Thursday, September 25, 2008

The Family Founder

Went to a really interesting lecture the other night at the National Bank of Serbia, where a well-known Serbian archeologist spoke about the Lepenski Vir culture. Lepenski Vir is an important Mesolithic archeological site located in Eastern Serbia, consisting of one large settlement with around 10 satellite villages. The first excavations were made in 1965. Evidence suggests the first human presence in the locality around dates from around 7000 BC and reached its peak between 5300 BC and 4800 BC. Numerous sculptures and peculiar architecture are testimony to a rich social and religious life led by the inhabitants and the high cultural level of these early Europeans. It was only in 1967 that its importance was fully understood when the first Mesolithic sculptures were discovered. The excavations ended in 1971 when the whole site was relocated 29.7 meters higher to avoid flooding from a new artificial lake created in the Iron Gorge, where the Danube flows between the Carpathian and Balkan Mountains. This little guy is called "The Family Founder."

12 comments:

Tash said...

Another fascinating photo and explanation. I've cruised Derdap - on the internet a while back. Just beautiful.

Thérèse said...

Yes fascinating. And then came the discoveries of Jericho.

Marie Reed said...

He does look a bit like my grandpa!

Anonymous said...

Must have been a fabulous lecture. I love finding the ancient history in this part of the world.

Webradio said...

Bonjour !
Merci pour ces rappels historiques...
Blegrade possède des trésors historiques...
Bien Amicalement.
A plus tard.
Jolie photo...
--------------
Hello!
Thank you for this historical ...
Blegrade has historic ...
Regards.
See you later.
Nice photo.

Knoxville Girl said...

That's really interesting. I like the way the ancient artifact is surrounded by high-tech.

Tanya Breese said...

I love this kind of stuff! I should have been an archeologist! Very cool find!

Becky said...

How interesting! Thanks for sharing. A great photo AND an education. It's a good day!

USelaine said...

The artistic style is so modern/minimalist/abstract, proving that everything old is new again. Thanks for showing this to us.

soulbrush said...

isn't history fascinating...i came over to see your skywatch friday, then realised that you haven't even woken up yet on this friday morning!

parlance said...

This is a fascinating post. I agree with KnoxvilleGirl that the contrast between the two levels of technology is thought-provoking. I suppose that the person who carved this was at the leading edge of stone-age technological advancements.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Intersting find. Gary, artist he may be but his degree is in Geology. No doubt he will be hooked on this one. It's such a soothing image swathed in the blue light.

SPRING FASHION

 This is a post that would be better in color, but maybe not. These colors were soooo pale.