by Qazim Namani Dr. Archaeology-Cultural Heritage. Archaeological traces
The village of Novo Selo near Gracanica has a special history closely linked to the traces of cultural heritage and the construction of Lake Badoc. The Gladnica archaeological site near Gracanica is an important archaeological site dating back to the prehistoric period. near the ancient mines and Ulpiana in the Galab Mountains. This early settlement is linked to other known sites from the Neolithic and Antiquity periods discovered in Kosovo.
In these two villages, early traces of mining activities have been identified; along the watercourse there was a lot of slag as a waste from metal processing, and other traces of cultural heritage.
The first traces of mining activity in the Badoc and Novosella region date back to the third millennium BC on the banks of the Graçanica River and its surroundings.
Formations of siliceous rocks (called flints) that have the ability to be broken into pieces for use as tools and for hunting were highly sought after in early historical periods.
Near these hills with Serpentine rocks and fertile soil, based on archaeological findings, we can affirm that life began in the 5th century BC during the New Stone Age, where traces of settlements were also found in Gladnica.
In the ruins of the foundations of old houses in Badoc and the Graçanica riverbed, axes and other tools made of polished Serpentine and Agate have been found. Also in this settlement, amorphous pieces of Galena have been found, which testify to the origins of the exploitation of minerals and ores in this region. Although these are the first primitive evidence of mining exploitation, the first beginnings of the rapid exploitation of this activity must be sought in the first settlements in the 5th century BC in the Graçanica riverbed and in the vicinity of Janjevë. This is also evidenced today by the inhabitants of the village of Mramure, who, along the entire course of the stream that is filled with water, but also in its midst, still find remains from metal processing.
Based on the Turkish register of the year 1566-1574, at the entrance to the Suteshë neighborhood of Mramor, the microtoponym Samako is noted. Muhamet Tërnava in his book, The Population of Kosovo during the XIV-XVI Centuries, we encounter the toponyms Businja, Bosna, Suteska, , Mramor, Mardine, Tatince, Badoci i epërm. From these data, the village of Novoselle does not appear, so we think that this name has started to be used since the last decades of the XIX century.
These are evidence that important archaeological traces and foundations of old settlements have been sunk in these two villages.
Near Gracanica, in the archaeological site of Gladnica, from the beginning of the Neolithic era, the so-called Starcevo culture 5000-4300 BC. Trapezoidal houses, vessels with colored ornaments, stone and bone tools, cult exhibits from the end of the Bronze Age have been discovered at this site. The valley in the course of the small Gracanica river is truly an archaeological park, with traces of civilization from prehistoric times to the present day.
Along the flow of the Badoc stream, through these prehistoric settlements, there was also the road from Justiniana Prima, Artana, Gjilan leading to the ancient city of Ulipana. As low-lying settlements near this stream, several dozen mills were built that survived until the middle of the 20th century. In addition to profane objects, there were also many churches. One of the churches that is worth mentioning in the 19th century is the monastery in Suteska, for which there are records that this church was visited by the Russian diplomat Alexander Gilferding in the middle of the 19th century.
Alexander Gilferding was a Russian diplomat who was educated in the spirit of Pan-Slavic ideology and operated in Sarajevo. He served this Pan-Slavic ideology with all his intellectual and scientific power. In order to realize his political program, he made two trips to Albanian territories, with the aim of assimilating the Christian population and acquiring the objects of worship. With the aim of acquiring the church in Busi, Hilferding aimed at acquiring the church and assimilating the Albanian population of these villages into Serbs.
We find information about his journey to Albanian lands in his book, which was translated and published in Serbian in 1972, in Sarajevo. As can be seen in his book, he called the Albanian lands of the Sandzak and present-day Kosovo “Stara Serbia”.
During the years 1963–1966, when the artificial lake dam was built to supply Pristina with water, just a few meters above Gladnica, this important archaeological site. The lake was formed by the construction of the dam at the Badoc gorge.
The earthen dam is 45m high, the lake is 3.5 km long, and 150-200 m wide. The maximum depth of the water is 29 m, accumulating up to 28 million m³ of water, which is used to supply the city of Prishtina with drinking water, and for irrigation of the lands below the dam. From this source we understand that the lake water has covered the archaeological area along the stream for a length of 3.5 km.
Early archaeological evidence has also been identified in Badocë and the old village of Novosello. According to historical data, we can affirm that the village of Novosello began to be called the lower neighborhood of Suteshë, after the actions of Russian missionaries and the opening of a Serbian-language school in Gracanica in 1848, therefore the church, which sank into the water after 1963, could have been the target of appropriation, and for this purpose, Gilferding had also visited it in the mid-19th century.
After the construction of the dam and filling with water, the lake covered residential houses, the old local cemetery and the old historic Church known as the Church of St. Archangel and the old cemetery of the village of Novo Selo, which were soon destroyed by the Serbian authorities.
