Vučedol () is an archeological site, an elevated ground on the right bank of the river

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

near

Vukovar Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...

that became the eponym of the

eneolithic The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often v ...

Vučedol culture The Vučedol culture ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Vučedolska kultura, Вучедолска култура) flourished between 3000 and 2200 BCE (the Eneolithic period of earliest copper-smithing), centered in Syrmia and eastern Slavonia on the right bank of ...

. It is estimated that the site had once been home to about 3,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest and most important European centers of its time. Artifacts from the Vučedol site are located in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, and the City museum of Vukovar. The site itself hosts the

Vučedol Culture Museum Vučedol Culture Museum ( hr, Muzej vučedolske kulture) is a culture museum of prehistory located at Vučedol near the city of Vukovar, Croatia. The site has significant representation of Vučedol culture. Museum history The museum was formally ...

since 2015. Due to extremely favourable strategic position, Vučedol has always been open to colonization. During the Copper Age, the settlement extended across most of the present-day archaeological site, covering an area of approximately . The site is considerably larger than contemporary sites which indicates that it must have been a regional economic and social center. Some of the most important archaeological discoveries belonging to the Vučedol culture have been made at this site. Archaeological research has confirmed finds of

Baden culture The Baden culture was a Chalcolithic culture from 3520–2690 BC. It was found in Central and Southeast Europe, and is in particular known from Moravia (Czech Republic), Hungary, southern Poland, Slovakia, northern Croatia and eastern Austria. I ...

, Vučedol culture as well as Kostolac culture on the site of Vučedol. The highest part of the site at Vučedol was separated from the rest of the settlement by two parallel ditches. These ditches enclosed a large rectangular structure that was considerably larger than the houses located in surrounding residential areas, and this area also produced the only evidence of copper smelting on the site. Some scholars had argued that this part of the settlement may have been occupied by a local elite that exercised control not only over Vučedol but also over the production and exchange of precious goods and that dominated the smaller settlements in the area. The site is located roughly downstream from the city of Vukovar. During the Battle of Vukovar in 1991, the Vučedol site was destroyed by being used as a firing base for the Serbian

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

artillery and tanks in the three-month bombardment of Vukovar. The site was since restored and the

established on the grounds.

References

{{VukovarSrijem-geo-stub Archaeological sites in Croatia Former populated places in the Balkans Prehistoric sites in Croatia