Lepenski Vir (, "Lepena Whirlpool"), located in Serbia, is an important archaeological site of the Lepenski Vir culture (also called as Lepenski Vir-Schela Cladovei culture). It includes Mesolithic Iron Gates Hunter-Gatherers period and transition to Early Neolithic Early European Farmers period of the Balkans.

The latest radiocarbon and AMS data suggests that the chronology of Lepenski Vir spans between 9500/7200 and 5500 BC, divided into Early–Middle Mesolithic, Late Mesolithic, Transition and Neolithic. There is some disagreement about when the settlement and culture of Lepenski Vir began, but the latest data indicates that it was between 9500 and 7200 BC. The late Lepenski Vir (6300–6000 BC) architectural phase saw the development of unique trapezoidal buildings and monumental sculpture, related with the admixing of Iron Gates Hunter-Gatherers with newly arrived Early European Farmers. The Lepenski Vir site consists of one large settlement with around ten satellite villages. Numerous piscine (fish) sculptures with human-like faces and peculiar architectural remains have been found at the site.

Archaeologist Dragoslav Srejović, who first explored the site, said that such large sculptures so early in human history, and the original architectural solutions, define Lepenski Vir as a specific and very early phase in the development of European prehistoric culture. The site was notable for its outstanding level of preservation and the overall exceptional quality of its artifacts. Because the settlement was permanent and planned, with an organized societal life, architect Hristivoje Pavlović labeled Lepenski Vir as "the first city in Europe".

The Đerdap National Park, which includes Lepenski Vir, was established in 1974. On 10 July 2020, the park's wider area was designated a UNESCO global geopark. Apart from the Iron Gates gorge, the Đerdap UNESCO Global Geopark includes parts of the Miroč and Kučaj mountain massifs, with total area of , and was the first such designation in Serbia.

Location and geography

Lepenski Vir is located on the right bank of the Danube in eastern Serbia, within the Iron Gates gorge. It is situated in the village of Boljetin, near Donji Milanovac.

Subsequently, after almost three years of inactivity, archaeological exploration of the region was organized by the Belgrade Institute for Archaeology. Construction of the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station, which would flood the bank regions with its artificial lake, was slated to begin, so archaeologists wanted to explore the area as much as possible before that happened. The head of the project at the time was Dušanka Vučković-Todorović, a fellow at the institute. The area to be investigated was between the villages of Prahovo and Golubac. Archaeologist Obrad Kujović explored the Lepenski Vir section with his assistant Ivica Kostić, following the work of previous visitors and archaeologists such as Felix Philipp Kanitz and Nikola Vulić. The location appeared ideal for a settlement, so Kujović and Kostić surveyed it. They found many ceramic fragments that it was like uncovering a ceramics workshop. Kujović recognized it as an important archaeological site, collected fragments, dated them as being part of the Starčevo culture and made a report for the institute. Srejović, intrigued by the findings, contacted Kujović in 1961 for detailed information.

Excavations

Srejović managed to acquire the necessary funding and on 6 August 1965 began exploration of the site with Zagorka Letica, Probing of the terrain in 1965 grew into protective excavations in 1966 and developed into fully systematic excavations in 1967 as they dug deeper. The cultural-archaeological layer starts below the surface layer of humus, thick.

It was only in 1967, after the discovery of the first Mesolithic sculptures, that the site's importance was fully understood. These findings were publicly announced on 16 August 1967. as a solar observatory. The development of the settlement was strongly influenced by the topology of the surrounding area. It sat on a narrow promontory on the bank of the river, hemmed between cliffs and the flow of the Danube. As such it offered only limited resources in terms of food, raw materials and living space. This is reflected in the findings from the earliest layer. Proto-Lepenski Vir represents only a small settlement of perhaps four or five families with a population of less than one hundred. The primary food source of the inhabitants was probably fishing. Fishing communities of this type are typical for the wider Danube valley region during this period.

In later periods, the problems of overpopulation of the settlement became evident and led to important sociological changes.

Archaeological findings in the surrounding area show evidence of temporary settlements, probably built for the purpose of hunting and gathering of food or raw materials. This suggests a complex semi-nomadic economy with managed exploitation of resources in the area not immediately surrounding the village, something remarkable in terms of the traditional view of Mesolithic people of Europe. More complexity in an economy leads to occupational specialization and thus to social differentiation.

