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T he Miro~ Mountain is situated on the right bankof the Danube, above the narrow and deep IronGate gorge. This is the wooded area with all

characteristics of karst, i.e. with many deep sinks, watersprings, small rivers and underground streams, caves,rock shelters and clefts in the rock. The highest, mostlyrocky mountain plateau with just a few clearings ex-tends in the north–south direction immediately alongthe Danube bank and the highest points are Veliki [tr-bac (768 meters above sea level) in the central area andVisoki ̂ ukar (632 meters above sea level) in the south.

Working on the project Prehistory of NortheasternSerbia – Archaeological Site Surveying and Excavationsthat we initiated in 2004 on behalf of the Departmentof Archaeology of the University of Belgrade togetherwith Du{an Bori} from the Cambridge University wewere faced with archaeologically insufficiently inve-stigated wooded terrains in the Iron Gate hinterland. Wemust admit that at that time it did not passed throughour minds to search for the Triballian sanctuaries orsacred places in the forests. In the background of re-nowned prehistoric sites Padina, Lepenski Vir, Vlasacand Hajdu~ka Vodenica on the Danube bank upstreamand downstream of the mouth of Pore~ka river weexpected to find smaller Early Iron Age barrows of the

type discovered in Oltenia and the Romanian sectionof the Iron Gate1 or on the right Danube bank on thenecropolis of Basarabi culture at the site Vajuga–Pesakdownstream of Kladovo.2 This idea was supported bysome of our »assistants in the field«, the self-proclai-med lovers of antiquities with metal detectors who told

SACRED GROVES OF THE TRIBALI

ON MIRO^ MOUNTAIN*

MILO[ JEVTI]

Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade

UDC 903.5 '16(497.11)"-05/-04"DOI: 10.2298/STA0656271J

Abstract. – In this work are presented the results of the archaeological investigations at the site Mihajlov ponor (spring) conducted in 2005 and 2006. Few groups of densely concentrated circular stone structures, from 4 to 10 meters in diameter,

have been discovered in the thick forest. The structures consist of outer stone circle made of few courses of broken stone and smaller inner circle made of the same stone. Various archaeological objects – fragments of pottery vessels, pieces of jewelry

(iron and bronze single-looped fibulae with rectangular catchplate), iron knives, large iron arrowheads of Ferigile type andfragments of two pairs of bridle bits ending with horse head and gryphon head have been discovered within two investigated

structures. Particularly important are the finds of wild animal bones (deer, chamois, doe) and one human mandible that are like the other finds scattered within the stone structures.

Key words. – Triballi, cult places, Miro~ open area sanctuaries, 6th – 5th century BC, iron bridle bits, stone structures.

* We gave a lecture under this title on November 17th 2006 inthe National Museum in Belgrade when we officially presented theproject Praistorija severoisto~ne Srbije (Prehistory of northeastSerbia) The basis for this work is also a lecture titled Miro~ karst inthe Danube Gorges hinterlands (NE Serbia) – one of the SacredMountains of the Triballi, given at the colloquium »Interpreted IronAges – Case studies, method, theory«, in the beginning of Novem-ber 2006 in Linz (Landesmuseum). In gathering the material for thestudy of the Thracian sanctuaries very valuable help was offered tome by the colleague Nikola Theodossiev, from the University of St.Clement of Ohrid in Sofia and I wish to express my gratitude to himon this occasion. We are aware of the fact that term grove (in Serbiangaj – small forest), which we use is not the most adequate for thevast forest areas of the Miro~ Mountain. However, slightly archaicSlavic world gaj (grove) has something mystic in itself. Sacred gro-ves were permanent or temporary habitations of the deities of theantique world and cult places were mysterious initiation rituals tookplace.

1 Berciu, Comºa 1956; Dumitrescu 1968; Guma 1993, 220–242.2 Popovi}, Vukmanovi} 1998.

MILO[ JEVTI]

us that they discovered some metal finds (iron spear-heads, knives, bronze and iron arc fibulae, etc.) »underthe stones« in the forested areas of the Miro~ mountainand we cautiously associated these finds with stone-covered barrows. The real gold fever was instigatedamong the local treasure hunters by certain pieces ofsilver jewelry allegedly discovered in »tumuli« in thevicinity of Donji Milanovac. Somewhat more tangibletraces were provided by @eljko ^vorovi}, teacher inthe village Miro~ who has a small collection of antiqueand prehistoric artifacts. Special assemblage in thiscollection was a group of few iron objects (small single--edged knives, fragments of spearheads and arrowheadswith concave base) discovered with metal detector atthe site Mihajlov ponor situated few kilometers to thenorthwest of the present forest road Donji Milanovac –Miro~ – Brza Palanka (modern road overlaps the lineof the antique road Taliata – Gerulatis – Aegeta). In thecollection of @. ^vorovi} originating from the stonestructures at Mihajlov ponor was also one single-loopedbronze fibula, which the finder presented as a gift to ourarchaeological team (Fig. 1a) According to @. ^voro-vi} one silver arc fibula (lost on the black market ofantiquities) has also been found at Mihajlov ponor. Wewere only able to obtain the drawing of this silversingle-looped arc fibula with elongated rectangularcatchplate made by @. ^vorovi} (Fig. 1b)

In the first phase of the project we conducted thesite surveying in the end of 2004.3 At the site we enco-untered significant number of considerably destroyedcircular stone structures and isolated finds of the pre-historic pottery. As some of these structures were ob-viously destroyed by the treasure hunters we assumedthat it was the devastated tumulus necropolis.

