Kokino () is a

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 ...

archaeological site in the

Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, approximately 30 km from the town of

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( ; , sq-definite, Kumanova; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is the second-largest city in North Macedonia after the capital Skopje and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic ...

, and about 6 km from the Serbian border, in the

Staro Nagoričane Municipality Staro Nagoričane Municipality () is a municipality in the northern part of North Macedonia. The municipal seat is located in the village of '' Staro Nagoričane''. This municipality is part of the Northeastern Statistical Region. Geography The ...

. It is situated between about 1010 and 1030 m above sea level on the Tatićev Kamen (Татиќев камен) summit and covers an area of about 90 by 50 meters, overlooking the eponymous hamlet of Kokino. It was discovered by archeologist Jovica Stankovski, director of the national museum in

, in 2001. In 2002, Stankovski together with Gorje Cenev (who is the head of a planetarium at
Youth Cultural Center
in Skopje) published the claim that the site contains a "

megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

and

sacred site A sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, holy place or holy site is a location which is regarded to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through ...

" (мегалитска опсерваторија и светилиште). The wider Kokino archaeological site covers about 30 hectares. The oldest archaeological finds date from about the 19th century BC, corresponding to the early European Bronze Age. It shows signs of occupation for the period from the 19th to the 7th centuries BC. Finds from the Middle Bronze Age (c. 16th to 14th centuries BC) are the most numerous (mainly ceramic vessels, stone-mills, a few molds, and a pendant). An agglomeration from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

was discovered in 2009.Macedonia: Iron Period Layers Revealed by Latest Archaeology Excavations at Kokino
, BalkanTravellers.com, 29 May 2009 The remains of vessels filled with offerings were found deposited in cracks in the rocks, which gave rise to the interpretation of the site as a "holy mountain". The Kokino "megalithic observatory" should be distinguished from the wider Kokino archaeological site. The claimed archaeoastronomical site has a combined area of about 5000 square meters and consists of two platforms with an elevation difference of 19 meters. The claim of the site representing an astronomical observatory was made by Stankovski and by Gjore Cenev in 2002. According to this interpretation, the site includes special stone markers used to track the movement of the Sun and Moon on the eastern horizon. The observatory used the method of stationary observation, marking positions of the Sun at the winter and summer

solstice A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...

, as well as the

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

. Four stone seats or "thrones" are placed in a row on the lower platform. According to Cenev, a stone block with a marking on the upper platform marks the direction of sunrise on summer solstice when viewed from one of the seats. Kokino was briefly mentioned in a poster made by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

's "Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum" in 2005, although in a recent survey of ancient "observatories", the Kokino site was described as "a particularly problematic case". The Cultural Heritage Protection Office of Macedonia's Ministry of Culture declared the site a "property under temporary protection" on 13 November 2008 (Decision nr. 08-1935/6). In 2009, Minister of Culture Elizabeta Kancheska-Milevska declared Kokino "one of the priorities of the Ministry of Culture’s 2009 programme". In 2009, the Republic of Macedonia also suggested the site be inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage Site list. After its formal nomination in 2011 for inclusion on the World Heritage List, the Kokino site's nomination dossier was rejected because the number of possible observing points and markers could indicate an astronomical alignment by chance.

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

* Cenev, Gjore (2002), Мегалитска обзерваторија на Кокино, Муѕејски Гласник, Народен Музеј на Куманово, vol. 7-9, 2002, 49 – 68. * Cenev, Gjore (2004), The Sky Over Macedonia, MKC, p 38-40, 85-114, Skopje. * Cenev, Gjore (2007), Archeo-Astronomical Characteristics of the Kokino Archaeological sites, Astrophysical Investigations, Institute of Astronomy at Bulgarian academy of science, no 9, Sofija. * Cenev, Gjore
Megalithic observatory Kokino
Publications of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade, Vol. 80, p. 313-317 * Stankovski Jovica (2002), Татиќев Камен – мегалитска опсерваторија и светилиште, Музејски гласник бр.7 - 9, Народен музеј - Куманово, 29-39. * Stankovski, Jovica (2003) Три мегалитни споменици во кумановскиот регион, Пирајхме 2, Народен Музеј Куманово. * Stankovski, Jovica (2007), Кокино - светилиште и стара опсерваторија, Зборник посветен на К. Јорданов, Институт по тракологија, Sofija. * Volcevska, Biljana
Kokino, Megalithic Ancient Observatory
World Heritage Studies, Cottbus 2011.

References

Bibliography

External links