Vučedol, a 5000-year-old civilisation

5000 years ago the most advanced civilisation of its time rose in Pannonia, and Vučedol, 5 km south of Vukovar, was its most important centre. To give you an idea of what this civilisation achieved, here are just a few facts:

• Here we find the constellation of Orion 300 years before the Egyptian pyramids,
• The Vučedol culture had a very distinctive calendar, and a great deal of its pottery is decorated with it,
• It is right here that the first three dates in human history were recorded,
• The first serial production of metal tools and weapons in history

Some Egyptian drawings show weapons of Vučedol manufacture. We know that members of this civilisation traded with the peoples of Asia Minor and beyond. We know which mines they used and which alloys they produced. Vučedol was a string of settlements enclosed by wooden palisades on hilltops, each home to several thousand people. From those hills the views stretched over the surrounding plains and the mighty Danube to the east. Judging by how long this civilisation lasted, and by the archaeological finds, it was a fairly stable and unhurried age. The civilisation had food in abundance and a well-organised way of life.

The first three recorded dates in human history are found right here in Vučedol! Mars in the Pleiades (7 February 2889 BC), Venus in the Pleiades (22 February 2889 BC), Mars and Venus in conjunction (9 March 2889 BC)

Below the site stands a very modern museum of the Vučedol culture. The path to the excavation areas, which are spread over several locations (Vinograd, Kukuruzište, Gradac…), is marked with information boards and lit by discreet lighting. That part is still under construction and is not “officially” open to visitors.

When you climb one of the hills that carried the settlements of the Vučedol civilisation and look into the distance, whether towards the Danube or towards the plains on the other side, and then recall the settlement plans from the museum, it is not hard to understand why those particular spots were chosen. They were simply ideal!

The museum is open every day except Monday, but do check that, because even on a Monday we saw a couple of buses of schoolchildren from all over Croatia. Mondays may be reserved for organised visits.

The famous Vučedol Dove is kept in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb.

In any case, if your travels take you through eastern Slavonia, do visit the Vučedol Culture Museum. A very modern, multimedia display, interactive in some sections, interesting and highly impressive. The way the route through it is conceived reminded us a little of the Krapina Neanderthal Museum. You start on the ground floor and come out on the upper level. The whole museum is set into the landscape as a half-buried dugout. When you look at the aerial shots, you realise that it is one of the very hills that carried the settlements. All credit to the people who designed and built this. We look forward to the future archaeological park!