Page 71 - Zbornik 27

72 Dragica Premovi}-Aleksi} NZ27/2003

Dragica Premovi}-Aleksi}

AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL
LOCALITY IN SJENICA’S PART OF OLD VLAH

Today’s municipality of Sjenica includes considerably bigger territory than
the medieval parish, later administrative district, having the same name. Accord-
ing to data from the Turkish registers of today’s municipalities territories, it was di-
vided between administrative districts: Sjenica, Trgovi{te, Bar~e and Bihor. The
greatest number of villages belonged to Sjenicas administrative district, which at
the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century was separated from the
Novi Pazar’s judicial district and annexed to the newly founded judicial district
called Old Vlah. Besides Sjenica, this judicial district was also made by adminis-
trative districts: Moravica and Bar~a (separated from Novi Pazar’s and Radohnas
judicial district), Ostatija and Bobalj (separated from Brvenica’s judicial district).
In this article only territory which was encircled by Sjenicas administrative
district is elaborated, tract witch gravitated toward Sjenicas plain, limited by the
neighboring mountains: Golija, Javor, Zlatar, Jadovnik and Giljevo.
In this territory besides recognition of terrain archaeological researches we-
re performed in only few localities: [arskom kr{u, Radi{i}a brdu, Velikoj gradini,
and the Latin cemetery in Vrsenica, Gradac, the Village cemetery in village Vapa,
and several hillocks were researched in: Brnjevica, Raspogan~ and in localities
Kraji{te, Mravin polje and Kobiljka in Bu|evo.This territory was colonized during
the Neolithic and during the earlier Iron Age by the Autariats and that is establis-
hed by the researches. The most significant localities belong to the medieval period
and they are connected to the earlier Serbian history. That is specially related to
Velika gradina in village Vrsenica where are placed remains of the oldest Serbian
town Dostinika, which was registered also by Constantine Porphyrogenitus. The
fortification in village Grac is connected to a campaign of the Byzantine emperor
Manojlo Komnen.
The researches of the medieval hillocks, which in our science represents
enigma, are performed in the last ten years. In researched hillocks numerous archa-
eological material was found which is timely appertain to period from 9th till the
end of 11th century.
With this article several churches are encircled with necropolis that are ori-
ginated from the period of the Turkish domination and demolished in the course of
war events in transition of the 17th into 18th century.