Archaeologists Excavate Major Ancient Urban Center in Macedonia

[microrobert]

Archaeologists Excavate Major Ancient Urban Center in Macedonia

Known as Heraclea Lyncestis, its ancient remains are located atop a low-lying hill near the present-day town of Bitola in the Republic of Macedonia. Under the direction of Anica Georgievska and Engin Nasuh of the National Museum of Bitola, with cooperation from the New Bulgarian University, a team of archaeologists, students and volunteers will be revealing more of its remains, exploring the residential areas near a monumental Roman theater that punctuates its appearance.

Archaeologists Excavate Major Ancient Urban Center in Macedonia | Popular Archaeology - exploring the past (http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/march-2012/article/archaeologists-excavate-major-ancient-urban-center-in-macedonia)

[Vojnik]

Fantastic! I have visited Heraclea Lyncestis before, it's a nice place.

[Crn Volk]

Great link. Thanks.

[Crn Volk]

http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/macedonia2006/aHeraclea12.JPG

http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/macedonia2006/aHeraclea15.JPG

Some more pics;

http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/heraclea.html

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=heraclea+lyncestis

More info;

http://www.mav.mk/article.php?lang=en&article=47#

http://makedonija.name/culture/heraclea-lyncestis

[Crn Volk]

Macedonian locality may be long lost Kingdom of Pelagonia

Thursday, 25 September 2008 6:37:31 PM by ANI

Washington, September 25 (ANI): Latest discoveries by archaeologists have shown a massive royal grave site in a village known as Bonce in Macedonia, one of a kind in the Balkans, which has led them to suggest that the locality may be the long lost kingdom of Pelagonia.

The grave site was discovered by a team led by Professor Viktor Lilcic.

According to the way this was built, the brilliance behind it, and just from the sheer size of the grave site, we believe the king of Pelagonia had been buried here, said Dr. Antonio Jakimovski, coordinator of the Archeological Research.

The grave site is from the 4th century B.C. when the Kingdom of the Pelagonians was around. It was suggested the site had been robbed even in Antic times.

This is one of the rarest gravesites not just in the Balkans, but globally that goes back to the 4th century BC, said Jakimovski.

The site is located right underneath the hill of Visoka where it is suggested to be the site of the city of Pelagonia.

Unfortunately, the Government did not allocate funds this year for the Visoka location.

Archeologists have been searching for the city of Pelagonia and the Pelagonian kingdom for more than 150 years.

This find will undoubtedly make funds available for Visoka in 2009.

Just two years ago, near the hill of Visoka were discovered three Macedonian Shields of King Demetrij with the Vergina Sun embedded on them. The shields are currently undergoing restorations.

When completed, the world will see for the first time how did the shields of the Macedonian phalanx look like. (ANI)

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/macedonian-locality-may-be-long-lost-kingdom-of-pelagonia_10099799.html

http://antique-macedonia.blogspot.com.au/2008/11/antique-macedonian-shields-from.html

http://www.mav.mk/images/issues/0000/original/mk_grobnica_staro_bonce-(2).jpg

http://www.mav.mk/images/issues/0000/original/mk_grobnica_staro_bonce-(4).jpg

http://www.mav.mk/article.php?lang=en&article=20#

"STONEHENGE" AT BONCE, PRILEP UNEARTHED

Stonehenge in Macedonia is the first impression when one sees an unusual tomb archaeologists have been unearthing from the firm claws of the earth for a month and a half. They say it is the only of the kind in the world and that one of the Macedonian kings was buried there.

The tomb was supposed to have been raided in the antique period but scientists believe a part of the tomb has resisted greedy hands of tomb raiders for centuries. Archaeologists believe that one preserved chamber dates from the 4th century BC when a dignitary was buried there. Even if the chamber was empty, it is enough that a unique structure in the world - a Macedonian-type tomb encircled with a ring of massive stone blocks - has been found.

The tomb is located in a region that has been very responsive for archaeology for the past year. The public remembers it for the remains of Macedonian shields that were unearthed near Bonce last year. The tomb is 900 meters away from the place the shields were discovered under Visoka Mountain.

An arched part of the tomb is 11 meters long and 3 meters high. It was built in stone blocks without mortar. The blocks were processed with refinement, chiseled and joined together. They weigh 2-3 tons. A half of the ring-wall has been unearthed so far. Its west section consists of two rows of blocks and is 1.20 meters high. The east section of the ring has four rows of blocks and is 1.80 meters high. Archaeologists have also found an access to the tomb, a path chiseled in rock and then coated with large stone blocks. The path cascades to the arched part the floor of which was also chiseled in rock.

“The tomb was encircled with the ring and earth was piled on it as a mound. The higher the mound, the buried person was more important. According to the way it was built, only a king could have been buried in there. There was no other man at the time, and even today, that could pay for such funeral. This is a tomb that is unique in the world. In its concept, it is similar to the Macedonian-type tombs as is that in Vergina, but with elements left from the Iron Age - the ring,” archaeologist and the head of excavations Antonio Jakimovski explains.

“The circle symbolizes the Universe. The upper semicircle is the place where deities lived and the kings wanted to dwell,” says Viktor Lilcic, the head of the Visoka and Old Bonce Project. He adds the tomb was robbed in the 3rd century BC but has preserved its monumental appearance.

MD: And another Magnificent finding!


[Culture.in.mk]

http://macedoniadaily.blogspot.com.au/2007/09/stonehenge-at-bonce-prilep-unearthed.html