Featured: How and why the ancients enchanted Great Britain and Brittany

How and why the ancients enchanted Great Britain and Brittany

Random Image

Visiting the Past: Finding and Understanding Britain's Archaeology

Visiting the Past: Finding and Understanding Britain's Archaeology

Who's Online

There are currently, 106 guests and 1 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

<< Feature Articles >> The Sacred Stone of Tekia - Standing Stone (Menhir) in North Macedonia

Submitted by GjoreCenev on Wednesday, 07 August 2013  Page Views: 9534

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: The Sacred Stone of Tekia
Country: North Macedonia Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Skopje  Nearest Village: Tekija
Latitude: 42.004500N  Longitude: 21.659500E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
5 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

Internal Links:
External Links:

The Sacred Stone of Tekia
The Sacred Stone of Tekia submitted by GjoreCenev : Figure 6: the ritual consists of going three times round the stone, embracing and kissing it Photo credit: Ljucho Ilievski Site in Macedonia (Fyrom) (Vote or comment on this photo)
The Sacred Stone of Tekia - testimony of Sir Arthur Evans from 1883 and today’s version of the cult. In his paper “Mycenaean Tree and Pillar Cult and Its Mediterranean Relations” published in 1901, Sir Arthur Evans wrote: “In the course of some archaeological investigations in upper Macedonia I heard of a sacred stone at a Turkish village called Tekekiöi, between Skopia and Istib, "

"It was an object of veneration not only to the native Muslims, but to many Christians from the surrounding regions, who made it an object of pilgrimage on St. George’s day. I visited the spot and found that the stone was contained in a two-roomed shrine under the charge of a Dervish”. Evans also made a drawing of the room (Figure 1).

In recent years, a group of researchers, members of Macedonian Research Society (MRS) led by Gjore Cenev managed to locate the village and to find the Secret Stone. Today the village is called Tekia (in Macedonian Tekija) and is located a few kilometres Northwest of Skopje, the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia. By the mid-twentieth century, the Turks inhabited the village, but then they completely migrated to the Republic Turkey. Today, Macedonian Christians who come from distant villages of Northeast Macedonia inhabit the village.

The research team found that the two-roomed shrine has been taken down and the sacred stone is located in an open space (Figure 2). The area is fenced, and the head is located near the fence (Figure 3). Near the Sacred Stone, there is a tree that is believed to be sacred too (Figure 4). The whole area around the stone and the tree is considered as a sacred space and the local inhabitants refer to it with great respect.

Despite major changes in the area, we noticed that the Sacred Stone and Sacred Tree cult are regularly performed even today, especially on St. George’s day. For a proper performance of the cult, an elderly woman called Head of the Stone takes care. Administering the Sacred Stone has been passed through the female line from ancient times. This is how the cult performance has been preserved, even at a time when the Turkish inhabitants start their migration. At that period a Muslim woman that was Head of the Stone, transferred the administration of the Sacred Stone cult to Christian woman (Figure 5). The new population that came accepted the cult and continued to respect the stone, which today they address by the name of St. George. In its basic form, the ritual consists of going three times round the stone, embracing and kissing it (Figure 6 - see top picture). According to people’s belief, the Sacred Stone helps in the realization of wishes and with the treatment of many diseases, but it mostly helps women who were unable to conceive (Figure 7). It is interesting that even today many Turks familiar with the Sacred Stone, come from the Republic of Turkey and pray at the stone.
Our research team has documented the ritual by making photographs and shooting a documentary film.

Photo credits Ljucho Ilievski. Apologies for the ordering of the images which is a side-effect the Portal's publishing system
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


The Sacred Stone of Tekia
The Sacred Stone of Tekia submitted by GjoreCenev : Figure 1: Sir Arthur Evans' drawing of the stone from 1883 Site in Macedonia (Fyrom) (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Sacred Stone of Tekia
The Sacred Stone of Tekia submitted by GjoreCenev : Figure 2: the original two-roomed shrine has been taken down and the sacred stone is located in an open space. Photo credit: Ljucho Ilievski Site in Macedonia (Fyrom) (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Sacred Stone of Tekia
The Sacred Stone of Tekia submitted by GjoreCenev : Figure 7: It is mainly believed that the stone helps women who were unable to conceive. Photo credit: Ljucho Ilievski Site in Macedonia (Fyrom) (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Sacred Stone of Tekia
The Sacred Stone of Tekia submitted by GjoreCenev : Figure 5: the head of the Stone, now a Christian Photo credit: Ljucho Ilievski Site in Macedonia (Fyrom) (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Sacred Stone of Tekia
The Sacred Stone of Tekia submitted by GjoreCenev : Figure 4: Nearby there is a tree that is believed to be sacred too Photo credit: Ljucho Ilievski Site in Macedonia (Fyrom)

The Sacred Stone of Tekia
The Sacred Stone of Tekia submitted by GjoreCenev : Figure 3: The area around the stone is now fenced. Photo credit: Ljucho Ilievski Site in Macedonia (Fyrom)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive map of the area

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 27.3km SE 130° Bylazora Ancient Village or Settlement
 32.5km NNE 29° Kokino* Rock Outcrop
 37.8km NE 40° Cocev Kamen* Cave or Rock Shelter
 56.6km SSE 152° Stobi* Ancient Village or Settlement
 66.6km NNE 21° Maniste Necropolis* Barrow Cemetery
 76.0km S 184° The Great Goddess with three faces* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 88.9km S 184° Pavla chuka Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 97.1km E 87° Piyanets Museum Museum
 102.6km SE 128° Tsarevi Kuli Ancient Village or Settlement
 105.6km N 357° Caričin Grad* Ancient Village or Settlement
 113.5km SSW 194° Heraclea* Ancient Village or Settlement
 122.4km SW 216° Ohrid Ancient Village or Settlement
 122.7km SW 216° Saint Pantelejmon Church - Plaosnik Monastery Ohrid* Ancient Temple
 129.6km NE 48° Sacred Nuraghe Well (Garlo)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring
 133.3km SSW 213° Ohrid Bay of Bones Museum* Ancient Village or Settlement
 136.3km N 350° Pločnik* Ancient Village or Settlement
 137.8km ENE 57° Krivi Kamik* Hillfort
 138.4km SSE 166° Edessa* Ancient Village or Settlement
 147.4km N 7° Narodni muzej Niš* Museum
 151.3km SSE 153° Giannitsa Archontikon* Ancient Village or Settlement
 152.2km NNE 13° Balanica Cave Cave or Rock Shelter
 155.3km SSE 165° Lyson and Kallicleus Macedonian Tomb* Chambered Tomb
 155.3km SSE 165° Fleurons Macedonian Tomb* Chambered Tomb
 155.3km SSE 165° Krisis Macedonian Tomb* Chambered Tomb
 155.4km SSE 165° Kinch's Macedonian Tomb* Chambered Tomb
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< How to sign up for the Megalithic Portal News Digest

Rock Art in the South Pennines >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Caithness Archaeology: Aspects of Prehistory

Caithness Archaeology: Aspects of Prehistory

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"The Sacred Stone of Tekia" | Login/Create an Account | 0 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>

We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.