Archaeologists found pile of stones and a cross: 18 centuries-old church, and an incredible view

Photo: Facebook/infoKOP

At an altitude of 1,800 meters, just below Pancic's Peak, the highest geographical point on the Kopaonik mountain, lies the archeological site Nebeske Stolice ("Heavenly Chairs"), which was named by its first explorer, archaeologist Gordana Tosic from the Kraljevo Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments.

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In folklore, that spot is called Crkvina (based on the Serbian word for "church" - "crkva").

"When we came for the first time, we found a pile of stones and a wooden cross that marked this holy place. According to the legend, it is dedicated to Saint Prokopije, the protector of miners, which was logical because this mountain, called Srebrna ("Silver") was known even in ancient and medieval times for its ore deposits," Tosic told InfoKOP.

In that first year, an old Christian basilica, dating back to the 5th or 6th century, emerged from a millennium and a half-long darkness. A special gem of this, in itself fascinating, discovery was the floor mosaic with geometric isomorphic motifs, characteristic for that period, crowned in one of its sections by the image of a peacock, which is a Christian symbol of immortality.

Gordana Tosic established irrefutably, based on the fragments found there, that the basilica was painted with frescoes. The southern zone of the site was explored and then more followed - an even older building was found, with Roman money from the 3rd and 4th centuries, parts of ceramic and glass vessels from the ancient and early Byzantine period, as well as a massive, well-preserved piece of a marble Roman relief.

"Nebeske Stolice are fascinating. Whenever I come, I remember the story about Felix Kanitz, a scientist, geographer and world traveler from the 19th century. The villagers brought him to Pancic's Peak and told him: Here, sir, you can see the whole world from this place. It really seems like that to this day," she said.

(Telegraf.rs)