ČUKA (GRADIŠTE)

According to the writings of Procopius of Caesarea, the chief chronicler of Emperor Justinian’s public works projects, during the reign of this Byzantine emperor, as many as 32 new and eight restored fortifications were constructed near Naissus, along with 30 additional fortifications in the vicinity of Remesiana, now modern-day Bela Palanka. Built between 530 and 552 AD, these fortifications protected the population from barbarian raids and plundering. Among them was the castellum near the village of Gradište, whose purpose was to oversee and safeguard the entrance to the Sićevo Gorge.

The village of Gradište is situated on the edge of the Svrljig Mountains, on the right bank of the Nišava River, just above where the river enters the narrow Sićevo Gorge. It lies at the bottom of a former Pliocene-era lake, where the Nišava began cutting its canyon into the ancient lakebed. During antiquity and into the Middle Ages, a side road ran through this area, passing along the rim of the Sićevo Gorge and connecting the Niš Basin with the Bela Palanka Basin. This road was protected by a series of minor fortifications strategically positioned along its route. One of these forts was the castellum on the 551-meter-high hill called Čuka, the ruins of which lend the name to the entire village of Gradište afterward.

In 1981, a reconnaissance survey by the Archaeological Institute confirmed the presence of a small fortification on the Čuka hill, located in the southwestern periphery of Gradište. The sides of the prominence rise only about ten meters above the village, while its southwestern cliff, overlooking the entrance to the gorge, reaches approximately 150 meters in height. The fortification can be identified by the terrain’s contours, though it is in a poor state of preservation. It was most likely elliptical in shape, measuring 20 by 30 meters, and encompassed the hilltop.

Illegal treasure hunters have caused significant damage to the site, leaving it heavily disturbed. In the smaller excavation pits left behind by the diggers, it is evident that the fortification was constructed with crushed stone bound with lime mortar and antique-format bricks, as suggested by the small brick fragments found. The site has not been subjected to detailed archaeological investigation, and apart from coins from the reign of Emperor Justinian and some early mediaeval weaponry, there are few other notable discoveries. Of particular interest is a ritual stone from the site, now used as a candlestick in the recently restored village church.

The Čuka peak has been designated a viewpoint by mountaineers from Niš, offering stunning vistas of the Gradište Canyon, Oblik Peak, the Svrljig Mountains ridge with the 1,267-meter-high Pleš, as well as the village of Gradište. Recently, a wooden observation platform and a sheltered area with benches were added, enhancing the tourist infrastructure of the “Sićevo Gorge” Nature Park.

List of References

• Kostić, Mihajlo. Bela Palanka Basin: Socio-Geographical Studies. Vol. 23. Belgrade: Jovan Cvijić Geographical Institute, 1970.
• Ćirić, Jovan. Gradište: A Chronicle of the Village. Niš: Center for Scientific Research of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the University of Niš, 2006.
• Pejić, Predrag. Ancient Topography of the Pirot Region. PhD diss., Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, 2015.