Gradina Tower is a remainder of a military fortification (''Gradina'') in the village of
Radljevo
Radljevo () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Ub municipality, in the Kolubara District of Central Serbia. The village has a population of 611 inhabitants, as of 2011 census.
Historical population
*1948: 1165
*1953: 1172
*1961: ...
, 11 kilometers from
Ivanjica, in
Serbia. Today, the tower is a culturally-historical monument.
The monument consists of a
tower and remains of a
bastion
A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
of a military fortification. Next to the fortress, there is a church dedicated to St. Elias.
To the ramparts, whose highest point is at 635m, leads a steep winding dirt road. From one side protected by
Moravica and the rocks, this object could easily control communication route from
Užice to
Sjenica, but also the one that leads to the valley of the
Ibar River.
[Археолошка налазишта, споменици културе општине Ивањица](_blank)
, accessed: May 11, 2014
History
It is estimated that the tower was built in the 13th or 14th century, on the basis of method of construction walls and ceramic material found in the tower. Fragments of polished containers and findings of archaic majolica inside of the investigated tower, indicate that the tower existed in the second half of the 14th century.
Prehistoric pottery located at the foot of the fortification extend the importance of the site for several epochs.
As at that time the center of the
župa, as a rule, was a fortified town, on the basis of archaeological material it is assumed that this was the site of the city of
Moravica, located in the center of the župa of the same name. It is assumed that the wider basin of Moravica is hiding vast archaeological treasures. Scientists who worked on the project ''Serbian lands in the Middle Ages'' from the
Historical Institute in Belgrade during the 2006 and 2008 have estimated that Ivanjica region has a very large archaeological potential, but it is one of the least explored.
Sporadic research was also conducted at sites of
Erčege,
Lisa,
Radaljevo
Radaljevo is a village in the municipality of Ivanjica, Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 904 inhabitants.
References
Populated places in Moravica District
{{MoravicaRS-geo-stub ...
, where presumably another fort could be. Some archaeological artifacts have been found in the villages of
Bukovica Bukovica may refer to:
Croatia
*Bukovica, Dalmatia, a geographical region in Croatia
* Bukovica, Sisak-Moslavina County, a village near Topusko
* Bukovica, Brod-Posavina County, a village near Rešetari
*Nova Bukovica, a village and municipality i ...
and
Kušići
Kušići ( sr-cyr, Кушићи) is a village located in the municipality of Ivanjica, southwestern Serbia. It is situated on the slopes of the Javor mountain, about from Ivanjica and from Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European c ...
. In this region was also found a collection of silver coins dating from the 2nd century of the new era.
Jela Raković, Večernje Novosti, accessed: May 11, 2014
References
{{reflist
Ivanjica
Towers in Serbia