New Discoveries at LEPENSKI VIR; Europe's First Monumental Sculpture; Edited by Sir Mortimer Wheeler.

Srejovic,Dragoslav

Published by NY 1972. Stein & Day.

About this Item

blue cloth hardbound 4to (quarto). dustwrapper in protective brodart jacket. fine cond. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of all markings. dustwrapper in fine cond., not worn or torn or price clipped. first u.s. edition so stated.first printing (nap) 216p. 13color plates. 87 monochrome plates.58 line draw. biblio. acknow. list of illus. index. archaeology. ancient art. ancient religion. prehistory. ancient europe. slavic prehistory. danube valley. yugoslavia. prehistoric art.~A NEW AND FASCINATING chapter in European pre­history was opened up with the discovery, in 1965, of the site of Lepenski Vir, in north-western Yugoslavia. For here in 'The Iron Gates' - Europe's greatest gorge, cut by the Danube through a high mountain range - was found the birthplace of one of the strang­est and most advanced of European prehistoric cultures. Excavations carried out on the site between 1965 and 1968 showed that during the sixth mil­lennium BC, before the dawn of the Neolithic period, forms and ideas were developed at Lepenski Vir that gave Europe its first monumental art, and south-east Europe its first forms of organized social, economic and religious life. This great religious and artistic centre in the Danube Valley became a permanent settlement for hunters and food-gatherers. Lepenski Vir maintained its sanctity over the centuries, and men returned to it again and again - in superstitious awe, perhaps, of the steep cliffs and terrifying whirl­ pools of the area. From the fifth millennium stock breeders and agriculturists were associated with Lepenski Vir, and the dead were buried in the neigh­bourhood up to the fourth century AD. It was, in fact, a great necropolis of people and of cultures. Dr Srejovic, who supervised the excavation, gives a full description of the site, and several of his colleagues contribute appendices on special topics. The Epilogue brings the story of this extraordinary site up to date with an illustrated account of how modern technology has moved it above the flood waters, so preserving it for posterity.

Seller Inventory # 1229041

Bibliographic Details

• Title: New Discoveries at LEPENSKI VIR; Europe's First Monumental Sculpture; Edited by Sir Mortimer Wheeler.
• Publisher: NY 1972. Stein & Day.
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included