In the central urban core of Strumica, during the 1990s in the first decade of XXI century a number of remains of foundation of public buildings and housing facilities were explored at the site called 'Machuk'. The site 'Machuk' is located in close vicinity to Orta Mosque, where, during the decades-long research settlements and sacral horizons were discovered starting from the Hellenic period until the late middle ages. Judging by the placement of the walls, some wall remains come from XIX century buildings. In the lower parts there are probably remains that were destroyed during the late middle ages. The research also included lower layers which, according to the researcher, are remains that existed in the late antique period. There are remains of floors made with ceramic plates that were found, and in one case we also noticed the remains of a floor mosaic. According to some findings most of the construction bricks have Christian motifs, but the possibility that some of the buildings have a certain connection with the medieval church found in the medieval layers of Orta Mosque is also not excluded. According to the researchers, the location, the size, the architectural conception of the premises and the remains of the interior (mosaics and fresco paintings) this is an urban palace from the late antique and early Byzantine period. Because of the intense building activities the cultural layers are strongly mixed. Part of the findings point to rich stratigraphy that was present from the late middle ages to the Hellenic period.

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Archaeological Site Machuck - Public Info

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Inserted: 20-05-2023 06:05:16