In the course of site surveying in 2004 and 2005we registered, besides Mihajlov ponor, previously un-known Late Bronze Age settlements (culture with en-crusted pottery of @uto Brdo – Gârla Mare type) in thevillage Miro~ and at Plo~e above the Gorge (Kazan).We also discovered one multi-layered settlement datingfrom the end of Bronze Age and from Early Iron Ageunder the hill called Glavica (site Kopana Glavica) tothe north of the village Miro~ with pottery of Gava,Basarabi and Ferigile type. (Fig. 2).

The small-scale archaeological investigations wereconducted in 2005 and 2006 only at the site Mihajlovponor (spring) situated around 12 kilometers to thenortheast of the village Miro~ in the south section ofthe central Miro~ plateau.4 The site is located around200 meters to the southwest of the strong water spring atthe foot of the hills Konjska glavica and Visoki ~ukaron the elevation in the thick forest surrounded by sinksand covering the area of approximately one hectare(Fig. 3). Thirty-two circular or elliptical stone structu-res, 4–12 meters in diameter, 0.40 to 1.20 meters high,and arranged in smaller groups have been identified inthis area (Fig. 4). All the structures have the outer ring

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3 The archaeological site surveying of the later prehistoricsites in the Iron Gate hinterland have been carried out in 2004 byMirko Pekovi}, keeper in the Military Museum in Belgrade and archa-eologist Marija Mari~i}, while this author took part in survayingfrom time to time.

4 Members of the team investigating Mihajlov ponor in 2005and 2006 were the directors M. Jevti} and M. Pekovi} and archae-ologists Marija Mari~i} and Milica Baj~eta, archaeology studentAleksandra Suboti}, geodesist Milan Arsenovi} and geologist GoranKlemen~i}.

Fig. 1a and 1b. Bronze fibula bow and drawing of similar silver fibula from Mihajlov ponorin the private collection of @. ^vorovi}

Sl. 1a, 1b. Luk bronzane fibule i crte` sli~ne srebrne fibule sa Mihajlovog ponoraiz privatne zbirke @. ^vorovi}a

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Fig. 3. Map detail with the site Mihajlov ponor on the Miro~ Mt.

Sl. 3. Detaq sekcije sa lokalitetom Mihajlov ponor na Miro~u

Fig. 2. Positions of the cult places Mihajlov ponor and Plo~e on the Miro~ Mt.and the others Early Iron Age sites in the Iron Gate

Sl. 2. Polo`aj kultnih mesta Mihalov ponor i Plo~e na planini Miro~i drugi lokaliteti starijeg gvozdenog doba u \erdapu

MILO[ JEVTI]

of rather large broken stones and the inside area iscovered with earth and smaller stones (Fig. 5a, 5b). Itwas often the case that smaller circle consisting also ofbroken stones were constructed in the central zone ofthe larger circular structure. The massive outer circleof rather large broken stones that was higher than theinternal segment of the structure was usually construc-ted against the virgin rocks protruding from the ground.The circular structures, which are smaller in diameterand not so high, were usually covered with smallerbroken stones. Any regularity in disposition of thesestructures is difficult to establish as some of the stonecircles are partially spread out and some of the circularstone structures were completely devastated by the treeroots. Nevertheless, it seems that each group usually

consisted of three structures of various sizes. Similargroups consisting of few circular stone structures havebeen discovered about 700 meters to the north of thecentral area of the site also in thick and hardly passableforest. The new location marked as Mihajlov ponor 2with rather large group of circular structures made ofbroken stone have been discovered about 350 metersto the southeast of the spring Mihajlov ponor, not farfrom the hill ^oka Grekuluj (meaning Greek hill inRomanian). At this location the zones with stone struc-tures are also surrounded by big and deep ravines. Rathermassive dry stone wall made of large broken stonesresting on the virgin rock is preserved up to the lengthof around 30 meters in the northwestern section of thissite (Fig. 6). Although this dry stone wall was disturbed

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Fig. 4. Mihajlov ponor – Disposition of the circular stone structures

Sl. 4. Mihajlov ponor – skica rasporeda kru`nih kamenih konstruicija

to a great extent the protected entrance to the area withcircular stone structures was encountered at one endand at the other end was rather large circular »tower«,i.e. the remains of the foundations of massive circularstructure of indistinguishable purpose that was con-structed of large broken stones in the same manner asthe »rampart« (Fig. 7).

