Pločnik - Archaeological Site

Plocnik is a Neolithic Vinca culture settlement covering 120 hectares along the Toplica River in southern Serbia, near Prokuplje. Occupied from approximately 5500 to 4700 BC when it was destroyed by fire, the site yielded groundbreaking metallurgical evidence including a copper axe dated to 5500 BC -- pushing back the start of the Copper Age by 500 years. A tin bronze foil dated to c. 4650 BC, the oldest known in the world, was also discovered here. Excavations since 1927 have uncovered around 50 copper artifacts, 60 pottery forms, a 25-square-metre metal workshop, figurines, clay toys, and a sophisticated smelting furnace with chimney ventilation.