Archaeologists in Arandjelovac searched for the house of a Serbian despot and discovered the great mystery of Nemanjić of which there is no written trace (PHOTO)

Archaeological site of Dvorina near Arandjelovac, Photo: RINA

Where history stops, archeology continues, thanks to which many secrets of the Serbian past are revealed. In the heart of Šumadija, at the Dvorina site near Arandjelovac, archaeologists began investigating 16 years ago to find the remains of the house of the last Serbian despot Pavle Bakić, but they still discovered something else, far more imposing and mysterious.

“When we found the tesanik with the remains of the fresco painting, it was clear that there was a church nearby and we set out to investigate further. We came to a huge monumental building, larger even than Gracanica. It is a medieval church 27 meters long. by 14 meters wide, decorated with paintings by great masters, which makes it one of the largest at that time, but it is incredible that there is no written trace of it. Professor Vladan Milivojevic, curator of the National Museum in Arandjelovac, told RINA.

An endowment of such dimensions could only be real, so for now it is assumed that it belongs to the Nemanjić lineage and that it was built by Tsar Dušan, in the middle of the 14th century at the time of his greatest prosperity of his government. It was built in the Serbian-Byzantine style, but its existence is still shrouded in secrecy.

“According to some remains found, it is believed that this church was the seat of the episcopate of Belgrade in the 14th century. The church has a narthex that was built together with the nave. It is painted and the narthex is not. That is why it is assumed that something happened in the meantime, maybe even the death of Emperor Dušan, which significantly changes the history, but also the future of this church. During the investigation, we found here a large number of fragments of frescoes, which are now in the museum, and the best and largest pieces have been preserved, “says Milivojevic.

The discovery of this great town at the foot of Venčac mountain reveals new pages of Serbian medieval history. Numerous investigations will open additional questions, but important facts that have been hidden from the public for centuries are sure to emerge here.

“There are many unknowns that will be revealed in future research.” Huge tombstones have been discovered, attesting that a rich population lived here during the Middle Ages, and it is up to us to find out who inhabited this area at that time, “Milivojevic said.

Rulers of the Nemanjić dynasty they were the most famous founders in the history of Serbia, but there is written evidence of all their buildings, while only for the church found in Dvorine near Arandjelovac there is no trace or explanation, and therefore it is the only unknown heritage of this lineage .