These developments are clearly evident in the layout of the Lepenski Vir I-a through I-e settlement. The village was well planned. All houses were built according to a single complex geometric pattern. The remains of these houses constitute the distinct Lepenski Vir architecture. The main layout of the village is clearly visible. The dead were buried outside the village in an elaborate cemetery. The only exceptions were apparently a few notable elders who were buried behind the fireplaces (hearths) of houses.

The complex social structure was dominated by a religion which probably served as a binding force for the community and a means of coordination of activity for its members. Numerous sacral objects that were discovered in this layer support this theory. The most remarkable examples are piscine sculptures, unique to the Lepenski Vir culture, which represent one of the first examples of monumental sacral art on European soil.

Lepenski Vir gives us a rare opportunity to observe the gradual transition from the hunter-gatherer lifeways of early humans to the agricultural economy of the Neolithic. An increasingly complex social structure influenced the development of the planning and self-discipline necessary for agricultural production.

Once agricultural products became a commodity, a new way of life replaced the old social structure. Distinct characteristics of Lepenski Vir culture, such as its house architecture and piscine sculptures, gradually disappeared. Lepenski Vir III is representative of a Neolithic site and is more typical of other comparable sites across a much wider area. The exact mechanism of this transition remains unclear, but the evidence suggests development through evolution rather than invasion from without.

Archaeogenetics

A group of 80 institutes and 117 researchers, including archaeologists Andrej Starović and Dušan Borić from Serbia, published the results of their archaeogenetic-genomic research in Nature magazine in February 2018 (as Mathieson et al.). Genomes of 235 ancient inhabitants were studied. In terms of the area surrounding Lepenski Vir (localities of Starčevo, Saraorci-Jezava, Lepenski Vir, Padina, and Vlasac), it was established that the region's original population, the Hunter-Gatherers, inhabited the area for an extended time. Then, starting from c.7500 BC, a new population began to settle the Balkans and the Danube valley. Evidence shows that these Neolithic newcomers mixed with the indigenous population in Lepenski Vir. Arriving from Asia Minor, the Early European Farmers had a completely different lifestyle. They brought the first grain crops, knowledge of agriculture, and the husbandry of sheep, cattle, and goats. Based on their research, Starović concluded that the blending of the populations occurred almost immediately, during the first immigrant generation, which was unique, as in other parts of Europe two such different communities would initially live in proximity to each other. He believes that this melting pot was a keystone of human development in Europe. It produced the burgeoning of the Lepenski Vir culture, establishing the Balkan Neolithic, the most original occurrence in the entire prehistory in Europe. This was the foundation of the concepts of village, (village) square, family - which then took hold across the continent. The modern Serbian population still incorporates some 10% of their genes from this original mix.

In Mathieson et al. (2018) were analysed a male and three females from Lepenski Vir dated to 6000-5700 BC, the male carried Y-DNA haplogroup haplogroup R1b1a, while mtDNA haplogroups were HV, H13, H40, and J2b1. In a two-way autosomal DNA admixture model, two were Early European Farmers (with isotope analysis showing that they were migrants that did not grow up at Lepenski Vir

  • Kula - located in the village of Mihajlovac. It was explored by archaeologist Miodrag Sladić in the 1980s, before it was flooded by Lake Đerdap II. It is a Meso-Neolithic locality, consisting of three natural layers: Kula I, Kula II (with sub-layers of II-a and II-b) and Kula III. According to the archaeologist Ivana Radovanović, Kula II is a contemporary of Lepenski Vir I and the houses at both locations are identical. The trapezoid foundations of the houses in Kula II are buried under great quantities of collapsed wall plaster. The houses from the Vir I period are marked with Arabic numerals, while those from the Vir II with Roman numerals. For example, houses 61 and 65, from Vir I were superimposed by houses XXXIV and XXXV, from Vir II.

According to Srejović, the planned design of the settlement, with its functionality and proportionality, shows an almost modern architectural sense.

Another reason for digging the houses into the ground is the inclination of the terrain on which they were built, which is 11 degrees. In other localities, the conditions were different. At Vlasac, for example, the natural, funnel-shaped gullies were adapted into the houses.

