Gračac ( () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Vrnjačka Banja Vrnjačka Banja ( sr-cyr, Врњачка Бања) is a town and municipality located in the Raška District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 9,252 inhabitants, while the population of the municipality is 25,065 inhabitants (2022 ce ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 1,833 people.

Bronze age settlement

Local inhabitant Života Mladenović has been finding different bronze objects in his orchards for years. He diligently handed them over to the People's Museum in

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-Cyrl, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of ...

and after a while, local archaeologist became interested. In 2017, they conducted excavations and discovered artifacts, dating them to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, some 3.500 years ago. Findings point to the existence of a settlement similar to other previously discovered ones in the valleys of the

South Morava The South Morava (; Macedonian and Serbian: Јужна Морава, ''Južna Morava'', ) is a river in eastern Kosovo and in southern Serbia, which represents the shorter headwater of Great Morava. Today, it is long, including its source ri ...

and

Great Morava The Great Morava (, ) is the final section of the Morava ( sr-Cyrl, Морава), a major river system in Serbia. Etymology According to Predrag Komatina from the Institute for Byzantine Studies in Belgrade, the Great Morava is named after ...

, belonging to the

Paraćin Paraćin ( sr-Cyrl, Параћин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. Located in the Velika Morava river valley, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac, the town had a population of 22,349 ...

cultural group. However, settlement in Gračac is the only such locality in the valley of

West Morava West Morava (, ) is a river in Central Serbia, a 184-km long headstream of the Great Morava, which it forms with the South Morava. It was known as Brongus in antiquity. Origin The West Morava originates in the Tašti field, east of the town o ...

. Artifacts are in the process of further examination and conservation and will be placed in Kraljevo's museum. Based on those findings, decision will be made if there are going to be further excavations.

References

Populated places in Raška District {{RaškaRS-geo-stub