"Caricin Grad" - the Empress Town/ Iustiniana Prima is for its ecclesiastical and military architecture, urban planning, housing and material civilisation considered as one of the most significant Proto Byzantine sites in the Balkans. Iustiniana Prima - Caricin Grad /Empress' Town/ thus provides unique challenges for further research in the Byzantine art. The earliest traces of human settlements in this region of Serbia date from the Neolithic period 3000 BC. The late Antique City Iustiniana Prima one of the largest and richest amongst Byzantine cities, was founded by minded and powerful Justinian I the Byzantine Emperor who was born in nearby village "Tauresium" in present-day Southern Serbia. His beautiful and ambitious wife Theodora whom he loved very much was born in the nearby village of Lebane and must have influenced Justinian to build such urban area.
The remains of Diana fortress were found on the high cliff above the Danube in the Karatas Excavation Site. Diana Fortress represents the hugest and best preserved Roman Fortification /castrum/ on the Danube. It was built of stone during the reign of Emperor Traian, probably between 100-101 AD, at the same time when canals were constructed to enhance sailing along the Danube. Diana Fortress has rectangle shape of dimensions 100 cross 200 meters with towers on the walls.
The ruins of the late Imperial Roman Palace Felix Romuliana lie in the village of Gamzigrad, south of the Danube, 11 km from Zaječar and 238 km from Belgrade. Felix Romuliana was built by the Roman Emperor Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus between 297 and 311 AD to glorify his victory over Persians that brought him admiration and glory. The late Roman fortified palace compound and memorial complex was inscribed as a unique testimony of Roman building tradition of the period of the Second Tetrarchy. Felix Romuliana archaeological site covers the surface of 6,5 hectares. The powerful and charismatic Emperor Galerius /who was the son in law of Emperor Diocletian/ was born and died in the impressive fortress.
Golubac Fortress is located four kilometers downstream from town of Golubac, on the steep Danube river sides before the entrance to the gorgeous Djerdap Gorge. Golubac Fortress was built on the rocky slopes of a small hill, the offshoot of the Homolje mountains. The ramparts of the Golubac city follow the configuration of the terrain. There is the legend how this fortified place was established. The story says that once there was beautiful girl by the name Golubana. Stories on her beauties came to the Turkish Pasha who proposed marriage to her and gifted he with many presents in order to become his bride. Girl refused him as the all other grooms so Turkish Pasha decided to punish her. She was tided to the cliff above the Danube and birds mutilated her body and she died. Memory on the girl's beauty and the said story remained amongst locals so the town where she lived got name Golubac.
Damastion was an ancient city attested in Strabo whose history goes back to the 13th century BC as a settlement with elements of an urban acropolis. Damastion or Damastium, in the Illyro-Paeonian region, possibly in the neighborhood of modern Kosovo and Metohija, and known for its silver mines. However, Strabo mentions Damastion without giving its position. There are number of hypotheses about its location. Damastion coins findings (that have inscription "ΔΑΜΑΣΤΙΝΩΝ") originate from south Serbia, east Macedonia and west Bulgaria. The most recent location that was proposed was on slopes of Rujan Mountain, in the village of Krsevica, 15 km south-east of Vranje (southern Serbia) (Popovic, P., Kale-Krsevica excavations 2001-2004, Bulletin of the National Museum Vranje, 33: 25-49, 2005.). The city was inhabited by the Illyrian/Dardanian tribe of the Damastini, and was ruled at one time during the 4th century BC by their king Bardyllis. The city was known in antiquity for its silver mines, whose exact location, like that of the city itself, is today unknown.
Lepenski Vir is spectacular archaeological site in Serbia which is the Cradle of Europe. Lepenski Vir archaeological site was discovered and explored by prof Dragoslav Srejovic in the 1960s as part of the project of rescue excavations undertaken due to the creation of an artificial lake upstream of the exit of the Danube from the Iron Gates gorges. The Iron Gates are an exceptional natural environment with a special microclimate. Even precipitation rate, mild transition between seasons, relative atmospheric humidity, absence of strong air currents or sharp temperature changes, lime-based ground preserving warmth, then secure food sources enabled the Mesolithic people of Lepenski Vir to create an imposing culture whose rich and original contents can hardly be paralleled with any other of the same period, or even later. Lepenski Vir is also the name of the great whirlpool in the middle of the Danube river by Djerdap, the Iron Gates Gorge. Djerdap Gorge with its Iron Gate is a center of Đerdap National Park which is on tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage.
