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7/24/2019 Proto-neolithic settlement in Djerdap
1/11
LEPENSKI VIR: PROTONEOLITHIC AND EARLY NEOLITHIC SETTLEMENTSAuthor(s): DRAGOSLAV SREJOVISource: Archaeology, Vol. 22, No. 1 (JANUARY 1969), pp. 26-35Published by: Archaeological Institute of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41667932.Accessed: 25/01/2015 08:03
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2/11
LEPENSKI VIR
PROTONEOLITHIC AND
EARLY
NEOLITHIC
SETTLEMENTS
By DRAGOSLAV
SREJOVIC
In the central
part of
the Iron
Gate
Gorge
at
Lepenski
Vir
( The Whirlpool
of
Lepenci'),
a
new
prehistoric
ulture
was discovered
n
1967
which
forms
link betweenthe
classical Meso
lithic
and
Early
Neolithic
cultural
groups of
the
Danubian
region
and
sheds new
light
on the
emergence f
Neolithiccivilization
n
the
greater
part
of
Southeast
nd
Central
urope
Lepenski
Vir
is
situatedon the
right
bank
of
the
Danube,
fourteen
nd a
half
kilometers
p
the river
from
Donji
Milanovac,
approximatelyat the end
of
the so-called
Upper Gorge
of
the
Iron Gate
(as
the
gorge
is called
on the
border
between
Roumania
and
Jugoslavia).
The site
of
the
prehistoric
ettlements
clearly
ndicated
n
the
surrounding andscape:
it
is
surrounded
by
great
imestone
ocks
on the south nd
north,
nd
by
teep
cliffs
f
the
Korso Hill on the
west,
while
on
the
east,
on the
eft
bank
of
the
Danube,
rises
the
denuded
peak
Treskavac,
which ooks like a
giant
marker
for
the
settlement.
t was
in this
picturesque
andscape
that a
concealed
U-shaped
recess,
ying
n theshadows
of
a
primeval
wood
was chosenas the siteof thesettlement. he re-
cess
is accessible
only by
a
narrow
path
from
he
south
ide
where,
t a distance
of
a kilometer
nd
a
half,
there s a
canyon
that
opens
up
a
short
passageway
o the
mountainous
interland Thus
the site looks like an
isolated oasis
lost
among
the
rocks,
woods
and
the
river The
first
ettlers
couldhave
gained
easy
accessto
it
by
water
only
At Lepenski
Vir,
the
ultural
ayer,
he
hickness
f
which aries
rom
.5
to
2.15
meters,
s
divided
nto
three
istinct
trata.
he
earliest
I)
lies
directly
n
thehard imestone
edrock,
t a
depth
f
3.5
to
1.95
meters.Within
t,
t
s
possible
o
distinguish
t
least
five
uilding
orizons
Lepenski
Vir
I
a
to
e).
The
uppermost
orizon
f
Stratum is covered
ith
oess-
like brown
sand
whichforms he second cultural
stratum
II)
of
varying
epth 0.30
to
0.60
meter)
with
one
habitation orizon
Lepenski
Vir
II).
The
third,
he
atest ultural
tratum,
ying
t
a
depth
f
between
.45
and
0.30
meters,
onsists f two
habi-
tationhorizons
Lepenski
Vir III a and III
b).
Horizon
II
a,
the
depth
f
which
verages
ne
meter,
is
of
blackish
olor
nd consistsf soft
arth,
while
Horizon
II
b,
varying
n
depth
from
.50
to
0.30
meter,
ontains
considerable
uantity
f
stones
nd
is
composed
hiefly
f
hard
clay-like
arth.
tratum
III is
covered
with
layer
f
humus
0.30
to
0.10
meter)
cut at a
number
f
places
by
burials
from
later
rehistoric
ndhistoric
pochs.
In
color
nd
general
omposition,
trata and
II
clearly
iffer rom
tratum
II. This
sharp
break
n
the
Lepenski
ircultural
eposit
ecomes
ven
more
distinctive
pon
analysis
f the
finds rom he vari-
ousstrata.
The first
nhabitantsf
Lepenski
Vir
settled
nly
the
U-shaped
ecess,
aking
p
an
area
about
eventy
meters
ong
and
about
forty
meters
wide.
The
con-
centration
f
life
in
this
relatively
estrictedrea
eventually
ed to the
mergence
f
a
settlement
hich
as it
conformed
o the
natural
utline fthe ite
ook
on
the form
f a
giant
horseshoe,
r
more
precisely,
of a
trapezoid
ith
slightly
ent
ase.
