Kovalenko Marina
Review
The Bronze Age encompasses the period of the second millennium B.C. It is
characterized by the technology of bronze casting, the development of more
advanced devices for the tools, jewelry and weapons manufacture. In the course of
the Bronze Age a social differentiation takes place and tribal aristocracy is set up.
The beginning of the Bronze Age in Kosovo is associated with the beginning
of the stabilization of the Indo-European groups and the formation of the PaleoBalkan tribes. There are not yet satisfactory data concerning the development of
the entire Bronze Age due to insufficient investigations of our territory, despite
systematic works carried out at the Neolithic sites in this region where the cultures
of the Neolitic have been clarified to an adequate extent. Despite insufficient data,
the study carried out so far permits us to claim that this region has not yielded
traces of the cultures prior to the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age and that
only scanty information cover the Early Bronze Age.
The first large-scale excavations were carried out on the necropolis at Donja
Brnjica as well as in the settlement Karagach, whereas test excavations were
carried out in the settlement Ljushta in the vicinity of Kosovska Mitrovica, at
Gladnice and on the necropolis under tumuli at Rogovo near Djakovica. Bronze
Age pottery was also discovered during the excavations of Neolitic settlements, for
example at the site of Zhitkovac near Kosovsca Mitrovica.
Pottery of Bronze Age: Karagach I, necropolis at Donja Brnjica.
A skeleton grave containing a sword with tongue: necropolis at Donja
Brnjica.
No clear idea about the development and characteristics of the Bronze Age
of Kosovo territory had been reached till 1986 when the Museum of Kosovo
undertook investigations on the site of Iglarevo directed by K. Luci: a sword with
scabbard and two bronze daggers (dated 14th century B.C.). New results were
obtained at by renewed investigation of the necropolis at Donja Brnjica, which
contributed to our knowledge of burial practice as well as of the material and
spiritual culture of this group.
A large necropolis was excavated at Grashtica near Prishtina.
The necropolis sites:
1. Donja Brnjica
2. Iglarevo I
3. Iglarevo II (on the borderline between the villages Iglarevo and
Dobrodol, on the Krshine island)
4. Grashtica
5. Rogovo (near Diakovica)
6. Boka (at Prchevo near Klina)
7. Romaja
8. Krshine
9. Glogovik (on Peshter)
10.Gornja Strazhava
11. Tetovo
12. Shtod
13. Grashtika (near Prishtina)
14. Ulpiana
15. Rashka
16. Toplica
17. Nishava
18. Skopje Basin
Traces of Bronze Age settlements have been registered in a few cases.
However, in contrast to the necropolises which for the last few years have been
thoroughly explored, they are not sufficiently documented so that our knowledge
concerning the appearance of settlements, their types, their material and spiritual
culture have not been adequately clarified. The results of the investigation of the
vestiges of a hillfort at Tenesh Dol in close vicinity of Prishtina offer more data.
According to the configuration of the terrain it covered a surface of approximately
2 hectares. On the southwestern side it dominated the narrow valley, so that it had
a very good strategic position. It closes the left side of the gorge of the river Lab
from where the river valley and the surrounding hills could be well controlled.
From the northeastern side the hillfort is protected by the hilly massif. It was
encircled by a rampart of earth mixed with stone.
The finds in the burial Rogovo are the earliest data related to the Bronze
Age. The necropolis was slightly dug into the virgin soil and consisted of
rectangular stone structures. The contracted burials on stone pavement in the
north-east or east-west direction had no anologies in other parts of the region until
the latest results obtained by exploring the necropolis at Iglarevo. Grave offerings
are scanty, consisting of pins with seal-shaped head of massive bracelets with open
and enlarged seal-shaped ends. The pins are typical forms of the developed Bronze
Age. The bracelets belong to the same period. In the necropolis were also
discovered two graves with urns, typologically related with the Brnjica group. In
tumulus I at Rogovo three burial horizons can be singled out.