Somewhat smaller stone structures of circularshape, from 3 to 6 meters in diameter, with more or lessprominent ring of broken stone have been also disco-vered in considerable quantity at the site Plo~e to thenorth of Veliki [trbac above Mali Kazan. Rather largenumber of circular stone structures at Plo~e is situated in

the thick forest in the central zone of the Miro~ plateaunearby the hunting lodge of the Djerdap National Parkand to the northeast of the belvedere above the Gorge(Kazan) (Fig. 8). The traces of unfortified settlementfrom the Late Bronze Age were registered in the im-mediate vicinity of the hunting lodge and forest wardenpost. The settlement, judging by discovered potteryfragments, belonged to the culture with encrusted pot-tery of @uto Brdo – Gârla Mare type and was situatedon the fringes of the forest, approximately 200 metersfar from the first stone circles. The site survey ofsurrounding area revealed that this was not the singlesite of the @uto Brdo culture on the Miro~ Mountain.

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Fig. 5. Mihajlov ponor: a) internal ring of one of better preserved stone structures;b) detail of the peripheral stone circle of one of larger structures

Sl. 5. Mihajlov ponor: a) unutra{wi prsten jedne od boqe o~uvanih kamenih konstrucija;b) detaq perifernog kamenog venca jedne od ve}ih konstrukcija

Fig. 6. Mihajlov ponor 2 – Detail of dry masonry »rampart« surrounding stone structures

Sl. 6. Mihajlov ponor 2 – detaq suhozida »bedema« oko kru`nih kamenih konstrukcija

The inhabitants of the village Miro~ told us that thereis a settlement of this culture in the vicinity of theantique fortification Gerulatis and there was found afragment of the large figurine of the @uto Brdo type(Fig. 9). We consider this to be of particular importan-ce for studying circular stone structures as both LateBronze Age settlements are at the same distance fromthe site Mihajlov ponor where while exploring andphotographing one rather small structure we have dis-covered small washed out fragment of a vessel decoratedwith false cord ornament organized in the manner ofthe @uto Brdo pottery.

According to @eljko ^vorovi}, who was our mainguide when we discovered the site Mihajlov ponor, theplunderers with metal detectors have once discoveredmostly iron objects (knives, spearheads, arrowheadsetc.) at the site Plo~e. After revisiting the site in May2007 we encountered new traces of »antique lovers«,i.e. few shallow pits within the stone structures. Wealso found few fragments of black burnished Iron Agepottery (fragments of a neck of one amphora) in theexcavated earth in the central zone of one of the stonecircles. As the fragments are characteristics of theBasarabi culture this corroborates the informationabout the discovery of iron weapons at this site.

Circular, low structures of rather small size and co-vered with small broken stones have been also encoun-tered in the course of site surveying in the forests in thenortheastern regions of the Miro~ Mountain near thecrossing of the forest roads of which the main one runsto the Danube bank near Brza Palanka.

We have managed so far to investigate just twostone structures in the central zone of Mihajlov ponorwith unusually small professional team and more thanmodest financial means. They are located between450.15 and 451.34 meters above sea level and recor-ded in the field as structures VII and IX. Structure VII(10.90 x 9.20 m in diameter) consists of the outer ringbuilt of two to three courses of larger broken stones andthe interior segment within which the indigenous flatrocks were leveled using small broken pieces of lime-stone and sandstone mixed with reddish earth (Fig. 10).As the rocky foundation in the central zone of the stonestructure was descending in cascades towards one endthis zone was leveled using earth and small stones(Fig. 11). The circular walkway covered with earth andsmall pieces of broken stone that surrounded the cen-tral area of the »feature« was encountered outside thevirgin rock base. Rather small surface (about 1 squaremeter) of densely packed and slightly burned soil was

MILO[ JEVTI]276

Fig. 7. Mihajlov ponor 2 – Detail of dry stone wall in the process of exploring inner and outer side of »rampart«

Sl. 7. Mihajlov ponor 2 – detaqi suhozida prilikom ras~i{}avawa spoqne i unutra{we »bedema«

encountered in the western section of the circular struc-ture and on that surface either short-lived fire had beenburning or the remains of some previously burnt organicmaterial were burning out. Sporadic pottery fragmentscharacteristics of the Early Iron Age cultures were dis-covered in the peripheral sections of the circular stonestructure. They were of poorly refined clay, of coarsefabric and of brown and red/brown color. Few smallbronze and iron objects and few glass eye beads havebeen found in the central zone of the structure. Mostinteresting are rather small bronze single-looped fibula(catchplate is missing) with spindle-shaped bow deco-rated with incisions and rather big iron arrowhead ofFerigile type5 (Fig. 12). Large concentration of smallpottery fragments of the vessels of coarse and fine fabricwas discovered in a layer of packed earth immediatelyabove the virgin rock in the eastern section of thestructure. We identified the pottery fragments typicalof the so-called post-Basarabi horizon in NE Serbiaand Oltenia and similar to the finds from the so-calledScythian horizon in Transylvania and to the pottery,which some Romanian archaeologists identified asProto-Dacian. Besides the fragments of large pots andvessels identified as amphorae with tongue-shaped andhorse-shoe shaped handles there were also found the