The church in the village of Novosello, placed under state protection as a cultural monument, on the List of Cultural Monuments 1947-1990.
From the introduction of this church under state protection as a Serbian church, precisely in 1965, we understand the discriminatory policies and the goals of the appropriation of old churches built many centuries ago by the autochthonous Albanian population. Even though it was included in the list of monuments as a cultural monument, the arguments discovered on the ground and the lack of documentation of the recording of the object and the cemetery, testify to the goal of the policies of the then government, which, by not applying the scientific criteria for taking a cultural monument under protection, create propaganda documentation by appropriating and demolishing early paleochristian and medieval churches and cemeteries.
It is important to note that the same was done later, when the dam was built to fill the Batllava lake. From historical and archaeological sources, Orllana, Batllava, Baraina, and Ballaban were archaeological areas, with traces of profane, sacral and economic objects. Also along the watercourse there were quite a lot of slag that had remained during the processing of metals since ancient times in that area rich in minerals, with many traces from antiquity and Brvenik as a medieval city.
It should be noted that the water also covered the foundations of the church in the village of Ballaban. The Serbs, seeing that the foundations of this church were covered with water, took the opportunity to declare this church a Serbian church, in defense of the state, as a cultural monument.
The church in the village of Ballaban was placed under state protection as a cultural monument, on the List of Cultural Monuments 1947-1990.
The church in the village of Ballaban, also for political reasons, was taken under state protection in 1967, as a Serbian church, without any previously documented scientific argument, and without applying scientific criteria to take the cultural values of the monument into account.
The criteria that the team of experts must apply to protect a cultural monument are: Historical, gender, typological criteria, authenticity criteria, architectural value criteria, time criteria, spatial distribution criteria, construction and architectural phenomena, preservation criteria for works of art in modest architectural works, and the technical condition of the monument, without claiming that these criteria are exhaustive. In this case, the historical criterion is very necessary because through the study of the monument and knowledge of the terrain, it is possible to make a scientific assessment of professional scientific findings, which is also a priority in this field of study.
Of all these criteria, the historical one of authenticity, the gender and typological criteria, are necessary to place a cultural object under state protection as a cultural monument. As can be seen in these cases how Serbian experts have acted, these objects have not met any criteria to be included in the list of cultural monuments, as monuments under protection, but there are rare cases that any administration applies them to another community to falsify and appropriate cultural heritage.
We, the professional team of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of Kosovo, during the reconnaissance of the terrain, took advantage of the opportunity when the water level of the lake had dropped significantly in 2013, and the foundations of the church had come to the surface. When we visited the place where the church had been, on the terrain we found only a few simple stones of ruins without any value and significance. So this was the official Serbian policy to manipulate the history of Albanian lands, appropriating the cultural and historical heritage of the Albanian people.
Photo. The foundations of the church in Ballaban, IKMM, reconnaissance of the terrain on 12.09 2013
In specific cases, we are dealing with the time criterion, the time affiliation of the architectural work, comes into consideration only when the architectural evidence of a time period is very rare. In these cases, this criterion becomes the determining factor in the assessment based on the ruins of the architectural work, which are discovered during archaeological excavations. The rare archaeological discoveries of early time periods make this criterion important for identifying the monument. From the objects in question, it is clearly seen that this criterion was not decisive for taking these ruins under protection as a cultural monument, when it is known that objects of this type are quite widespread in all settlements, therefore the decision of the experts of that time can be taken as a deliberate and political decision. From what was said above, it is in the interest of our state that all such objects of this nature that have been included in the list of monuments be removed from the list.
In the village of Novosello, in addition to archaeological traces, profane and sacred objects, there were also economic objects in this area. According to Maja Lukic, after the lake was filled, Valavica in Badocë and the mill in Novosello also sank.
The publication of this work is of interest to us because we also understand the presence of economic facilities built to meet the needs of the residents of the area for their family economy.
Map made by Maja Llukic, Valavica and Mulliri before the construction of Lake Badoc
Below we are describing this tombstone, which was found after the destruction of the village’s old church and cemetery.
Tombstones from the village of Novosello, discovered by Sabit Gashi and Valdet Vllasaliu
This tombstone, dated 07.09. 2026, was brought to me by Sabit Gashi and Valdet Vllasaliu, after they had found it by the water’s edge at Lake Badoc, where the territory of the village of Novoselle was once located.
The stone is made of soft, reddish sandstone, which can be easily carved. From this remaining part we understand that the stone is surrounded by carvings of two lines of the cane-lyra, with the cross in the middle, where the two lower parts of the cross are connected to each other with a semi-arch. Three triangles (the ancient symbol of the Vulva) are carved on the cross. Next to the cross on both sides up to the first line of the cane-lyra are carved with a semi-arch. The dimensions of the stone are 45×40, with a thickness of 13 cm. The size of the Cross is 10x 10 cm, while the size of the triangles is 4×6 cm.
