Dragoslav Srejović

Dragoslav Srejović (Kragujevac, 8 October 1931 – Belgrade, 29 November 1996) was a prominent Serbian archaeologist, art historian and cultural anthropologist. He completed his studies in archaeology in 1954 at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, where he received his doctorate in 1964 with a thesis on Neolithic and Eneolithic anthropomorphic sculpture in Yugoslavia. From 1958 he taught prehistoric archaeology at the same faculty, and in 1970 he became a full professor. He was a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) since 1974, and from 1994 he served as vice-president of the SANU.

Srejović conducted archaeological research at 67 sites in Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro, including Lepenski Vir, Vlasac, Gamzigrad (Feliks Romuliana), Šarkamen and Divoštin. His most famous discovery is the Lepenski Vir site, which he presented as a unique Mesolithic culture with monumental sculpture.

He published more than 200 scientific papers, over 20 monographs and dozens of catalogs. Among the most significant works are: Lepenski vir (1969), Europe's First Monumental Sculpture (1972), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology (1979, with A. Cermanović-Kuzmanović) and Lexicon of Religions and Myths of Ancient Europe (1992).

He received numerous awards for his work, including the October Award of the City of Belgrade (1977) and the Seventh of July Award of the SR of Serbia. With his research and publications, he significantly contributed to the understanding of the prehistoric cultures of the Balkans and left an indelible mark on archaeological science.