Summary

 

The archaeological site of Kremenite njive is situated near Barajevo, 25 km south of Belgrade. The prehistoric settlement was built at altitude of 220 m on the slope near the Barajevska River. Characteristics of this region are the climate which is the mixture of Continental and Humid Continental climate and hills with wide and shallow valleys.

               The archaeological site of Kremenite njive represents one of the first  excavated sites in Serbia. The excavation were started in summer 1889 by Mihailo Valtrović and Jovan Žujović. After a break of nearly half a century, in 1966 Jovan Todorović started small scale excavations at this site. Based on the typology of the ceramic material discovered by Jovan Todorovi, the site is defined as one belonging to the Vinča-Pločnik phase of Vinča culture.

The prehistoric settlement at Kremenite njive probably didn`t last for a long time and it belongs to the mere end of Vinča culture. According to the chronologically recognizable types of ceramic bowls which have been found at the site, the settlement belongs to the later phases of Vinča culture (Vinča D). The thickness of the cultural layer at this site is between 1.2 and 1.6 m. According to the distribution of surface findings the size of the settlement was 18 hectars. In summer 2012, while prospecting the site, a lot of chance finds without archaeological context were discovered. They represent the tools made of chipped and polished stone, and different artefacts made of ceramics (figurines, weights, ceramics balls). All collected finds are presented in the catalogue.

During 2012 and 2013 at this site geophysical researches were done as a part of the practice for the university students of the Faculty of Mining and Geology in Belgrade. Researches were done on the area with the highest density of the surface findings. Geomagnetic researches included the surface of 5 737 m2. The geoelectric measurements were done on much smaller surface of 400 m2. The results indicate that there were 12 anomalies, which, most probably, present the burnt Vinča houses. The placement of anomalies by rows as well as their orientations (northeast-southwest) both indicate the well-known pattern of building Vinča houses. The largest surface area of anomalies is 91 m2. The results from Kremenite Njive have been compared to Vinča sites from surroundings: Crkvine near Mali Borak, Crkvine near Stubline, Drenovac, Motel-Slatina, Veliki Popović and Uivar.

            According to the results of the analysis of these settlements it can be concluded that there were clearly defined rules for choosing the loction for building the settlements and the objects inside them. Densely built houses in rows oriented northeast-southwest represent very common pattern of building the settlements belonging to Vinča culture. According to the results it can be concluded that the average number of the household members at the site of Kremenite njive fit to the pattern of the average number of the household members at the remaining analyzed sites.

            Although further archaeological excavations at the site of Kremenite njive haven`t been done according to the analyzed data, it can be concluded that the settlement was built and was developing in the similar way as other contemporary settlements of the Vinča culture. New detailed researches could discover more information about the life of the prehistoric community in this region. The results would certainly improve the touristic potential of the municipality of Barajevo regarding that the site of Kremenite njive represents significant source for developing of tourism.