ITCHY FEET TRAVELS

Prizren, Kosovo

Sept 1, 2025

An old Hammam dating from the Ottoman era is now home to the tiny Archeological Museum of Prizren. In the very first exhibit is from the Neolithic era I see a stone axe, flint and stone spearheads. Not terribly surprising. But next to them in the display case are pottery jars. One has incised patterns that I have seen before. Even more surprising is the female terracotta figure. This is something I have definitely seen before but much farther to the east, in present day Anatolia region of Turkey  and in Iraq. They belong to the sites of the Fertile Crescent. What is it doing here? Where was it excavated? The questions bubble up in my mind.

The signage in this tiny museum is excellent. It explains the finds excavated in the Prizren valley date from the 7^th-4^th millennium BCE. It explains the different cultures – Vlashnje, Vinca and Reshtan which are the names that crop up most often among these exhibits. It explains the matriarchal culture of these times with the worship of a mother goddess. The similarity to the finds in the Fertile Crescent, especially Anatolia is too marked to be mere coincidence! But what is the connection?

I wander down the hallway and see the next display from Chalcolithic times, the beginning of the use of metals. Pottery is still present, the artefacts a little more refined. And I see the molds for metallurgy. The period is 3500-2500 BCE, merging into the Bronze Age between 2500-1100 BCE. I remember the site of Metsamor in Armenia  which was of the same period. Is there a connection? Or did the culture develop here independently of the ones further east? Questions crowd my mind as I wander to the next display.

Next comes the Iron Age dating from 1100 BCE to early 4^th century BCE. Among the finds are spears, still recognizable. The pottery is now more elegant in shape. The signs say they are also from the Prizren valley but from Romaja.

The next room enters into the Greek followed by the Roman age and afterwards I pester the man who had let me into the museum. He doesn’t have any answers but says the archeologist in charge is here today. “Would you like to talk to him?” My eyes light up and a sporting a huge grin I nod. I cannot believe my luck! Meeting an archeologist when I have tons of questions has happened before – in Tajikistan, in Armenia and now here.

Vesel is generous with his time as we sit in the balcony of the building next door. I learn that there is indeed a connection! These cultures and ages did not develop here independently but were brought from Anatolia by people migrating west. It makes perfect sense – why these are a few hundred years behind similar artefacts in Anatolia. I pepper him with questions that he answers graciously. A relief map in one room shows all the sites; there are so many! He says there are plenty of digs that are being currently excavated. Better yet, agrees laughingly when I ask if I can volunteer at one. I have his card and am to contact him when I have the time to go volunteer. Walking on air, I sail out of the museum and have yet to wipe off my grin.