fragments of smaller bowls with inverted and broadlyfaceted rim, deep conical beakers with one handle,beakers on short hollow foot etc. (Fig. 13). Small frag-ments of animal bones were likewise pottery and metalobjects scattered without any conspicuous system with-in the circular stone structure. Some of the bones,which belong exclusively to the wild and hunted spe-cies (doe, deer, chamois), have the butchering marks.And finally we should mention as the most importantfind the singed mandible of a rather young male thatwas obviously brought from somewhere else and de-posited within the stone circle (Fig. 14). In the courseof investigations at the site Bagachina in the lowercourse of the Lom River in Bulgaria also a fragment ofhuman mandible was discovered in one of many cultpits.6 The discovery of lower jaw and parts of humanskeleton on another cult pit at this site is explained asconfirmation that the Northern Thracians practicedhuman sacrifices.

Structure IX was situated just couple of meters farfrom previously described structure VII. It was almost

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5 Vulpe 1967, 66, Fig. 21 (tum. 62).6 Theodossiev 2000, 137.

Fig. 8. View of the Gorge (Kazan) from the belvedere above the Trajan’s table, near the site Plo~e

Sl. 8. Pogled na Kazan sa vidikovca iznad Trajanove table, nedaleko od lokaliteta Plo~e

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Fig. 9. Miro~ village – Upper part of @uto Brdo figurine from the Late Bronze Age settlement in the vicinity of Gerulatis

Sl. 9. Miro~ selo – gorwi deo `utobrdske figurine sa naseqa iz kasnog bronzanog doba u blizini Gerulatis-a

0 2 4 cm

Fig. 10. Mihajlov ponor, plan of structure VII, after excavations

Sl. 10. Mihajlov ponor, skica konstrukcije VII, posle iskopavawa

flat considering the surrounding area and was coveredwith thick layer of small broken stones without visibletraces of the peripheral stone circle and its dimensionsare 8.20 x 8.50 meters. Despite considerable differencein appearance of stone structures before investigationthe archaeological situation within »structure IX« pro-ved to be similar to the situation within previous struc-ture. The massive peripheral circle consisting of virginrocks and few courses of rather large broken pieces oflimestone was clearly discernible and interior spaceabove the virgin rock was filled with smaller and largerstones mixed with earth (Fig. 15). Many pottery frag-ments, few smaller animal bones and few bronze andiron jewelry pieces, tools and weapons have been scat-tered immediately above the virgin rock within thecover consisting of earth mixed with stones (Fig. 16).The pottery was, like in structure VII, very fragmentedoften washed out and of rather poor, sandy fabric. Inaddition to the similar pottery shapes like the bowlswith broadly faceted rims many fragments of finerfabric decorated with series of incised dots surroundingdeeper impressed lines or broad channels have been alsofound in structure IX (Fig. 17). Many metal objectshave been discovered within this structure as well as inthe immediate vicinity (in the area between the stonecircles) (Fig. 18). Particularly interesting are smallsingle-looped fibulae made of bronze or iron and one

of them is completely preserved including the flatrectangular catchplate. This type of fibulae dates fromthe time of the late Hallstatt period and is characteristicof the Ferigile group in the western parts of Romania.According to T. Bader the single-looped fibulae withbow of circular section and rectangular catchplate arevery widely distributed jewelry type identified as theDonja Dolina type.7 In Oltenia this type of fibulaemostly comes from the tumulus burials (Gogoºu, BaltaVerde, Gruia, etc.). Similar single-looped fibulae withflat rectangular or trapeze have been encountered inthe graves in northwestern Bulgaria dating from thepost-Basarabi horizon.8 It is assumed that this type ofsingle-looped fibulae emerged in the northern Greeceand via Macedonia reached as far as the north Balkansand Oltenia. Therefore, the fibulae with square catch-plate are also known as the Marvinci – Gogoºu type.9

The fibula of almost identical shape as the bronze spe-cimen from Mihajlov ponor (structure IX) and dated inthe second half of the 6th century was registered in thenecropolis with the cremation burials under the tumuli(tumulus 4) at the site Ieºelniþa in the Mehedinþi district,

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7 Bader 1983, 93–94, T. 31/255–257; T. 32/258–276, T. 50.8 Gergova 1987.9 Vasi} 1999, 74–77, Taf. 40–41.

