The settlement Cernavoda III culture on the site Bubanj near Nis

Archaeological investigations carried out between 2008 and 2010 in the east sector of site Bubanj near Niš (Plan 1; Figs. 1-3) confirmed the existence of horizon of the Cernavoda III culture. In features 22, 23 and 31, which are the remains of settlement buildings, have been found archaeological material mostly pottery vessels, which according to style of decoration, technological and morphological characteristics could be ascribed to the initial period of late Eneolithic. Also, the dwelling structures of Krivodol-Salcuþa-Bubanj cultural complex have been recorded in the layer of brown soil with the remains of above mentioned Cernavoda III buildings. In the vertical stratigraphy of trench I (Fig. 4) the mentioned layer was encountered immediately under the layer of whitish/gray ashy soil and thin layer of compact soil of gray color (Fig. 5), which date from the advanced phases of the late Eneolithic and above the early Eneolithic layers. The settlement features recorded during 2009 excavations are parts of the structures from the settlement of Cernavoda III culture (Fig. 6; T. I-III). Feature 22 is section of devastated probably aboveground building, feature 23 is shallow pit and feature 31 is most probably the rubbish pit. Very similar stratigraphy of the site had been recorded by investigations of M. Garašanin in 1954. In the layer of brown soil, the material of Cernavoda III culture was discovered in level III, and in level IV both Cernavoda III and the material of the earlier Krivodol-Salcuþa-Bubanj cultural complex was recorded. These building horizons are at different depths within approximately same area of the trench and have been identified on the basis of considerable amount of daub and stone, two floor levels, wooden building material and fragmented pottery vessels (T. IV-VI). Despite the lack of technical field documentation remains of one above ground structure could be identified at level III according to descriptions from field journal from 1954. Certain finds from level IV indicate that remains of some floors from this level could perhaps be associated with structure from the settlement of Cernavoda III culture. Insufficient investigations and small quantity of published material from the settlements of this period and mostly singlelayered sites with poorly preserved cultural layer resulted in the fact that in certain areas there are only indications for the settlements. The position of the site at Bubanj suggests the importance of controlling the zone of confluence of the Nišava River and the South Morava River where from the roads branched toward north, south, west and east along the river valleys. The investigations of prehistoric settlements carried out so far at the site Bubanj confirm that areas of the Nišava and South Morava valley had been included in the cultural complex Cernavoda III- Boleraz, which covers rather large part of southeast and central Europe. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177020: Arheologija Srbije: Kulturni identitet, integracioni faktori, tehnološki procesi i uloga centralnog Balkana u razvoju evropske praistorije