Baština (Jan 2019)
The archaeological site Gradište in Donji Dubič near Trstenik
Abstract
The archaeological site Gradište is located East of the core area of Donji Dubič village, on the left side of the Dubička River, 15 km North of the municipality centre Trstenik. The late antique fortress was probably built in the second half of the third century, in the period of the activities of the local robbers (latrones) and because of the pressure of the barbarian tribes on the North border of the Roman Empire. The main function of the late Roman fortress was the protection and control of the roads which connected the Valley of Zapadna Morava River and southeast area of present day Šumadija region in the central Serbia. Probably, one of the reasons for building of the fortified settlement was the protection of the local metallurgical activities on the nearby Nerezine site. The late Roman fortress was destructed during the Gothic Invasion around 378 BC. At the beginning of the sixth century at the same site early Byzantine state rebuilt the fortress probably during the rule of the emperor Justinian I (527-565). During this period, some of the members of the auxiliary troops in the fortress Gradište in Donji Dubič belonged to the Germanic tribes, probably Gepids, which can be noticed by characteristics of the some archaeological finds. The life in the early Byzantine fortification was interrupted during the invasion of the Slavic and Avar tribes at the beginning of the seventh century. The area around Gradište in Donji Dubič was part of the early Bulgarian state from the eight century, and after 1018 BC part of Byzantine Empire. Around 1183 BC the geographical and historical region of Levač was conquered by Stefan Nemanja, ruler of the Serbian state of Raška.