Fig. 11. Mihajlov ponor, cascade virgin rock under the structure VII

Sl. 11. Mihajlov ponor, kaskadna `iva stena, iznad koje je podignuta konstrukcija VII

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Fig. 12. Mihajlov ponor, structure VII, archaeological objects

Sl. 12. Mihajlov ponor, konstrukcija VII, pokretni arheolo{ki nalazi

Fig. 13. Mihajlov ponor, structure VII, pottery from the accumulation inside the structure

Sl. 13. Mihajlov ponor, konstrukcija VII, keramika iz nasipa unutar konstrukcije

1 2 3

4 5

1 2 3

4 5

6 7 8 9

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Fig. 14. Mihajlov ponor, structure VII, human mandible and wild animal bones discovered inside the structure

Sl. 14. Mihajlov ponor, konstrukcija VII,qudska mandibula i kosti divqih `ivotiwa otkrivene u sloj nasipa unutar konstrukcije

upstream from the mouth of river Cherna, on the oppo-site Danube bank.10 Similar fibulae made of silver andrarely of gold with trapeze or square catchplate havebeen found in the horizon of so-called princely gravesof Atenica – Novi Pazar type in the heart of the centralBalkans. All these analogies suggest the 6th and thebeginning of the 5th century as the time of their use.Another interesting find is the upper segment of ring-like pendant of the Ghidici type11, which is characte-ristic of the late Basarabi culture (Zlotska pe}ina, So-fronievo). Few rather big iron arrowheads with con-cave base and perforations on the tip (Ferigile type) werealso found in this structure. Many similar iron arrow-heads have been found at the site Kornjet in the villagePodgorac in eastern Serbia.12 There were also found twofragmented iron belt buckles of rectangular shape (si-milar specimen comes from Zlotska pe}ina but it is stillunpublished), many fragments of iron single-edged kni-ves etc. One complete and two fragmented iron cheek-pieces have been found in the immediate vicinity ofstructure IX. According to the ends stylized as horse’shead and gryphon’s head they could be attributed to theSzentes–Vekerzug type,13 i.e. to the Scythian horizonin the south Hungary and west Romania as it is confir-med by the finds from the tumulus necropolis Curteade Argeº.14 As far as we are informed these are the veryfirst finds of cheek-pieces with zoomorphic endings,i.e. of the Scythian type, from the central Balkan area.

On the basis of the archaeological objects and thearchaeological context within the circular stone struc-

tures at Mihajlov ponor we could cautiously assumethat we are on the track of distinct cult places on theMiro~ Mountain. It is important to point out that thenearest Early Iron Age settlement at the site KopanaGlavica is just few kilometers far from the cult place atMihajlov ponor on the other side of Visoki ^ukar. It isnecessary to explore archaeologically this settlementbut already on the basis of the surface finds it is clearthat these two sites existed simultaneously in the EarlyIron Age. It could be assumed that inhabitants of thissettlement, alone or with their neighbors, took part inconstruction of circular stone structures at Mihajlovponor and in ritual deposition of offerings within thesestructures. Certain differences regarding the potteryfound in one or the other investigated stone structureindicate that it was a long-lasting cult ritual, which was

10 Nica 1975, Fig. 17/12; Guma 1993, 237–239.11 Kilian 1975, 133, Taf. 91 (map of distribution of the ring-like

pendants); Irmma Kilian – Dirlmeir calls this type Ghidici, after thehoard in Oltenia where 72 specimens were found (Kilian-Dirlmeir1984). Unusually large quantity of these pendants has been found atsome sites in western Bulgaria (D. Gergova 1987). Bronze ring-likependants have been mostly chance finds and they were usually expla-ined as horse harness decoration. In the grave of so-called Paeonianpriestess from Macedonia this ring-like pendant was an integral ele-ment of the elaborate belt garniture (Mitrevski 1991).

12 Vasi} 2004, 16; Stoji} 2006, Fig. 6,7.13 Párducz 1954.14 Vulpe 1967, 196, Pl. XVI,3.; Vulpe 1970, Abb.3/4.

1 2

3

4

MILO[ JEVTI]

probably periodically resumed. It is also interestingthat even modest data obtained at the site Plo~a abovethe Kazan also indicate the connection between the cultcircular stone structures and nearby settlement from theLate Bronze Age. This connection between Mihajlovponor (cult places within few »sacred forests«) and thenearby settlement Kopana Glavica is, as it seems, alre-ady confirmed.

The registered stone structures of circular shape atfew sites on the Miro~ Mountain point to the traces ofcult places within few sacred groves (»sacred forests«)so this mountain could be identified with reason as the»Sacred Mountain« of the Triballi, one of the largestPaleo-Balkan tribes in the Pre-Roman times.

