Above the narrow gorge of Djetinja, 11 km from Uzice, above the tunnel and the railway, on a hill elevation of 666 m above sea level, there is a large Neolithic settlement with three horizons of life. The steep hill, known as the Great Garden, builds a small plateau on its northwest side, from where it gradually descends to its southeast side.
The research was conducted in the period between 1956-58. showed that it is a well-preserved settlement, which made it one of the most important settlements of the Neolithic period in southwestern Serbia. The first, oldest layer belongs to the border period between the Vinca-Tordoska and Vinca-pavement phases. The second layer corresponds to the Vinca-Pavement phase with drum-hum and Baden elements that indicate the arrival of the metal age. The third horizon belongs to the Bronze Age with elements of the so-called Vucedol ceramics. This youngest layer has been devastated for years by washing and tilling the soil.
Not far from the prehistoric settlement of Gradina, there is the site of Mala Gradina. The first phase of life is represented by a relatively large cemetery from the Middle Bronze Age when the ashes of the deceased after cremation were kept in urns or spilled on the ground intended for burial. From the second, the Hallstatt phase, the so-called “Flat graves” give rise to significant tombs with rich movable archaeological material. The third phase is marked by medieval tombs, with earrings of the Kiev type, which chronologically determine this phase in the 14th century.
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Massive remains of above-ground residential buildings and well-preserved remains of three houses were discovered on Gradina, as well as dugouts in the oldest layer. Bone awls made of processed deer antlers, weights, flint knives, postruške, knives, stone axes were found among the tools … The ceramic material is dominated by vessels of the younger Vinca-Pavement phase, such as: deeper bowls with a clearly separated cylindrical neck belly and low neck, with stamped ornament … The decoration is dominated by grooves, variously organized. Figurines are rare, as in all other settlements of the garden type, since they are associated with the agricultural cult. The few specimens that have been discovered bear the characteristics of the Vinca-Pavement phase (the face is polygonal with plastic or incised eyes). Vessels with typical Vucedol stamping were found in the youngest layer.
In the Middle Ages, a fortification was built on Gradina and Mala Gradina, since the very ruined walls have remained. The city had a central tower and a wall that protected it, while the suburbs were located in the southeast. The easiest approach was from the south. Based on archeological material, money and ceramics, the fortification can be dated to the 12th century. The fortification was located near an important medieval road that led to Bosnia through the southwestern part of Serbia. The base of the city is an irregular square, with the remains of a dungeon tower that was built on top of a rock. Finds of pottery and Byzantine cannabis coins from the Komnin period date back to the 12th century, but the town still existed, as evidenced by the necropolis on Mala Gradina, where residents of Stapar Gradina were buried, at a time when the fortress was used as a defensive point of Altomanovic’s Uzice.