The investigations in Kosovo and Metohija established bi-ritual burial
practice: inhumation and cremation. The cremated remains were placed in urns.
Some graves have a circular stone construction.
The inhumation, which is predominant on these necropolises, was performed
in two manners: 1) into the pit with stone structure; 2) into the pit without stone
structure. The graves without stone structure are found in a smaller number and
contained no goods. Only in one such grave was found a curved bronze knife.
The pits with stone structure are also shallowly dug into the virgin soil.
Extra information
Gllareva
The archaeological site of Gllareva is situated at the central part of the
Gllareva village, Klina Municipality, situated on the right side of the Prishtina-Peja
road, stretched on the fields of Rigjeva. This archaeological site was identified
accidentally in 1973. The archaeological excavations conducted here in the 80s,
were focused in two locations, not far from each other. Both sites were recorded as
necropolises with two different burial rites. One of the necropolises is typical for
flat burials constructed with stone plates, whereas the bases were covered with
gravel, and the other necropolis was typical with incarnation ritual, respectively the
cremation burial. Nevertheless, the inhumation rite is predominant, where out of 48
graves in tumuli I and II, only 3 are cremations. In the chronological aspect, both
sites were dated to the Late Bronze Age.
Korishë
The Bronze Age site of Korisha, was investigated in 2006, research
excavations carried out through trial trenches. The site is situated on the eastern
slope of the horse-saddle shaped hill near the Korisha antique castle. The
settlement measures an approximate area of 1 hectare, with the highest elevation
point recording 728 meter, and the lowest 723 meters above the sea level. The
settlement was a typical fortified site, protected by nature in one side, and traverses
on the other sides. The archaeological test excavations carried out at this locality at
two sections, resulted with the documentation of typical Bronze Age dwellings,
confirming the life continuity during the early and middle Bronze Period. Among
the discovered movable archaeological material, the most worth mentioning ones
are; stone tooled utensils, fragments of various earthenware and other smaller
findings, typical for this period.
Bërnicë e Poshtme
The researched Late Bronze and Early Iron Age site of the Bërnica e
Poshtme, is situated around 5 kilometers north of Prishtina, stretched along the
Prishtina-Podujeva(Besiana) road. This is a typical flat necropolis whereas the
cremation urn burial was practiced. The ashes of the deceased were stored in urns
and buried inside either individual or group graves in flatten areas, that in the
archaeological literature is known as the ‘urn-fields necropolis’. Based on the
results of research discovered material from this burial complex, a particular
method of grave construction was recorded. The stone tholoid plates were set in
the shape of a semicircular grave base. The urn-field burials were investigated in
the 1980s, after an accidental finding of an urn. Nevertheless, since the discovery
of this flat necropolis, this archaeological culture was named the Bërnica e
Poshtme/Donja Brnica Culture
Ponoshec
The tumulus necropolis of Ponoshec is situated at the locality known by the
locals as Arëza, stretched in several parcels in around 5-6ha area, close to the river
flow of the Labenica creek. The tumulus necropolis is composed by a grouped
burial mounds; five of them were identified so far. In general, the tumulus measure
between 12 and 18 m in diameter and the maximum height of the burial mounds
goes up to 1 meter of elevation. The rescue excavations carried out during the 2011
season resulted with abundant discoveries of the grave goods with typical
characteristics of the Iron Age Illyrian tumulus. Nevertheless, the study of the
movable material as recorded here, proved interesting outcome on the site
chronology and material culture, confirming the occupancy continuity from Bronze
and particularly during the Iron Age. Nevertheless, the burial mounds were
effectively reshaped in the 12th-10th century BC, and then again reused during the
6th and 4th century BC, a time period known as the Dardanian Antiquity.
Iglarevo
Among the finds in Iglarevo the weapons should be singled out. They
confirm an advanced stage of metal-processing, both in terms of workmanship and
in the manner of decoration.