It is probably not accidental that ethnological pa-rallels from the northeastern Serbia also indicate vene-rating of sacred groves and certain trees, particularlythe oak. One prehistoric settlement in the vicinity ofRudna Glava near Majdanpek, the earliest coppermine in the Balkans, is named Tri goruna meaning

three oaks. It is interesting that there are usually one orfew trees in the central zone of the stone structures atMihajlov ponor. It is also significant that only in theseregions of Serbia is venerated »the mother of theforest« or the lady of the forest.15 This belief is parti-cularly popular in the Walachian villages in the Homo-lje and Miro~ area, where the mother of the forest is stillvenerated today under the name of »muma Paduri«.The lady of the forest is imagined as beautiful womanwith ample bosom and loose hair who is kind to thepeople especially women and pregnant women. Thereis significant information from the Walachian traditi-onal culture that there are certain cult activities con-nected with the veneration of the »mother of the forest«(pomane muma Paduri). Also, one medicinal herb aswell as picturesque forest area is also called »mumaPaduri«. It is obvious that we are facing here clear re-

282

15 Ze~evi} 1969; Kulu{i} 1979.

Fig. 15. Mihajlov ponor, structure IX, drawing of partially disturbed peripheral stone circle

Sl. 15. Mihajlov ponor, konstrukcija IX, skica delimi~no rasutog perifernog kamenog venca

miniscence of the venerating of »sacred forests« in thePre-Christian times. In the Serbian folk songs is alsomentioned a fairy (vila Ravijojla) who is connectedwith the Miro~ Mountain and this is certainly verydeeply rooted in the tradition of the autochthonouspopulation in the Iron Gate hinterland.

We borrowed the term »Sacred Mountain«, whichis polysemantic and is usually associated with the cultplaces and sanctuaries of the ancient Thracians fromN. Theodossiev from the University in Sofia.16 Accor-ding to this author the term Hieron oros in Greek lite-rature clearly denotes the sacred character of themountain massif and indicates the connections of »ani-conical mountain rocks« with archaic idea about GreatMother of Gods. The idea that there is a connectionbetween the »Mountain« and »Great Mother of Gods«is confirmed already in the end of the 5th century BCin Aristophanes’ comedy Birds where Rhea (who isfrequently syncretized with Phrygian Cybele) is calledMeter Oreia, i.e. »Mother Mountain«. In the disserta-

tion of Theodossiev concerning material and spiritualculture of the Triballi and their successors in the north-western Thrace in the Late Iron Age special attentionwas paid to the archaeological identification of the cultplaces and sanctuaries in the area between the riverMorava (Margos) in Serbia and the river Isker (Ois-kos) in Bulgaria.17 Particularly interesting for us is theidea of N. Theodossiev about the existence of »SacredForests« in the territory of the Northern Thracians.18 Incontrast to relatively numerous Pit Sanctuaries, whichin our opinion are not always archaeologically confir-med with certainty and Cave Sanctuaries (Fig. 19), theidentification of Sacred Forests as places where theNorthern Thracians constructed their cult places and

SACRED GROVES OF THE TRIBALI ON MIRO^ MOUNTAIN

16 Theodossiev 1995; Theodossiev 1998; Theodossiev 2000,53–55; Teodosiev 2003.

17 Theodossiev 2000, 19–24.18 Theodossiev 1998; Theodossiev 2000, 24.

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Fig. 16. Mihajlov ponor, structure IX, situation after excavations; distribution of the most important finds

Sl. 16. Mihajlov ponor, konstrukcija IX, skica posle iskopavawa, sa mestom najzna~ajnih nalaza

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Fig. 17. Mihajlov ponor, structure IX, pottery from the accumulation inside the stone circle

Sl. 17. Mihajlov ponor, konstrukcija IX, keramika iz nasipa unutar kamenog venca

1 2

0 2 4 cm

3 4

5

6 7

8

10

9

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Fig. 18. Mihajlov ponor, structure IX, metal objects (1, 2, 8: bronze; 3–7, 9–16: iron)

Sl. 18. Mihajlov ponor, konstrukcija IX, metalni predmeti (1, 2, 8: bronza; 3–7, 9–16: gvo`|e)

sanctuaries has for the time being confirmations only inthe antique literary sources. The explanations of The-odossiev that it is possible to identify some pits withinthe Early Iron Age settlements in the eastern Serbia asdistinct cult places of the Triballi is hardly plausible sothese sites should certainly be omitted from the map ofthe Thracian sanctuaries. Only the large sacred com-plex with about 200 cult pits at the site Bagachina by

the Lom River in the vicinity of Stalijska Mahala innorthwestern Bulgaria is well-investigated.19 Besidesalready mentioned parts of human skeletons in twopits at this site, other cult pits contained large quantityof pottery and many sacrificed domesticated and wild

19 Bonev, Aleksandrov 1993; Theodossiev 2000, 137–138.

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9

10 13 14

12 15 16

11

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animals. As possible sacred places of the NorthernThracians are distinguished the »cave sanctuaries« likethe Rabi{a (Magura) cave and Suha Pe~ in northeasternBulgaria and the Zlot cave near Bor. There is an attrac-tive idea of N. Theodossiev that Early Iron Age horizonin Zlot cave perhaps indicates the cult place, first of allon the basis of unusually numerous metal objects, i.e.jewelry pieces, weapons and horse equipment discove-red there.20

