The exhibition “100 years of Trebeništa” was opened on 14 March 2019 at the National Institute of the Archaeological Museum of North Macedonia in Skopje. It was co-organized by the National Archaeological Institute with Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Archaeology Museum of North Macedonia and the National Museum in Belgrade.
The exhibition is extremely important since, for the first time, almost all the findings from this historically important necropolis are presented in one place. Curators are Pero Ardjanliev from the National Institute of Archaeological Museum of North Macedonia, Vera Krstić from the National Museum in Belgrade and Krastyu Chukalev from the National Archaeological Institute with Museum – BAS.
The first graves of the necropolis were discovered accidentally 100 years ago, on 20 May 1918, by the Bulgarian Army during repair works on the road between Ohrid and Kichevo village. Despite the military actions, one of the pioneers of Bulgarian archaeology, Karel Škorpil, accompanied by Bogdan Filov, was sent from Bulgaria to explore the finds on the spot and to carry out rescue archeological researches, in which they revealed more graves. Warriors with their equipment, insignia of gold, silver and bronze vessels, silver jewelry and others were buried In the necropolis. The objects date back the necropolis from the end of VI to IV c. B.C.
The finds from the first seven graves in the necropolis are, nowadays, part of the permanent exhibition of the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia. Apart from them, the exhibition also includes objects from subsequent studies which are kept in the National Museum in Belgrade and the Museum in Ohrid. The Serbian Museum shows some of the findings of archaeological excavations, carried out in the 1930s, of 6 graves from the necropolis discovered during the excavations of Prof. N. Vulić, and the Macedonian side shows findings from archaeological studies of other parts of the necropolis in Trebeništa conducted in the years 1953-1954, as well as in 1972. There are also burial finds from the necropolis at Gorna Porta of Ohrid presented in the exhibition.
The exhibition was opened by the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev. The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria Boil Banov, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of North Macedonia Asaf Ademi, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia Asja Drača Muntean, the President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Academician Julian Revalski, the Vice-President of BAS corresponding member Vasil Nikolov, the President of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts Academician Taki Fiti, the three directors of the museums – organizers of the exhibition: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hristo Popov, Director of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum of BAS, Bojana Borić Brešković, Director of the National Museum in Belgrade and Goran Sanev, Director of the NI of Archaeology Museum of North Macedonia, diplomats, representatives of foreign cultural institutes in Skopje and the archaeological college.