Mediana archaeological site was luxurious Imperial Residence and antique historical site built at the beginning of the 3rd century AD. Mediana lies on the way Niš-Niška Banja (Spa) covering 40 ha in the vicinity of the river and thermal springs to witness of imperial Naissus wealth and glory. The remains of the Imperial palace, together with peristyle, were discovered in Mediana archaeological site. Luxurious Roman villas with mosaic floors, sacral objects (baptistery room), economy buildings with pitos, Roman bathrooms, water tanks, fort remains etc testify about Naissus culture and wealth from the times of Emperor Constantine the Great /Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus 280-337 AD/ who was born here. Mediana was heavily damaged in the fire at the end of the 4th century to be finaly destroyed and deserted in 441.
Petrovaradin Fortress is located in Novi Sad, on the Petrovaradin cliff, above the left side of the Danube River. Petrovaradin Fortress is one of the best preserved fortifications in Europe and was constructed by Austro-hungarians in order to protect the town of Novi Sad from Turkish occupation. Petrovaradin Fortress was built from 1692 to 1780 on the place of former settlement that dates back to the prehistoric era /Late Bronze era/. It is known that here was Celtic settlement which was invaded by Romans who constructed here Kuzum /Cusum/ Fortification. This fort was destroyed by Huns in the 5th century to be rebuilt by Byzantines as the Petrikon Fortification. The first appearance of the present-day fortificaion comes from 1235 when Hungarian King Bela IV let Catholic monks Cistercians to biuld its Belakut Abbey on the remains of Cusum. During the invasion of Tatars monks succeded in defending by this fortification. Recently during the reconstruction works on the infrastructure remains of settlement and the church from this period have been found. Construction of the present day fortification of Petrovaradin Fortress was initiated by Austro-hungarians in order to protect themselves from invading Turks. Its initiator and creative constructor was marquees Sebastian Voban, French military officer, architect and writer from the period of Lui XIV. The Petrovaradin Fortress dates from the periods of Austrian emperors: Leopold I, Joseph I, Karlo VI, Maria Teresa and Joseph II on the place of former fortification at the uinaccessible left bank of Danube River. Petrovaradin Fortress was under Turkish occupation from 1683 until 1699 and the Peace-Treaty of Karlovci when Austro-hungarians entered the town and started building the new foretress. During the time the Fortress of Petrovaradin god the name of „Gibraltar on the Danube" because of its premium position and great importance. At the Ptrovaradin Fortress there are: Academy of Art, City Museum of Novi Sad, restaurants, hotel, ateliers, galleries, souvernir shop...
Pločnik is the archaeological site located in southern Serbia, in the village of the same name, at the bank of Toplica River, close to Prokuplje. The archaeological complex of Pločnik is part of the Vinca culture. The Vinca culture flourished from 5500 to 4000 BC on the territories of what is now Bosnia, Serbia, Romania and Macedonia. Pločnik archaeological site dates from the Early Neolithic period from 5500 to 4700 BC. Pločnik archaeological site spreads on 120 hectares that included several parts between courses of three rivers. The unnamed tribe who lived between 5400 and 4700 BC in the 120-hectare site at what is now Pločnik, knew about trade, handcrafts, art and metallurgy what testify on the metropolis with a great degree of sophistication and a taste for art and fashion. They were engaged in agriculture and stone was the main material for making their tools. They pursued beauty and produced 60 different forms of wonderful pottery and figurines, not only to represent deities, but also out of pure enjoyment. Within the archaeological complex of Pločnik numerous wonderful clay pottery and lots of stone and copper objects were found. The Pločnik archaeological site was uncovered accidentally in 1927 by Miodrag Grbic, curator of The National Museum in Belgrade when the then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was building a rail line from the southern city of Nis to the province of Kosovo. Pločnik archaeological site has been actively investigated with great interest since 1996 by Serbian and international experts. In Pločnik archaeological site experts found a "copper chisel and stone ax in which the foundation has proven to be 7,500 years old, leading us to believe that it was one of the first places in which metal weapons and tools were made in prehistoric times."
Sirmium is the Roman archaeological site that spreads nowadays on the surface of 2680 m2 on Sava River between the present day town of Sremska Mitrovica and Fruska Gora National Park. Sirmium entered the history in the course of the last decades of the old era with the arrival of Roman legions as one of the four Empire's capital cities. The founders of Sirmium, the town (civitas) were the Pannonian Amantins and Celts as inhabitants of the pre historical Sirmium. As the Roman settlement Sirmium developed very rapidly. The important military needs at the susceptible Danubian frontier have contributed to the importance of Sirmium where there were frequently seats of headquarters of Roman troops.