The venerating of some forests as sacred places andidentification of Hieron oros with the Thracian mountainGanos (word from Thracian language denoting attri-butes as shining, sacred as well as the Slavic oronym

Belasica in Macedonia) is related chiefly to the ritualpractice of the Odrysae in the southern Thrace.21 Stri-king discoveries in recent years in the territory of theOdrysian kingdom, in the so-called Thracian valley ofkings, had an impact on the opinion that cult architec-ture in Thrace could be mostly associated with rich royaltombs – under large barrows.22 The existence of sacredforests in the lands of the Northern Thracians (Triballi

20 Theodossiev 2000, 109.21 Fol 1994, 53–55.22 Russeva 2000,111–154.

Fig. 19. Map with cult places and sanctuaries of the Thracians after N. Theodossiev.Map is modified and Mihajlov ponor is added

Sl. 19. Karta sa kultnim mestima i svetili{tima Tra~ana, prema N. Teodosijevu.Karta je prera|ena i uba~en je Mihajovo ponor

and Moesi) is indirectly confirmed by Cassius Dio(2nd–3rd century) who in his history of Rome in Greeklanguage mentioned among other things the invasionacross the Danube of the Bastarnae (30/29 BC), who sub-dued Moesia and then defeated their neighbors Triballiand Dardanians that were living in the land of those.23

The Roman state response to the crossing of the Bas-tarnae over the Balkan (Hemus) Mountain and theirinvasion of the land of the Thracian Denteleti was thesuccessful campaign of the proconsul Marcus LiciniusCrassus from Macedonia towards the Danube in 29/28BC and the expulsion of the Bastarnae. Some of them gotdrowned in a panic flight across the Danube (the kingof the Bastarnae was also killed) while the others foundrefuge in the »sacred forest« somewhere in the lands ofthe Moesi or Triballi (Dio. Cass. LI, 23,2–27,2, afterM. Ta~eva 1987, 149–153) that was certainly not farfrom the Danube. The direct evidence for the existence ofsacred places in the forests of the Northern Thraciansknown in the Serbian archaeology and historiographyas Daco–Mysians comes from rather late source datingfrom the end of the antique period, i.e. from the geogra-phic lexicon of Stephanos Byzantinus dating from the6th century. Namely, in the note of Stephanos Byzantinusis interesting the explanation about the hill Temenites(Temeh/t»j LÒfoj) that could not be precisely datedbut the »Sacred Hill« is related to Thrace towards theTriballi, i.e. for the Thracian territory in the vicinity ofthe lands of the Triballi as F. Papazoglu assumes24 orfor the Thrace within the lands of the Triballi25 (N.Theodossiev 2000, 53).

Finally we tried here to summarize some of theideas of the archaeologists from Bulgaria who are as itseems rather intensively searching in last twenty yearsfor the cult places of the Thracians. Particularly inte-resting for us are the investigations in the area to thenorth of the Balkan Mountain where we expect that con-nections with NE Serbia are rather conspicuous. Thus,circular stone structures resembling those at Miro~ havebeen recently published. They were discovered denselyarranged one next to the other in the lands of the Getae(NE Bulgaria) at so-called Sector 168 within the largecenter Sboryanovo to the east of the town Ruse.26 Thesesites are usually connected with the cult places of someof the ancient deities and it is assumed that libationswere poured there (there were found the eschara, hearths,kiln segments, braziers and the like). Slightly burnedsoil within structure VII at Mihajlov ponor vaguely in-dicates the place having similar purpose.

Despite certain similarities with some cult placesin Thrace every attempt to reconstruct in rough outlinethe cult rituals at Mihajlov ponor seems at this level ofinvestigation rather hopeless. However, we got the helpin the course of excavations that we did not expect. Thesite was visited by local prophetess who talks with thedeceased and has contacts with the world of the dead.After falling into trance this woman (called rusalja) saidthat she saw a group of beautiful women with loose hair,dressed into aprons and with light leather sandals aroundthe stone structures. Perhaps, in the vision of this pro-phetess should be recognized the priestess or followersof the »mother of forest«, i.e. Great Mother of Gods.

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23 Papazoglu 1969, 416.24 Papazoglu 1969, 56, 419.25 Teodossiev 2000, 53.26 Stoyanov et al. 2006, 48–49.

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Fol 1994 – A. Fol, The Thracian Royal City of Ka-byle. In: III Mezhdunaroden Simposium Kabyle, Yam-bol, 1994, 53–55.