House 49

House 49 is the smallest of all, and considered to be the most intriguing. The majority of researchers believe that this house was the prototype for the entire settlement. The hearth in this house is also the smallest, no larger than a shoe. Still, evidence shows that it was used for fire.

House XLIV

The large house 57, from the Vir I-e period, is overlaid with house XLIV from the Vir II, which covers , making it the largest discovered house. It was obviously very important for the settlement, not just because of its size, but due to the location (it was nicknamed the "Central House") and the fact that its floor lapidarium yielded, depending on the source, 7-9 sculptures, more than any other house (17% out of the total of 52 sculptures). When the location was flooded, the study envisioned that the "flood line" would cross right through this house, which would have allowed for further explorations, but the suggestion was ignored and the flood line was breached when the reservoir was formed. The most representative sculptures were discovered in this house, such as the Praroditeljka ("Foremother"), Danubius, Praotac ("Forefather"), Rodonačelnik ("Progenitor"), and Vodena vila ("Water fairy").

Archaeologist Ljubinka Babović accepted Srejović's theory that the layout within the house represents the human figure, but she believed that the figure is actually an anthropomorphized representation of the Sun, with added hands. She asserted that every house was actually a small Sun shrine and that plan of the settlement represents the astronomical movement of the Sun. She referred to the round stones as "ash holes", because ash was discovered in the round depressions. Philologist originally concluded that this ash hole, cornered by the rectangular stones, was the fireplace, following Pešić's idea, but later changed his opinion, accepting the general consensus that the rectangular depression in the center is the proper fireplace. Archaeologist wrote of the "unusual stone fireplaces for complex ritual purposes". Srejović also made the semantic distinction between the inner fireplace, ognjište, and the outer one, vatrište. Excavations on the locality Vlasac point to the gradual transformation from vatrište to ognjište, or bringing the fire inside the houses. Regardless of which of the depressions are the proper fireplace, it is evident that the human-like floor installation comprises several elements, which are connected by some, still undeciphered, functional relationships, as well as by visual and artistic ones.

The "legs" of the installation extend almost to the outside of the house. The round depression, which also can't be definitively explained (fireplace, ash hollow, etc.) is in this section, and is equally accessible from both the inside and outside as it is situated at the entrance to the house. In the literature, it is also referred to as "(slanted) stone doorsteps" or simply "entrance". Babović noticed that there are several variants of it, which prompted her to classify the houses (or shrines, as she called them) into 4 categories.

  • "free step"; when slanted stones were placed like two spread legs;
  • "tied step"; when slanted stones are placed in the same way as in "free step", but additional stones were placed on the open side to make the connection between the slanted stones, creating a shallow triangular or trapezoidal depression;
  • "movement in the stationary status"; no slanted stones, but the entrance was paved with the stone slabs, forming an almost fortification-like obstacle at the entrance; there is no depression and the installation appears to be a sitting platform;
  • "latent quiescence"; absence of any stone construction at the entrance; some researchers suggest that this is actually not a separate type but rather an indication that this part of the house may not have been covered, so that the elements eroded the stone over time. An additional influence may be that the outer hearth was right outside so the heating and cooling affected the stones.

In the Neolithic, or Starčevo phase of Lepenski Vir, the Lepenians began building dome-shaped furnaces in the houses. They were built on the floor and made from compacted earth, with the horseshoe-shaped foundations made of crushed stone. The calotte, or the dome of the furnace was made of baked earth. The hut which was built on the most elevated section of the settlement's terrain and was positioned almost in the center of it, had the largest furnace, . Some researchers believe that due to its size and position, it was probably built for communal use, but they have also pointed out that its proportions equal those of the "prototype house", House 49. It also has been suggested that the furnace from Lepenski Vir was a prototype for building of other furnaces, due to the archetypical uniformity of bread ovens in the wider Balkan area, as well as the canonical repetition of the same shape from the Neolithic to the modern age.

Reconstructions

The remains of the settlements in Lepenski Vir abide by the universal rules of architecture, so the architectural remains should be perceived and evaluated by those rules. However, the reconstruction of Lepenski Vir "resembles a gigantic, complex jigsaw puzzle, without an exemplar picture".

