Iustiniana Prima

Svinjarička Čuka

In 2017 the archaeological "Pusta Reka Project" started, focusing on the beginning of the Neolithic in the Leskovac Basin. It is a collaborative effort between the OREA Institute (Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, based in Vienna, and the Institute of Archaeology Belgrade, in cooperation with the National Museum in Leskovac. Funding is provided by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF Project P32096) and heads of the project are Barbara Horejs and Aleksandar Bulatović.^[7][8]

In 2017 several locations in the Leskovac region were surveyed, of which the most promising one was Svinjarička Čuka, near the village of Štulac.^[9] An excavation was conducted from 20 August to 28 September 2018. In the top layers an accumulation of pottery and other artifacts from the Late Iron Age were discovered, dated to the first half of the first millennium BC. At a depth of less than a meter, remains from the Late Bronze Age, 1400 BC-1200 BC, were discovered, including agglomerations of fragmented clay vessels, daub, animal bones and household objects like weights and stone and bone tools. Important individual finds include three trapezoid-shaped, almost complete chalices and an anthropomorphic clay figurine, with arms in a position of adoration.^[7][10]

Below these finds was a layer of chronologically mixed materials (Neolithic, Copper Age, Bronze Age) and further below a well preserved Neolithic cultural layer, which was further explored in 2019. The layer was situated only 0.7 m (2 ft 4 in) below the surface and slightly deeper on the southern side with a depth of 1 m (3 ft 3 in). Numerous remains of floor and wall daub as well as abundant fragments of Starčevo type pottery, stone axes, baked clay weights and retouched and polished stone tools were recovered. Based on the shapes and ornaments of the vessels, it is estimated that the settlement belongs to the younger or classical Starčevo phase, at the moment tentatively dated to the first half of the 6th millennium BC. Specific artifacts include several anthropomorphic figurines made of clay, including one showing pregnancy as well as a clay labret, or lip piercing.^[7][10]

However, palaeogeographic drillings from 2017 showed a cultural layer below the depth of 2 m (6 ft 7 in), centuries older than the one excavated in 2018 and dated before 6000 BC.^[7] Excavations were continued in August–September 2019, investigating these deeper layers and new terrain on the river terrace the site is situated on. These surveys showed that the locality was continually inhabited during the Middle Neolithic, Late Eneolithic, Middle and Late Bronze Age and Late Iron Age. The oldest discovered artifacts are dated to the mid-6th millennium BC and are typical for the Starčevo culture. Apart from the evidence of continual habitation in the Copper-Bronze-Iron Age eras, finds confirm the suggested theory of gradual habitation of the Pusta Reka region by agricultural communities in the 6000-5500 BC period. Further surveys are scheduled for 2020.^[11][10]