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U istra`ivawima materijalne i duhovne kulture paleo-balkanskih naroda na tlu dana{we Srbije nedostaju prou-~avawa religijskog ̀ ivota iz predrimskog doba. Ovaj nedo-statak se posebno uo~ava kod Tribala koji se podjednakoprou~avaju u srpskoj i bugarskoj arheologiji. Kada smo svo-jevremeno pitali kolege iz Bugarske kako prepoznaju nekotra~ko svetili{te na otvorenom dobili smo odgovor da jenajva`nije da se otkrije ambijent u kojem se nalazi kultnomesto ili svetili{te. Posle prvih, po~etnih radova naistra`ivawu kultnih mesta iz predrimskog doba na Miro-~u, svesno smo da je ambijent veoma va`an za otkrivawe sve-tili{ta na otvorenom.

Zahvaquju}i velikim za{titnim arheolo{kim rado-vima koji su prethodili podizawu elektri~nih centala naizlasku iz \erdapske klisure, u te{ko pristupa~nim prede-lima klisure otkriveni su neki od najzna~ajnijih praisto-rijskih lokaliteta u ovom delu srpskog Podunavqa (Lepen-ski Vir, Padina, Vlasac, Hajdu~ka vodenica). Skoro sva ot-krivena praistorijska nalazi{ta u \erdapu zabele`ena suu malim uvalama i najni`im re~nim terasama, neposrednouz dunavsku obalu. U zale|u \erdapa zabele`eno je sveganekoliko mawih praistorijsih naseqa, a detaqnije rekog-noscirawe izvedeno je samo u dowem toku Pore~ke reke.

U organizaciji Odeqewa za arheologiju Filozofskogfakulteta u Beogradu 2004. godine pokrenut je novi proje-kat sonda`nog rekognoscirawa praistorijskih nalazi{tau {irem zale|u \erdapa. U po~etnoj fazi rada, rekognosci-rawem je obuhva}ena, pored ostalog, planina Miro~, kojase prostire du` Dowe klisure \erdapa. To je retko nasta-weno karstno podru~je, sa stenovitim predelima, u kojimase nalaze velike vrta~e, mawe pe}ine i potkapine, uz ve}ibroj izvora pitke vode. S toga nas je prili~no iznenadiloneobi~no praistorijsko nalazi{te na lokalitetu Mihaj-lov ponor, ispod Visokog ~ukara, jednog od najvi{ih vrho-va u ju`nom delu Miro~a (632 m nadmorske visine). U gustoj

{umi, nedaleko od izvora pitke vode i jedne velike vrta~e,otkriveni su na prostoru od pribli`no jednog hektara osta-ci preko 30 kru`nih kamenih prstenova od krupnijeg lom-qenog kamena. Na osnovu prikupqenih povr{inskih nala-za unutar niskih kamenih prstenova predpostavili smo upo~etku da se radi o ostacima razgra|enih kameno – zemqa-nih tumula. Bilo nam je neobi~no {tu su na Miro~u sa~uva-ni samo periferni kameni prstenovi, dok se »tumuloidnekonstrukcije« zaravwene i sastoje se iskqu~ivo od sitni-jeg i krupnijeg lomqenog kamen, bez nasute zemqe. Pri tomesu unutar spoqneg venca od jednog ili dva reda ve}eg kamewasa~uvani u sredi{wem delu ostaci uskog kamenog prstenaod nekoliko redova lomqenog kamena, o~uvani do visine dojednog metra.

U 2005. i 2006. godini istra`ili smo dve, lo{ije o~u-vane kamene, kru`ne konstrukcije, pre~nika pribli`nooko 10 metara svaka. Unutar delimi~no o~uvanog venca odlomqenog kamena, neposredno iznad `ive stene, otkrivenje ve}i broj pokretnih arheolo{kih nalaza koji ukazuju naostatke kultnog mesta. U tankom sloju zemqe i sitno lo-mqenog kamena na|ena je ve}a koli~ina ulomaka kerami~-kih posuda, koja je doneta iz jednog ili vi{e udaqenih na-seqa. Unutar kru`ne kamene konstrukcije otkriven je ve}ibroj metalnih predmeta, prete`no ra|eni od gvo`|a (jed-nopetqaste lu~ne fibule, ve}e strelice Feri|ile tipa, je-dnosekli mawi no`evi, delovi kopqa), nekoliko staklenihperli sa okcima i dr. Posebno je zna~ajan nalaz nagorelemandibule mu{karca mla|ih godina, uz nekoliko kostijulovnih `ivotiwa (jelen, srna, divokoza). Iz druge kamenekonstrukcije posebno se izvajaju nalazi gvozdene psalije saprotomom kowa, koji pripadaju skitskom horizontu kasnogHal{tata. Svi nalazi se opredequju u mla|u fazu starijeggvozdenog doba (VI–V vek pre n.e.) i mogu se pripisati Tri-balima iz Herodotovog vremena, koji su u to vreme `ivelina prostoru od Morave do Iskera.

Rezime: MILO[ JEVTI], Filozofski fakultet, Beograd

SVETI GAJEVI TRIBALA NA MIRO^U