The cult symbols on this tombstone
The cross on this tombstone is a cultural, historical, paleo-Christian symbol, formed by the union of four “V”-shaped elements, with eight corners meeting in the center.
Three triangles that are carved on the symbol of the cross represent the Symbol of the vulva (The triangle, as a symbol, is also known in history and anthropology as a symbol that It represents the female genitalia and has been used since ancient times by many peoples in different cultures as a symbol of fertility.
The cross with two Vs, joined on opposite sides, is a very ancient geometric figure that expressed the female in prehistory, which in prehistoric art and later expressed the creator (God), which were main symbols of European society.
In the material culture of the indigenous Dardanian population in this region, as a cult symbol, it has been found carved on stone, wood, but what is more important, this symbol is still evident today in the traditional folk clothing of the Albanian population of Medvedja and the surrounding area. This symbol was engraved on metals, coins, churches, cemeteries and on the walls of architectural buildings.
This cult symbol, although it has an earlier origin, having been discovered in Dardania from the Iron Age, Antiquity, Byzantine, Medieval and up to the present day, testifies to the tradition of our people and our folk art. This cult symbol was adopted as a symbol by the Maritime Republic of Amalfi in Italy around the 11th century. Written sources have documented that the Templars who passed through Albanian territories had this cross as a symbol on their flag. It has also been proven that the mines in the territory of Dardania were working at full capacity in those years, and that the indigenous Dardani population was in solidarity with the Templars.
During the Crusades, monks who ran a hospital for pilgrims in Jerusalem were transformed into a military order. They adopted this cross as their emblem of courage and humanitarian service. This symbol is closely associated withOrder of Knights,later known as the Knights of Malta.
Since the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, the Knights of Malta in1530, moved to the island of Malta, the symbol officially took the name “Maltese Cross”.
This symbol is also known as the Iron Cross, which was found in the village of Shiroka in Theranda, similar to the Celtic Iron Cross. This Cross, discovered in Shiroka on January 13, 1999, together with the exhibits of the Museum of Kosovo, was transferred to Belgrade, and is located in the Museum of Serbia.
This exhibit, along with other exhibits, must be returned, because it was discovered in the territory of present-day Kosovo and belongs to the rich Illyrian-Dardan archaeological heritage of the Iron Age.
The symbol of the cross made of metal from the Iron Age, 7th-6th century BC, discovered in the village of Shiroka, near Theranda
Below we are offering some of the works of art in the material culture of the world and the Albanian people where this symbol occupied a very important place in our folk art.
This cult symbol was quite widespread on other continents and among other peoples, but in Albanian lands, especially in Dardania, after the legalization of Christianity, it was used in cult objects and in the traditional ceremonial clothing of Albanian women in the Galab highlands, especially in the Medvedja region.
As can be seen, this type of cross is very present in the material culture of all regions inhabited by Albanians, discovered in our folk art from the Iron Age to the present day. Below we offer some of such crosses discovered in Kosovo and Albania.
Photo 1. The cross in Sumerian culture, 2. Pope John Paul II, 3. The cross discovered in the foundations of the church in the village of Keqekollë. 4. The cross embroidered on the hood, sewn into the clothing of Albanian women in the villages of Medvegja
Photo 1. Cross on the clothing of the Cardinal of Bavaria, 2. Cross on the veil on the clothing of Albanian women from Medvegja, 3. Key to the castle of Kërshevicë, 4. Cross embroidered on the clothing of Albanian women.
Comparisons of this symbol, widespread both in the territory of Dardania, as well as in cities in Albania, with early material culture of antiquity, testify to the importance that this symbol had in our folk art in all the regions where Albanians lived.
Photo 1. Cross carved in the cemetery of the village of Shilevicë, municipality of Vushtrri, Kosovo, Photo 2. Cross discovered in Butrint, Photo 3. Cross discovered in Elbasan
Displacement of the population of the villages of Badoc and Novoselë
During the relocation process, the population of Novosella was moved to a higher area above the lake (near Mount Androvci), while the residents of the village of Badoc were moved to the area below the dam in Gracanica and Lapna Selo.
Based on field research and the memory of the local indigenous population, as well as on the documents of the 1943 census of the population of Kosovo, in the area of Italian rule, in the state archive of Tirana, it has been proven that the Orthodox population of this area had preserved its Albanian ethnicity until 1943. After the end of World War II, this population, as well as the Albanian population of the Sandzak, were subjected to a strict process of assimilation into Serbs and Bosniaks.
From all this we come to the conclusion that the names of these villages in Slavic language are from the late period. The inhabitants who lived before the construction of the water dam were of Albanian origin, but were Serbified in the 20th century.
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