Bargala Archaeological Site — Local services in Municipality of Karbinci

The Late Antique city of Bargala is situated 10 km southeast of the city of Štip, at the foot of Mt. Plačkovica. It it easily approachable and there are signs along the road when you drive.

At present, several public buildings have been discovered, as well as shops and workshops that served the citizens in the period between the 5th and the beginning of the 7th centuries. The most impressive structure is the three-nave episcopal basilica which was accessed by a steep and high stairway; the three entrances (tribelon) led to the lavishly decorated interior of this temple. The skill of the local stonemasons and mosaic artisans is evident, especially in the manufacture of the architectural elements, church mobiliary and floor mosaics panels.

The artistic style is characteristic of the Early Byzantine and Christian art of the 5th and 6th centuries in Macedonia. On one of the capitals, Hermias, Bishop of Bargala, carved a prayer for salvation; he was probably also the donor of the church. A baptisterium with apiscina in which Christians were baptized has been discovered next to the north wall of this building. A single-nave chapel was added next to the south wall of the basilica. The episcopal residence stood on the northwest side; it had a small thermal bath, next to which a larger one was built for a larger number of visitors. A series of chambers were built near the northwest and southeast ramparts, which are believed to have been used as workshops and shops, as well as dwelling places.

The citizens carried out their funeral and spiritual rites outside the city walls (extra muros); therefore, 85 m north of the main gate, a basilica was used in the periodbetween the 4th and 6th centuries. The vaulted tomb discovered east of this sacral building was also part of the citizens’ spiritual life. The section of the city that has been excavated (less than 1/10 of the actual size) yielded several hidden hoards of coins, luxurious objects and complete artisan tool kits. In the darkest historical period that lasted from the 7th to the end of the 9th centuries, small groups of people settled among the ruins of the city and the city ramparts. They led a rural life and their material culture is much less significant than that of their predecessors, the Rhomeioi.

In the 10th century, a rural settlement known as Kozjak was formed on the site near the Antique city of Bargala and the river Kozjačka; it survived until the 19th century. A small church dedicated to St. George, whose architectural and artistic achievements hold a significant place in Byzantine art was also built...

Bargala is a archaeological site located south-east of Stip, by the Bregalnica river. Last archaeological researches, discovers that the period of late antique and the early Christian period was fill out with plenty monuments. The late Roman period was in a good mood in the place of Bargala and the region of the river Kozjak. In the 4th and 5th century AD, Bargala became important and well known strong cultural and religious center. Barala was spread on 5 hectares of land. It was protected by a walls with height of 2,2 meters. The Christian complex is contained by a 4 basilicas, 3 big and 1 small. Also there was a residence for the episcope. The city was in the part of the province middle Dachiya. In the literature is first mentioned in the year of 451 AD, in the list of the meeting of Halkedon, where the episcope Dardanius from Bargala is written right near the episcope Nikola from Stobi. The both of them were mentioned in the group of episcopes of Macedonia. Not far from Bargala were discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Astibo, near Stip. In Macedonia 130 basilicas were discovered mostly in the archeological sites, in villages and in...

Difficult to reach! Bargala was a fortified town constructed between the 4th and 6th century A.D., a period spanning between Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium. Archaeological excavations have uncovered a basilica, trade quarters, a water tank, a bath, and a fortification system with an impressive main gate and infrastructure. Near the city walls of Bargala, to the west, an old Christian building dating from the end of the 4th century was discovered in 1984. It is an extra muros three-nave basilica, with a protruding apse, a narthex and an exonarthex, and a floor covered with stone plaques, which were...