Imposing Archaeological Finding in Prilep Area – “Stonehenge” at Bonce Near Prilep Unearthed

(Dnevnik, 21.09.2007) – Stonehenge in Macedonia is the first impression when one sees an unusual tomb archaeologists have been unearthing from the firm claws of the earth for a month and a half. They say it is the only of the kind in the world and that one of the Macedonian kings was buried there. The tomb was supposed to have been raided in the antique period but scientists believe a part of the tomb has resisted greedy hands of tomb raiders for centuries. Archaeologists believe that one preserved chamber dates from the 4th century BC when a dignitary was buried there. Even if the chamber was empty, it is enough that a unique structure in the world - a Macedonian-type tomb encircled with a ring of massive stone blocks - has been found. The tomb is located in a region that has been very responsive for archaeology for the past year. The public remembers it for the remains of Macedonian shields that were unearthed near Bonce last year. The tomb is 900 meters away from the place the shields were discovered under Visoka Mountain. An arched part of the tomb is 11 meters long and 3 meters high. It was built in stone blocks without mortar. The blocks were processed with refinement, chiseled and joined together. They weigh 2-3 tons. A half of the ring-wall has been unearthed so far. Its west section consists of two rows of blocks and is 1.20 meters high. The east section of the ring has four rows of blocks and is 1.80 meters high. Archaeologists have also found an access to the tomb, a path chiseled in rock and then coated with large stone blocks. The path cascades to the arched part the floor of which was also chiseled in rock. “The tomb was encircled with the ring and earth was piled on it as a mound. The higher the mound, the buried person was more important. According to the way it was built, only a king could have been buried in there. There was no other man at the time, and even today, that could pay for such funeral. This is a tomb that is unique in the world. In its concept, it is similar to the Macedonian-type tombs as is that in Vergina, but with elements left from the Iron Age - the ring,” archaeologist and the head of excavations Antonio Jakimovski explains. “The circle symbolizes the Universe. The upper semicircle is the place where deities lived and the kings wanted to dwell,” says Viktor Lilcic, the head of the Visoka and Old Bonce Project. He adds the tomb was robbed in the 3rd century BC but has preserved its monumental appearance.