Borka Dragojević-Josifovska, in Serbian: ''Борка Драгојевић-Јосифовска'' (1910 - 2004) was a Bosnian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, museum curator,

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...

and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

, who was Professor of Classical Philology at

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje The Saints Cyril and Methodius University () is a public university, public research university in Skopje, North Macedonia. It is the oldest and largest public university in the country. It is named after the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Christ ...

, and who worked mainly on classical archaeology in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Biography

Dragojević-Josifovska was born in 1910 in the

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби Босне и Херцеговине, Srbi Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, босански Срби, bosanski Srbi) or Herzegovinian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, � ...

village of Gornja Srbica, which was then part of the

Austro-Hungarian empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. She graduated in 1934 with a degree in Classical Philology and Archaeology, awarded by the

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy (), established in 1838 within the University of Belgrade#History, Belgrade Higher School, is the oldest Faculty at the University of Belgrade. The Faculty building is located at the meeting point ...

. From 1948 to 1958 she worked as a curator at the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, where in 1956 she curated the museum's

lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas relief ...

. She was then appointed as a lecturer Latin at the Department of Classical Philology at

, where she worked until 1976. From lecturer she was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1969 and in 1974 to Associate Professor. She died in 2004 in Skopje.

Research

Dragojević-Josifovska conducted excavations and undertook research on several sites across Macedonia. These included: Isar Marvinci, Dracevo, Zhivojno,

Stobi Stobi or Stoboi (; ; ; ), was an ancient town of Paeonia (kingdom), Paeonia, later conquered by Macedon, and finally turned into the capital of the Ancient Rome, Roman province of Macedonia Salutaris. It is located near Gradsko, North Macedonia ...

, Skupi and others. In 1961 she led the first team to excavate at Isar Marvinci. During the excavation they uncovered the temple, an aqueduct and a burial monument which featured a soldier holding a Macedonian shield. She also studied the Petralice Hoard of 377

nummi New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) was an American automobile manufacturing company in Fremont, California, jointly owned by General Motors and Toyota, that opened in 1984 and closed in April 2010. The plant is located in the East Ind ...

, which was discovered in 1950 near Krivia Palanka. She was a member of the editorial boards for the publication of ancient inscriptions from Yugoslavia and the '' Tabula Imperii Romani''. She published the archaeological reports on the site of Gorno Sonje in 1982. Inscriptions from the site are significant, as they mention placenames connected to the Albanoi. One reads in Latin "POSIS MESTYLU F LIUSFL VIADELVS MVCATI F LIADOM ALBANOP LIIPSA DELVS" ("Posis Mestylu, son of Flavia, daughter of Delus Mucati, who comes from Albanopolis"). It dates to the end of the 1st century CE and the beginning of the 2nd century CE. Dragojević-Josifovska added two lines to the existing reading: VIVA P(OSUIT) SIBI/ ET VIRO SUO. Delus Mucati is an Illyrian name and his home region was Albanopolis (''domo Albanopoli''). Dragojević-Josifovska proposed that like others he had settled in Macedonia from southern Illyria. She also published inscriptions from the site of Konjuh.

Selected works

* ''Vodič niz lapidarium'' (1961) *''Prilog lokalizovanju grada Argosa u Peoniji'' (1965) *''Inscriptions de la Mésie Supérieure, vol. I'' (1976) * ''Inscriptions de la Mésie Supérieure, vol. VI'' (1984) *''Depo folesa iz s. Petralice (Makedonija)'' (1990)

Gallery

File:MAKEDONIA Isar-Marvonci.jpg, Inscription at Isar Marvinci File:Stobi Baptisterium mosaics.jpg, Mosaics in the baptistry in Stobi File:Skupi (Colonia Flavia Scupinorum) - by Pudelek 4.JPG, Grave marker in Scupi

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragojevic-Josifovska, Borka 1910 births 2004 deaths Women numismatists Bosnia and Herzegovina curators Bosnia and Herzegovina women curators Women philologists People from Skopje University of Belgrade alumni Bosnia and Herzegovina women archaeologists Bosnia and Herzegovina numismatists