Science still has no definitive answer as to what the houses looked like above ground and numerous ideas have been proposed by architects, urbanists, historians and anthropologists. Vojislav Dević suggested a long, intertwined arch-like wattle ("fish skeleton") while Živojin Andrejić opted for transversal arches. Diagonally crisscrossed arches, with one wide at the entrance to prevent a bottleneck, were proposed by Pavlović. Srejović originally distanced himself from any of the proposed reconstructions, considering all of them flawed in some way. In his 1969 book he did print the reconstruction of Đorđe Mitrović, however his text differed greatly from the illustration. The concept was judged by some as clumsy, primitive, technically impossible and, simply, wrong. Even so, the drawings became internationally known. Srejović again distanced himself saying that such roof construction was too primitive for the perfectly shaped base, adding that we should allow for additional, still unknown elements which may have enabled a completely different construction. In 1973 he also rejected Ristić's reconstruction, claiming that none of the proposed solutions so far seemed definitive and that every idea had some incorrect details. He asserted that any final solution would not do justice to the imagination of the creators, and that it would take generations to resolve the problem. Later, in 1980, Ristić received his PhD from the University of Graz on the subject "Reconstructions of the prehistoric architecture in Lepenski Vir".

Borislav Jovanović, who explored the Padina location, attempted a reconstruction employing a basic "three-stick hut" arrangement. The position of the skeletons buried under the floors is such that above the genitals are the widening parts of the central installation, which prompted some researches to conclude that it actually symbolizes birth, regardless of the skeleton's sex, and that the posture of the skeleton, the so-called "Turkish style" represents the childbirth position.

Sculptures

The Lepenski Vir sculptures consist of numerous prehistoric figurines dating from 7000 BC found intact at Lepenski Vir. The earliest sculptures found on the site date to the time of the Lepenski Vir I-b settlement. They are present in all the subsequent layers until the end of the distinct Lepenski Vir culture. All the sculptures were carved from round sandstone cobbles found on the river banks.

The sculptures can be classified into two distinct categories: one with simple geometric patterns and the other representing humanoid figures. The latter is the more interesting. All of the sculptures were modeled in a strongly expressionistic manner. Only the head and face of the human figures were modeled realistically, with strong brow arches, an elongated nose, and a wide, fish-like mouth. Hair, beard, arms, and hands can be seen on some of the figures in a stylized form. Many fish-like features are evident. Along with the position these sculptures had in the house shrine, they suggest a connection with river gods.

The sculptures were components of the house itself, as they were built into the stone flooring. They are the oldest group ("portrait") of sculptures discovered so far. Though the sculptures are no more than in length, they are considered historically "monumental", as no older sculptures of this size have so far been discovered.

Conspiracy theories

As the concept of an "architecturally modern" settlement and its culture seemed so disconnected from accepted knowledge on the subject at the time, fringe theories on the civilization of Lepenski Vir developed. Ufologists believed that the Lepenians were actually aliens from outer space. Such conspiracy theories also existed in Russia, while one of the proponents of the ancient astronauts theory, Erich von Däniken, showed interest in the locality. As the axial tilt has changed since then, a geospatial analysis was conducted using the GPS, which proved that the "double sunrise" occurred at that time as well, and that it was visible from the original location of Lepenski Vir.

The phenomenon was investigated by Pavlović and Aleksandra Bajić, who published their findings in 2016 book "The Sun of Lepenski Vir". As only the specific position of the Sun during the winter and summer solstices was necessary to calculate the time using a reference point which repeats after one year, they believe that Lepenians used the "double sunrise" as a basis for some kind of a solar calendar which dated to 6300–6200 BC. As Lepenski Vir was a sedentary community for several millennia, Pavlović and Bajić hold that the inhabitants must have observed the phenomenon, especially since people were then much more observant of natural phenomena than they are today. Even Srejović, who died in 1996 and was unaware of the phenomenon, said that, based on the geographical configuration of the gorge, the "dance of light and shadows occasionally reach the levels of hierophany". The Proto-Vir layer is completely flooded, while some of the Vir I excavations weren't relocated, e.g., the houses which occupied the most elevated section of the plateau (houses 61, 65, 66, 67), though they were also flooded. In general, the material remains of the cultures in the Iron Gate Gorge were almost all flooded and forever lost to further scientific research.

