VINČA, Serbia - Europe's First Civilization

   

From 6000 BC Vinča, on the Danube River in Serbia, was the centre of a vast Neolithic settlement dedicated to farming, metallurgy, pigment production and trade. The early date in this particular region resulted from the spread of agriculture from its origins in the Fertile Crescent, through Cyprus, Anatolia and Greece, then north into the Balkans. Amber from the Baltic and obsidian from the Carpathian Mountains, both found at Vinča, are evidence of its broad trading sphere.

This part of the Balkans was rich in copper, and Vinča became the first site of metallurgy in Europe. Later, it also produced bronze, although it is not known from where the tin was sourced. Such was Vinča's significance that during World War 2 the Nazis visited the archaeological site looking for an Aryan connection. Happily, there isn't one.

 

HOW TO GET THERE    

Both Belgrade and Vinča are on the River Danube. Take the #7 tram south. It departs across the road from the main Belgrade bus station and ends at Ustanička. From here you change to the #307 bus which will take you to Vinča. The entire trip takes an hour and a quarter and the best way to pay is to buy a travel card for the day (dnevna karta) from a city kiosk. This will get you there and back. You can get off at either the second or third stop before the end and arrive at the archeological site by walking about 50m in the direction of the river.

Vinča was at the centre of multiple Neolithic sites which are indicated on the map by white dots. I had emailed its main archeological site before I left Australia and so had the great pleasure of enjoying a guided tour in English by Jelena, one of the archaeologists. However, everything is labelled in English and also in Serbian Cyrillic.

 

Vinča belo brdo (white hill) was first explored in 1908 by the father of Serbian Archaeology, Miloje Vasić and attracts visitors from all over the world. Known as a tell, it covers 10 hectares and, over the millennia, grew to a height of 11 metres as one set of mud brick buildings was demolished and another built on top. Much of the site still remains under the modern town. The damming of the Danube has caused the height of the river to rise, putting the tell and the modern buildings beside it in danger of sliding into the water. Efforts are in place to prevent this.

         

WHAT DOES THE VISITOR SEE?   

The present visitor's centre.

Plans for the future centre.

The image below shows reconstructed dwellings that were not on the Vinča site at the time of writing - May 2024. They can be found at a large hotel complex about two kilometres further back towards Belgrade on the same bus route. Centar za Posetioce "Mali Danuv" - Visitor's Centre, Little Danube.                                                                                                                        

My own interest in Vinča began when I read Europe Before Rome by T Douglas Price. I was particularly keen on the symbols found here and also in Romania, two millennia before writing commenced in Mesopotamia. What were they? A writing script? Merely art? In her book The Civilization of the Goddess, Marija Gimbutas suggests that the development of these early symbols led eventually to the undeciphered Linear A used in Minoan Crete. Indeed, the parallels between the Minoans, Vinča and other settlements in Europe led Marija Gimbutas to call this the Civilization of Old Europe.

On my tour, Jelena said that between 20 and 30 symbols have been found at the Vinča site, apparently used at random. Because they are inscribed on pieces of pottery, a possible explanation is that they were used as labels for whatever was in the pots. One, however, was designed as an amulet to be worn around the neck and is likely to indicate a religious significance.

                              

THE VISITORS CENTRE

The impression of woven fabric on the right was produced when the fabric was pushed against wet clay.

Each of these miniature statues is unique. They had been deliberately broken by the ancient people.

                      Pottery was made without a wheel.

                       Stones were used to grind grain.

The image below reads: 'Houses are one of the hallmarks of Vinča culture - a symbol of continuity of life, family and traditional values. Vinča houses were highly functional, but also full of artistic and ritual elements, e.g. bucraniai - plastered models of bulls' heads that appear emerging from the walls, painted in reddish stucco. Most Vinča houses were multi-storey buildings with elaborate thermal features such as multiple kilns, as well as rich, functional installations such as modelled grinding stones and elaborate furniture.'

A curious feature of the Neolithic site is the absence of a cemetery, and it remains a matter of speculation how the Vinča people disposed of their dead.

Vinča has been inhabited from about 6000 BC to the present. In that time it has passed through many different periods, the Neolithic agricultural period, the copper period, the Bronze Age, a Roman province, and a Mediaeval Serbian necropolis. Today it is a quiet village on the outskirts of Belgrade.