Lepenski Vir - Location and History of Excavation

Location and History of Excavation

Lepenski Vir is located on the banks of the Danube in eastern Serbia, within the Iron Gates gorge, near Donji Milanovac. The first excavations were made on the site in 1965. In 1966 it was listed as a cultural monument of Yugoslavia. It was only in 1967 that its importance was fully understood after the discovery of the first Mesolithic sculptures. The excavations ended in 1971 when the whole site was relocated 29.7m higher to avoid flooding from a new artificial lake created in the Iron Gates gorge. The main contribution to exploration of this site was through the work of professor Dragoslav Srejović of the University of Belgrade. 136 buildings, settlements and altars were found in the initial excavations in 1965-1970.

Lepenski Vir was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is protected by the Republic of Serbia.