Tumba Madzari – Neolithic Village

The prehistoric settlement of Tumba, Madzari in Skopje is an archaeological site that has already been confirmed in scientific circles with its artistic and aesthetic values ​​of material and spiritual culture.

Archaeological research in the past thirty years has shown that it is a settlement from the Neolithic period, which experienced its economic prosperity and cultural prosperity in the Middle Neolithic, 5,800-5,300 BC.

In the archaeological excavations from 1981 to the present, several residential buildings with a diverse and rich movable and immovable inventory have been defined. Namely, the majority of the exhibited and deposited Neolithic material in the National Archaeological Museum of Macedonia originates from Tumba, Madzari.

Since 2008, conditions have been created at this site for greater public animation through scientific, educational and tourist activities. The archaeological project “Neolithic Village” is conceived with several educational contents that have been realized in the western part of the site, where the absence of cultural layers has been confirmed.

Since 2008, several houses have been built in the spirit of Neolithic architecture. In them, various movable and immovable inventory is displayed through copies in order to make an attempt to reconstruct part of the life of the Neolithic man who lived on the territory of Macedonia and beyond.

The idea of ​​​​reconstructing a Neolithic village at the site of Tumba, Madzari has a dual purpose – revitalization of the site and developing a sense of valorization and care for the oldest cultural achievements of our ancestors among the general public.

Elena Stojanova Kanzurova, MA, Archaeologist, Senior Curator of Neolithic