Rudna Glava

One of the earliest copper mines in Europe, dating to the 5th millennium BC in eastern Serbia. Excavations by Borislav Jovanovic (1968-1986) uncovered over 40 mine shafts following veins of copper ore, some extending 15-20 metres into the hillside. Miners used fire-setting and thermal shock techniques to fracture rock. Vincha culture pottery from the Gradac phase confirms the chronology. Added to Serbia's Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance in 1983. The site demonstrates remarkably organized prehistoric metallurgical knowledge predating formal science by millennia.