general. A very important fact in that respect
is the almost complete absence at Vrsenice of amphoroid jugs,
produced at workshops in Bulgaria, in contrast to a conside¬
rable quantity of such vessels on the already mentioned
Ras
site. On the other hand, amphoroid jugs occur only sporadi¬
cally on the sites in the
Čačak
area. Even with the little
archaeological data that is available for the
Čačak
Basin and
the
Zapadna
(West)
Morava area,
this fact is a telling piece
of information and has the value of a historical source. In
this particular case, that pottery and the Vrsenice assemblage
form part of a single production circle which may be defined
as specific to the settlements in what then was Serbia.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EARLY
MEDIEVAL FORT AT VRSENICE
The attempt to elucidate the origin of the early medieval fort
at Vrsenice and to assess its place and significance in the
historical context needs to rely on comparative analysis of
the nearby forts in the
Ras area,
as well as on the surviving
historical sources, notably
De administrando
imperio
written
by the emperor
Constantine
VII Porphyrogenitus,
the most
important source for the early history of the Serbs and the
lands they inhabited. Given the exceptional complexity of
the subject, which requires broader considerations and in¬
volves issues that presently cannot be satisfactorily resolved,
we shall confine ourselves to conclusions and assumptions
directly related to or based on the excavation data.
Analysis of the early medieval levels within the renovated
late antique strongholds in the
Ras area—
those at
Ras
and
at
Gradina
in
Poštenje—
has shown a significant proportion
of import in the pottery assemblages, mostly fragmented
amphoroid jugs manufactured in the area of
Presláv
and
184
MARKO
POPOVIĆ
VESNA B1KIĆ
Pliska,
as well as belt fittings which may reliably be ascribed
to Bulgarian production centres. Unlike the fortifications in
the
Ras area,
the archaeological material recovered from
the early medieval horizon at Vrsenice contains virtually no
finds of Bulgarian origin. There predominates locally pro¬
duced ware similar in style to the domestic pottery from the
levels of the same date in the
Ras area,
though without di¬
rect analogies.
The
stratigraphie
record of the three sites clearly indi¬
cates the territorial extent of Bulgarian rule, which makes it
possible to place Porphyrogenitus information about a Serbo-
Bulgarian conflict into an actual geographical setting. The
border between the Serbian and Bulgarian territories obvi¬
ously ran along the edge of Pester Plateau, the natural bor¬
der between two regions. It is known from Porphyrogenitus
writings that Rasa was on the border in the late ninth cen¬
tury. It follows then that west of
Ras was
what the emperor
called »baptized Serbia«, traversed by major communication
routes: the one along the
Lim
river valley and the one across
Sjeničko Polje,
an important route both in antiquity and in
the middle ages.
The
Ras area
was a border zone for Bulgaria. It seems
that it is in that context that the
reoccupation
of two main
late antique forts in the
Raška
valley should be viewed.
Their function was to preclude potential Serbian eastward
expansion, as obvious in later periods as well, but also to
serve as bases for Bulgarian westward expansion or incur¬
sions. On the other hand, the restored fort at Vrsenice, on
the southern edge of
Sjeničko
Polje,
defended the lines of
approach to the Serbian territory and, possibly, functioned
as a more than locally important seat.
The emperor
Constantine
Porphyrogenitus makes men¬
tion of »inhabited forts«
(κάστρα οίκούμενα):
nine in Croatia,
four in
Pagania,
six in Zahumlje {territory of the Zachlumi),
five in Travunia with Konavle, and three in Duklja {Dioklda).
Especially relevant to our topic is chapter
32,
the main
source for the early history of the Serbs. He lists the names
of six inhabited forts in »baptized Serbia«: Destinikon,
Čer-
navusk,
Medjurečje,
Dresnik,
Leśnik
and Salines, and two in
Bosnia:
Kotor
and Desnik. The emperor refers to one of these
forts in his account of the events unfolding in the 890s.
Klonimir, the father of
Čáslav,
launched a campaign from
Bulgaria and captured Destinikon or Dostinika, »one of the
Serbian forts«
(κάστρων Σερβλίας, την Δοστινίκαν).
In spite
of the initial success, his campaign failed.
Dostinika
obvi¬
ously was a major stronghold, the key to control over what
then was Serbia.
