Object description

Situated in the north-east of North Macedonia Cocev Kamen is a hilltop cave site of volcanic origin near the town of Kratovo. Objects discovered near the cave suggest human presence since the Paleolithic. Authors agree that the site served as a gathering point for sacrificial rituals from the Neolithic, during the Bronze Age, throughout antiquity until the Middle Ages as clarified by an abundance of pottery shards, stone tools and bone fragments unearthed from the surrounding areas. Several caves and rock shelters are decorated with red figurative art work. Comparison with similar sites in Bulgaria and Italy suggests that the paintings are indeed prehistoric.