Vinča

It is situated 14 kilometers away from Belgrade, near the Belgrade-Smederevo road and it is by far well known for the finds of exceptional archaeological value. The prehistoric tell Belo brdo is on the very bank of the Danube river and it represents an internationally renowned archaeological tell with the remnants of a large Neolithic settlement, in the cultural layers 10.5 m thick, covering an area of 10 hectares. In the course of excavations, which were initiated by the Professor of Belgrade University Dr Miloje Vasić in 1908, there were discovered numerous houses, sod houses with the remnants of material culture of the prehistoric man.

Each of the settled prehistoric levels, which mark individual stages of life in Vinča (in the period from around 4500 to 3200 BC), contains real treasures of a wide variety of artifacts: implements and weapons made of stones and bones, earthenware for everyday use, elaborately decorated ritual vases, a great number of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines of exceptionally impressive stylization, jewelry made of different kinds of rare and precious materials, and countless other objects and works of art made in the very Vinča or procured from distant regions - from the Central Europe, the Lower Danube river basin or from the Mediterranean.

The discovered artifacts can nowadays be seen in the National Museum in Belgrade, the Belgrade City Museum, and in the Vinča Collection at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. Around 4000 BC, the Vinča culture stretched over a territory larger than the territory of any other Neolithic culture in Europe. Some of its settlements had exceeded, by their size and population, not only all the contemporary Neolithic settlements, but also the first towns that emanated much later in Mesopotamia, Aegea, and in Egypt.

The Vinča culture had reached its peak of development roughly up to 3800 BC, until there appeared other societies that developed new economic and social relationships, based on animal husbandry and processing of copper and gold.

By the master plan of development of Belgrade, the zone along the bank of the Danube river in the area of Vinča was given the status of the Archaeological Park. Apart from being known for the archaeological tell, Vinča is also renowned for the Monastery of the Presentation of the Virgin to the Temple from the 15th century, as well as for "Vinča" Institute of Nuclear Sciences.

The Archaeological tell "Belo brdo" is open for organized tourist visits throughout the year. The Tourist Organization of Belgrade organizes regular tours of the tell.

"BELO BRDO" ARCHAEOLOGICAL TELL
Vinča, Belo brdo 17, tel. 8065-334, 8066-340