To be able to make sense of the listed forts and before
making any attempt at their identification, one should clarify
what the term
κάστρα οίκούμενα
denoted and what role
those »inhabited forts« played in the territorial organization
of the early medieval South-Slavic lands or states. A related
issue is that of their appearance and internal structure, in
other words, what kind of traces archaeologists should ex¬
pect to find in the field, especially farther inland from the
Adriatic coast, in »baptized Serbia«.
It has been noted that Porphyrogenitus used the term
»inhabited« forts to make a clear distinction between them
and those that were abandoned or »uninhabited« at the
time. The emperor s list of inhabited forts is very short. He
apparently was only familiar with the major ones, which
does not rule out the possibility that there were minor
strongholds. At the time the Serbs began to settle in Roman
Dalmaţia
there were scores of abandoned strongholds, whose
ramparts and towers might have still been in a fairly good
shape. There was in fact an entire network of late Roman
fortifications. Those in the interior usually functioned as re¬
fuges, while those in the coastal areas included former forti¬
fied settlements. The settlers might have occupied, repaired
or even further built some of them in keeping with their
mores and lifestyle. Background knowledge suggests that
such construction interventions would have been dry-stone
walling or palisaded earthworks. This type of fortifications
was widely used by the barbarian peoples in early medieval
Europe, and forms part of the common Slavic legacy attest¬
ed in the regions from which the Serbs and Croats had mi¬
grated to the Balkans. Construction in »baptized Serbia« of
completely new fortifications of the type commonly found
in the Slavic lands in the ninth and tenth centuries-Poland,
Moravia and Russia, where there were no earlier Roman forts,
does not seem very likely. Such fortifications, usually erected
in the flatter landscapes of their original homeland and de¬
fended by water-filled ditches, obviously were not suitable
for the Serbs new mountainous home.
185
A LATE ANTIQUE AND
SERBIAN EARLY MEDIEVAL
FORTIFICATION
The possible internal structure of the
κάστρα οίκούμενα,
directly related to their function, has remained largely un-
discussed. They have commonly been interpreted as fortified
settlements—»inhabited towns«, which is the usual Serbian
translation of the emperor s term. There has been some con¬
fusion in the broader scholarly community resulting from
the modern-day usage of the Serbian word
grad.
Today used to
denote a town or a city, initially the word primarily denoted
a fortified enclosure, which would correspond to Porphyro-
genitus term
κάστρον.
It is open to discussion, however, if
the term
κάστρον—
as the early medieval word for a fortified,
and often urban, settlement, widely used in the Greek-speak¬
ing world—is applicable to what could be found in the Serbian
lands at the time. There is no doubt that such fortified enclo¬
sures in the Serbian lands functioned primarily as adminis¬
trative seats, but the question remains open as to how likely
it is that apart from coastal towns there were settlements
exhibiting urban characteristics. It is our contention that,
when it comes to the interior of the Balkans, the term did not
at all imply an intramural settlement of any significance.
The size of the late antique forts, some of which might have
grown into the »inhabited towns of baptized Serbia«, as a
rule was small. Apart from functioning as refuges, they may
be assumed to have contained a set of a few buildings fun¬
ctioning as the residence of
a knez
or
a župan,
and possibly
also food depositories. To the local population such a »town«
was simply a place of refuge in dangerous times.
The issue of structural components of these early medieval
strongholds, exceptionally important in studying their functi¬
ons, is currently a very difficult one to address because of the
paucity of archaeological data. One of the few well-explored
cases, which may be taken as the model of the
κάστρα
οίκούμενα,
is certainly
Gradina
at
Martiniéi,
identified as
Lonwdokla, one of the three towns in Duklja listed by Porphy-
rogenitus. Within the paleo-Byzantine walls there have been
uncovered the remains of a basilica and a residential complex
dated to the ninth and tenth centuries, apparently the rema¬
ins of a lord s residence which may just as well be interpreted
as the remains of the local secular and ecclesiastical seat.
It is within the framework outlined above that the early
medieval fort at Vrsenice should be looked at. It seems reaso¬
nable to assume that this might have been one of the »in¬
habited forts« in what then was Serbia, but it remains an
open question as to whether it could be identified as one of
those listed by the emperor
Constantine
VII.
There have been
attempts to locate these forts through
toponymie
analysis.
Without going deeper into this much discussed topic, we
shall only whip through some propositions put forward in
various attempts to locate Destinikon, because they may
prove helpful in resolving the problem.
