Archaeological Guide of Kosovo

160 161
Cerce
At the village of Cerca, at the verges of the Mokna Mountains,
around 2 km west from the town of Istog, during the field work carried
out at the location of “Arat e njoma”, accidentally a unique artefact
was discovered known as Laterculus, an inscribed tile, respectively, a
clay-tablet. The inscription carved in the Cerca laterculus, illustrates the
fact that somewhere in the vicinity of the discovered place, a roman
bath (thermae) was build and most probably, accordingly, based on the
inscription text, the bath was named Labanon. The identified archaeological
site at this location is a field mainly used for the agricultural purposes,
stretched in approximately of 4-5 hectares, situated around 1 km
from the Istog “Trofta” fish restaurant.
At this area, there is also a site known by the toponomy ‘Kisha
e vjetër’ (the old church), set in an area of around 200 square meters,
whereas, at the central part of this site, is a mound shaped underneath
structure, clearly indicative for traces of an unearthed monument. The
rich archaeological material found here on the surface like; tiles, foundation
stones used for wall construction, fragments of pottery, etc., all
dated in Late Antique period. According to the locals, at the edge of the
Mountains, there is also another old Illyrian church, most probably of
the early Christian period.
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Fig. 160.View of the archaeological site. (KAI)
Fig. 161. The inscribed Cerca laterculus tile tablet. (KAI)
Fig. 162. The map location of the Cërca archaeological site,
Istog Municipality.
Drini i Bardhë
66 Archaeological Guide of Kosovo