The site of Viničko Kale is situated southeast of the city of Vinica in Northern Macedonia. The research of the castrum started intensively in 1977 when two intact and five fragmented terracotta icons were discovered. In years to follow, a large proportion of the site was excavated producing finds dated from Late Bronze Age to the Medieval period. The site rose to international importance in 1985 when a large hoard of terracotta icons was discovered.
Thus far, some 20 scenes were reconstructed on 50 complete and 100 fragmented icons. It is assumed that they were produced on the site itself and were mounted on walls of sacral buildings. Depicted scenes come from the Old Testament and psalms; include Christological depictions and images of Christian saints as well as depictions of famous wars. Texts in Latin on their edges demonstrate, together with Roman iconography, that the region of Bregalnica was in the Early Byzantine period under dominating influence of the Church in Rome. These extraordinary finds proved that the religious mosaic of the Early Medieval period was much more complex and arborescent than assumed.