Yet, Lepenski Vir is the oldest planned settlement in Europe and has unique, trapezoidal-shaped houses seen nowhere else. Its culture has yielded not only the earliest discovered portrait sculptures, but also the first sculptures larger than life-size in the history of human art. The sculptures are the largest up to that period and among the first to have a carved mouth or ears. Additionally, the skeletal remains from Lepenski Vir comprise almost half of one of the largest Mesolithic anthropological series, and are important for the future bio-archaeological and DNA research. Despite its immense importance, However, Lepenski Vir has not yet been nominated for the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

This was partially due to the bureaucracy of the state and certain technicalities, and partially because the Museum of Lepenski Vir had to be finished first. Another problem may be the fact that the original location of the site has been flooded, and the site elevated to higher ground. Houses 61 and 65 were not moved and at the low water level, they are only below the surface, so technically, they could be nominated for the UNESCO listing.

Architect Branislav Krstić (1922–2016), a former commissioner of UNESCO, suggested in 2010 that Lepenski Vir should be nominated together with the entire Iron Gates Gorge, as an "integral cultural and natural monument". As Krstić stated, apart from the ancient cultures, the wider area of Lepenski Vir was later part of the Roman, and later Byzantine, Danubian Limes, contains Roman and mediaeval fortresses, like Golubac Fortress and Fetislam, while the massive Iron Gates Dam is a monument to industrialization and electrification in the 20th century. Ristić opposed this course of action, saying that the original, "crystal clear" artifacts (sculptures) should be separated from the architectural remains which were ruined, partially because of the submergence and partially because of "catastrophic archaeological mismanagement during the 1960s excavations". He asserted that the architectural remains were fragile to begin with, and that during the excavations it was only partially presented but totally destroyed during the relocation. Architect and artist Aleksandar Deroko called it the "largest cultural massacre of the 20th century" and said that "world-renowned scientists will no longer be able to explore the site". The elevated and reconstructed section in the museum was to be relocated by a project, led by Milorad Medić, which envisioned the relocation of entire house floors in steel frames. During the relocation, however, the fragile floors crumbled into pieces and dust, so they were moved in parts and then reassembled in the museum. Ristić believes that the focus should be on the sculptures, which are fully preserved: "Just as the cave paintings (in Lascaux) revealed the soul of the Paleolithic man from 20,000-30,000 years ago, so the pebble sculpting (in Lepenski Vir) reveal the soul of the Mesolithic man from 7,000-9,000 years ago". He denounced the museum as being an "incomplete forgery...that possesses neither soul nor science, and has no purpose". He concluded that Lepenski Vir, due to its importance, deserves a fitting monument, a counterpart to the monumental cliff sculpture of the face of Decebalus, leader of the Dacians from the 1st century. He proposed that Serbian counterpart should be a gigantic face from the Lepenian sculptures, which would appear to arise out of the Danube, and that Lepena Rock, halfway between Lepenski Vir and Vlasac, would be a suitable site for the monument.

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<gallery widths=150px style="font-size: small; line-height: 130%;">

File:Lepenski Vir 03.jpg|Replica of a house

File:Lepenski Vir Entrance.JPG|Entrance into the museum

File:Лепенски Вир 02.jpg|Glass protection

File:Lepenski Vir 1.jpg|Main museum section

File:Лепенски Вир 07.jpg|Sculptures

File:Lepenski Vir sculpture 1.jpg|Lepenski Vir sculpture 1

File:Lepenski Vir sculpture 2.jpg|Lepenski Vir sculpture 2

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See also

  • Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
  • Prehistoric Europe
  • Tourism in Serbia

References

Sources

  • Dragoslav Srejovic Europe's First Monumental Sculpture: New Discoveries at Lepenski Vir. (1972)
  • Excavations reveal ancient civilization with a sense of style Ekathimerini.com November 16, 2007
  • Virtual Tour- Lepenski Vir Site
  • Lepenski Vir Collection – National Museum in Belgrade
  • The Iron Gates in prehistory: New perspectives, Edited by Clive Bonsall, Vasile Boroneant and Ivana Radovanović, BAR International series 1983, 2008.
  • Documentary Film (1968) by Dušan Slijepčević, produced by Dunav Film.
  • The Architecture of Lepenski Vir.