Archaeological site unearthed near Niš

Archaeological site unearthed near Niš

27 March 2008 | 16:22 |
Source: Tanjug

NIŠ -- Artefacts from the Neolithic age have been found at a site where digging had begun for a new petrol station near Niš.

The Archaeological Bureau for the Protection of Monuments has found prehistoric remains dating back to between 5,000 B.C. and 2,000 B.C., archaeologist Aleksandar Aleksić told Tanjug.

“We uncovered remains from the Middle Neolithic Age and a dugout containing ceramic and animal bones,” Aleksić said.

According to an initial analysis, the dugout dates back to between the bronze and iron ages, which means it is from the end of the second millennium (13-14 centuries before Christ), he estimated.

The latest discovery once against confirms that the archaeological location of Medijan has greater significance than it is usually credited, with its links to Constantine the Great (280-337 A.D.), and as a residence of the Roman emperors in the third and fourth century AD, archaeologists say.

The site is located near the road leading from Niš to Niška Banja.

From the early Christian period, archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be Germanic graves.

Aleksić said that the Germanic people had federate status, and that the Roman empire had allowed them to inhabit the region on condition that they protect the borders from barbarian attacks.

The recent discoveries suggest that the settlement stretches further south and that the archaeological area of the complex is a lot larger than the earlier estimate of 40 hectares.

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