Promotion of the plan for management of the
cultural landscape Kokino

Kokino is a site where archaeological research has confirmed the existence of organised living conditions spanning back in a time frame from the 20 th century BC to the 6 th century BC. Furthermore, archaeological and astronomical methods have defined the placement of different markers through a sound spatial organisation which enabled the old inhabitants to shape out elements of a megalithic observatory from where they could accurately observe the movement of the Sun and the Moon. It is precisely this observatory which was ranked as the 4 th in the world in the list of old observatories by the US space agency NASA. It is these elements that define Kokino as a cultural landscape in a very concrete manner. These specifics are the central driving force behind the NI Museum – Kumanovo efforts to prepare the Plan for Management of the Cultural Landscape Kokino, the first of its kind in Macedonia.

The Management Plan which is made in accordance with UNESCO's standards, was promoted by Mr. Zoran Pavlov MA, the President of the Macedonian National Committee of IKOMOS and the archaeologist Mr. Jovica Stankovski, Director of the National Museum in Kumanovo.

In his address, Jovica Stankovski said: “The good preservation of the site to this very day, imposes a great responsibility for us to maintain its protection in the interest of the generations to come. The Management Plan is one of the most important steps in view of the projecting of the future of this protected area of great cultural and historical significance. The plan outlines a clear vision for management and its complex protection, and the Museum Kumanovo is the first institution in Macedonia to prepare and endorsed such strategic document. It shows that all the stakeholders (the Museum, municipality of Staro Nagoricane , the country) are aware of the importance of the site, that they have a vision for its preservation, protection and promotion in order to introduce the wider public with its importance”.

Moreover, Jovica Stankovski indicated that even though Kokino is not completely scientifically identified and evaluated site, so far it has offered opportunities for scientific archaeological and astronomical view on the “darker” aspects of prehistory and it has changed the stereotypical views of cultural retardation of our bronze age culture in terms of its contemporary, great civilisation hot spots around the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The goal of the presented Management Plan is to protect the first cultural landscape in the country, to protect its values, and to find ways in which the economic and cultural contribution from the protected site can be used as an advantage for development and strengthening the sustainable social and economic development and interest of the local community.

Mr. Zoran Pavlov MA informing the present that the UN had proclaimed next year as the international year of astronomy, emphasized the following on the Management Plan: “Its elaboration is just a step forward in the approximation of Kokino towards UNESCO's requirements for nomination of sites related to astronomy or ancient observatories on the list of world heritage as a new special category of world cultural heritage“.

The promotion of the Management Plan took place in the Holiday Inn hotel in Skopje. Its sound concept included poetry reading about the sun written by Macedonian poets and recited by Biljana Stankovska and Svetlana Hristova Jocich surrounded by paintings by Sergej Andreevski; Bajsa Arifovska played on the traditional instruments fife and tambourine and a selection of foreign poetry was read out by the renowned actor Marin Babic.

The idea of forming a Kokino Foundation was also announced at the promotion, as well as plans to make a film on Kokino directed by Ivan Mitevski – Kopola, screenplay by Rusomir Bogdanovski and produced by the Museum of Kumanovo whose first take was filmed at the promotion of the Management Plan itself.