The first more or less founded attempt was made by K.
Jireček
in the second half of the nineteenth century. In a
well-known text on the trade routes and mines of medieval
Serbia and Bosnia, he proposed the
Sjenica
area near the
border with Bulgaria as the area where Destinikon should
be looked for. His view was later accepted by F.
Šišić
and S.
Novaković,
with the remark that Porphyrogenitus data sug¬
gest that Destinikon was »the Serbian capital«. P.
Skok
also
touched upon the problem while discussing the toponyms
listed by Porphyrogenitus. In his view, Destinikon is a com¬
pound word terminating in an abbreviation for
κάστρον.
All these views and suggestions give grounds to assume
that the early medieval fort at
Gradina
in Vrsenice was Por-
phyrogentus Destinikon. However, it is not until other early
medieval fortified sites in what then were the core areas of
Serbia—the
Lim
and upper
Drina
valleys—are explored that
it will be possible to readdress the issue of identifying the
»inhabited forts« in »baptized Serbia«. There is no reliable
archaeological evidence for the date of its destruction, but it
might have taken place during Simeon s campaign against
Serbia in the 920s.
Putting its possible identification as Destinikon or Dosti-
nika aside, it seems unquestionable that in the ninth and part
of the tenth century there was at
Gradina
in Vrsenice an
early medieval Serbian fortification. The additions made to
the earlier defences at the time of its founding are so far the
only known example of an early medieval date in what were
the Serbian lands. It is to be expected therefore that the results
of the research carried out to date will encourage further and
more broadly founded enquiries leading to a more compre¬
hensive understanding of the internal structure of the ear¬
liest Serbian fortifications.
186
|
| any_adam_object | 1 |
| author | Popović, Marko 1944-2020 Bikić, Vesna 1963- |
| author_GND | (DE-588)1117560651 (DE-588)1052976409 |
| author_facet | Popović, Marko 1944-2020 Bikić, Vesna 1963- |
| author_role | aut aut |
| author_sort | Popović, Marko 1944-2020 |
| author_variant | m p mp v b vb |
| building | Verbundindex |
| bvnumber | BV037309182 |
| ctrlnum | (OCoLC)706014110 (DE-599)BVBBV037309182 |
| era | Geschichte 300-900 gnd Geschichte 1987-2001 gnd |
| era_facet | Geschichte 300-900 Geschichte 1987-2001 |
| format | Book |
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| geographic | Vrsenice (DE-588)7740526-2 gnd |
| geographic_facet | Vrsenice |
| id | DE-604.BV037309182 |
| illustrated | Illustrated |
| indexdate | 2024-12-20T15:14:13Z |
| institution | BVB |
| isbn | 9788680093574 |
| oai_aleph_id | oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-022463656 |
| oclc_num | 706014110 |
| open_access_boolean | |
| owner | DE-12 |
| owner_facet | DE-12 |
| physical | 195 S. Ill., Kt. |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| publishDateSearch | 2009 |
| publishDateSort | 2009 |
| record_format | marc |
| series2 | Monografije / Arheološki Institut <Beograd> |
| spellingShingle | Popović, Marko 1944-2020 Bikić, Vesna 1963- Vrsenice kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress Ausgrabung (DE-588)4129464-6 gnd Festung (DE-588)4016934-0 gnd |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)4129464-6 (DE-588)4016934-0 (DE-588)7740526-2 |
| title | Vrsenice kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress |
| title_alt | Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress |
| title_auth | Vrsenice kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress |
| title_exact_search | Vrsenice kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress |
| title_full | Vrsenice kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress Marko Popović ; Vesna Bikić |
| title_fullStr | Vrsenice kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress Marko Popović ; Vesna Bikić |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vrsenice kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress Marko Popović ; Vesna Bikić |
| title_short | Vrsenice |
| title_sort | vrsenice kasnoanticko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrdenje late roman and serbian early medieval fortress |
| title_sub | kasnoantičko i srpsko ranosrednjevekovno utvrđenje = Late roman and Serbian early medieval fortress |
| topic | Ausgrabung (DE-588)4129464-6 gnd Festung (DE-588)4016934-0 gnd |
| topic_facet | Ausgrabung Festung Vrsenice |
| url | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=022463656&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=022463656&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
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