Vinča - the Prehistoric Metropolis

Marking the 100^th anniversary of archaeological exploration at Vinča, the Belgrade University Faculty of Philosophy, the National Museum in Belgrade, the Belgrade City Museum and the Gallery of the Serbian Arts and Sciences Academy organised an exhibition entitled "Vinča – the Pre-Historic Metropolis".

By Zlatica Ivković
Photo Courtesy of the National Museum of Belgrade

The exhibition devoted to the 100-year anniversary of the excavation of the several-thousand-year-old Vinča archaeological site offered a genuine opportunity to present to the public at large the process involved in creating a metropolis identity as well as to shed light on the mystery of the Neolithic period in Southeastern Europe, as seen from the perspective of the progress and success attained by local archaeologists.

According to Dr Dubravka Nikolić, one of the exhibition’s curators, when Miloje M. Vasić was beginning initial excavations at Vinča, he had no inkling that his profession would record him as the archaeologist credited with the discovery of a 7000-year-old Stone Age metropolis. One hundred years of excavations in a ten-metre deep layer have revealed a history at this site spanning scores of generations among pre-historic Vinča inhabitants.

The ancient farmer settlement is located just a half-hour drive from Belgrade, along the Danube River, in the slopes of a hilly landscape in Serbia’s central Šumadija region before the slopes disappear into the great river. They lived there for 1000 years, making use of the abundant gifts that natural surroundings had offered them. This area became an unavoidable crossroads for everyone travelling along the difficult road across the Balkan regions, yet they also brought with them parts of other cultures, making Vinča the focal point of Southeastern Europe.

Although dig layers at Vinča offer a rich treasury for long-term study, different pre-historic periods, including the period of the Middle Ages, finds from the Neolithic period – primarily due to the wealth of anthropomorphic sculptures – that placed Vinča firmly on the map of world cultural heritage. Since then, images of the first silhouettes from Vinča made it to the front pages of the world’s most prestigious illustrated newspapers in 1908, and interest in the findings at the site has not waned since. One hundred years of excavations is merely a flicker of time in Vinča’s several-millennia-long life. But last century was different because it produced several generations of professional archaeologists.

The exhibition Vinča – the Pre-Historic Metropolis – focuses on the Neolithic period in Vinča. This period has become a symbol of the final stage of this epoch as humans moved away from nature’s whims and started instead to produce food. The exhibition is an attempt to shed light on an age during which the inhabitants of Vinča laid the foundations for the development of later European civilisations. Also, it offers a view of the full glory of an age long passed, as well as illustrating the endeavors and evolvement of Serbian archaeology. It also reminds the present generation of the importance to strive to preserve it, and to continue studying and presenting this inestimable gem of European civilisation.

The exhibition is divided into three sections. The first allows visitors to become acquainted with the incredible artistic achievements of the Vinča culture by way of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, prosopomorphic lids and sacrificial altars. By presenting the most significant among them, such as the Lady of Vinča, the Hyde Vase or the Vidovdan Woman, the exhibition curators seemed to have strived to give the visitors an experience of the eternal beauty of Vinča handicrafts.

The second section is devoted to the century-long history of archaeological excavation, as it affords insight into the personal items of explorers, the equipment and instruments used, original field documentation and newspaper clippings, and was designed to portray the evolution of Serbian archaeology.

The exhibition’s third section is dedicated to everyday life in ancient Vinča. To help imagine the spirit of this prehistoric age, objects are displayed that were used by farmers, potters, fishermen and hunters during the 1000-year-history of this Neolithic settlement. These objects testify to highly specialised crafts and superb aesthetic values, but they also help us to appreciate how people - whom we erroneously believe to have been quite different from us – lived.

The archaeological site Vinča is located 14 kilometres from Belgrade, downriver on the Danube’s right bank. It is the single most important Neolithic site (5500-4500 B.C.) in Southeastern Europe. Continued settling in this place over several millennia formed layers of civilisations that are ten metres deep. Most of what remains – some eight metres – belongs to the time of the late Neolithic period, while the rest are the remains of younger pre-historic cultures and a medieval necropolis. Vinča is a cultural site of "extraordinary importance", an official designation by the Serbian government, and its name has been applied to the entire late Neolithic culture in the Balkans. Although excavations at Vinča have been ongoing for an entire century, it continues to draw the attention of archeologists, explaining in part why excavations continue.

Owing to the great interest it has invited and the enthusiasm and dedication of the Serbian Arts and Sciences Academy gallery, the exhibition will remain open through January 6, 2009.