Tumba Madzari (Тумба Маџари) is located in Cento (Ченто) settlement, and it is the most important Neolithic site in Skopje valley, discovered in 1961.
The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1978 by the Museum of Macedonia. The results showed that the Neolithic settlement has three stages of life.
Open Hours
- Tuesday – Friday 8:00 to 14:00 pm
- Saturday – Sunday 10:30 to 17:30 pm
- Mondays and public holidays are non-working
Contact
- Museum of Macedonia
- Street. Kurciska bb, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
- E-mail: contact@tumbamadzari.org.mk
- Website
The economic and cultural flourish of Tumba Madzari was during the period of 5800 – 5200 BC. In the research from 1981, the first house was discovered, determined as a sanctuary, and so far are discovered seven.
First discovered house was built in a traditional technique of compacted piles into the ground, often flanked with stones/mills.
House adhesive shows that the walls were built of large riven beams. The walls were decorated on the outside by pulling the fingers in the form of spirals that end up as primitive “voluti”.
The area of the house is 8 x 8 m, with a regular rectangular shape. Roof with two slopes, Straw set of wooden construction that wear thick poles on the outside, placed the frontal and back.
The interior of the house is separated by a thin irregular parapet. It separates the two furnaces erected next to it.
For the first time in Macedonia were discovered two large and one small, painted amphorae, which according to the form, decorated with painted stylized floral ornaments, found in one place, are made by the hand of a great master.
What makes Tumba Madzari well known, was first discovered terracotta representation of the Great Mother (Големата Мајка).
With its impressive dimensions of 0.39 m height, the classic posture of calmness and also vigil over her fireplace and peace makes this exclusive terracotta. In later research were found other fragments of cylinders and houses a variety of sizes and hairstyles. Generally speaking, if we take into consideration the hair, we can speak of a high level of fashion of the Neolithic woman.
Especially interesting is a striking sculpted life-size head of a man. As random findings from the site is a ceramic representation of the head of a ram (bull) which dates back to early Neolithic.
Analysis of the bones of animals and birds from Madzari indicates that Neolithic man, as far as providing meat, absolutely relied on their flocks, and very little on hunting and fishing.