26
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Lepenski
ir
a
-e: the
ive
uilding
horizons hat
appear
are house
30
(I
a),
house
30
a
(I
b),
house
29
(I
c),
house
2
(I d),
house
1
(I e).
Lepenski
ir
view rom
the
outh f
the
north-
western
art
of
Settle-
ment, the arliestul-turalstratum. f the
fifty-eight
ouses
ound,
all
are nthe
orm f a
trapezoid
n
thecenter
of
whichs a
hearth.
he
numbersn
the
photo-
graph
re
the
numbers
assigned
y
the xcava-
tors o the
houses.
27
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Lepenski
ir:
view rom
hewest
f
he outheast
art
f
Settlement
,
showing
ouses
umber
5,50,
7,
and
1.
Lepenski
ir
house
umber
4 with
he
ectangular
earth
ur-
rounded
y
series
f
small
ed tone
labs
et
vertically
n the
earth,
n
the
ormf sosceles
riangles
ith
rojecting
ides.
LEPENSKI VIR
continued
Within
tratum a
total
of
fifty-eight
ouses
has
been
discovered,
nderwhichthere
were
traces
f
forty-six
ther
uildings.
hesehouses
104
in
all),
however,
o not
belong
o
the
earliest
ettlement
ut
can be assigned o five uccessive uildingphases.
All
of
the
buildings
iscoveredn Stratum
,
re-
gardless
f
differences
n
size
(their
loor
reas
range
from
ive
nd
a half
o
thirty
quare
meters)
ave
not
only
the same
plans
and
proportions,
ut also the
same
rrangement
f
building
lements.
he
materials
used
were
wood
and
grey, ellow
nd
pale
red stone
(limestone, andstone,
nd
porphyry)
hich
colors
the
urrounding
andscape.
he foundationsf all
of
the
houses
re
n the
form
f a
trapezoid
he
base
of
which
bends
slightly
utward.
n
the center
f the
houses,
owards he
onger
ide,
are hearths
n
the
form f
sunken
ectangular
asins
ined
with
arge
limestone
locks
et
on
edge.
The
floors re
made
of a kindof hard imeplaster nd regularlyave
a
thin
polished
urface
oating
f
pale
red
or
white.
Stone
culpture
nd sacrificialessels re
set
nto
he
floor
ear he
hearths,
sually
t the
pex
of a
border
or frieze
made
up
of thin
edslabs.
The
housesdid
not have vertical
walls.
Instead,
he
superstructure
was
in
the form f
a
saddle-roof
iththe
rooftree
slanting
rom he
base
down
owards
he horter
aral-
lel side
of
the
trapezoidal
ouse
foundations.
he
entrance as
regularly
n
the
middleof
the
longer
side,
but
wo tone
hresholds
et at
an
angle
directed
movement
xclusively
oward he ateral
arts
f
the
house.
The
largesculptured
oulders iscovered
n
the
floors f thehouses
re,
together
iththe architec-
tural
emains,
he most haracteristiceatures
f
the
culture
epresented
n
Stratum.
All
of
these
oulders
were
found
n situ
nd
generally
ere
firmly
et nto
the
floor
near
the hearths
n
such a
way
that heir
finished
ide
faced
the
entrance,
.e.
the
east.
Only
boulders
f
hard,
coarse-grainedellow
or
greyish
sandstone
ere
selected or
culpture.
egardless
f
the
motives,
he
modeling
lways
remained
losed
within
he
frameworkf
those
arge
boulders;
he
artist ltered
he
natural
orm
nly
nsofar s
it
did
not
interfereith ts
basic
structure.
he
modeling
was done
by
pecking, resumably
y
means
of
flint
tools nda mallet.
Stratum I
yielded
a
total
f
twenty-three
orks f
sculpture
nd
eighteen
acrificial
tonevessels
with
relief
decoration.
ccording
o their
motives,
he
sculpture
an
be
classified
nto two
groups:
figures
modeled
n
a naturalistic
tyle
nd
works
n which
apparently
nly
abstract
rabesques
re
represented.
Human
and
animal
heads
the
only
figures
sed
as
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Lepenski
ir:
Settlement
,
view of
the
central
house
number
4)
with wo
culptured
oulders
and
n
ellipsoid
tone acrificialessel n
frontf
the earth.
Close-up
f the
hearth
f
house
umber4
with
the
rectangular
earth
urrounded
y
the eries
of
labs
ormingriangles.
Lepenski
ir : in
front
of
the
hearth f
house
number
1 was
found
his
burialwith he
skeleton
extended.
human kull
was
placed
on
the
left
shouldernd an
ox head
on
the
right
houlder
f
the eceased.
29
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Lepenski
ir : stone
ace
number)
photographed
n situ
in
front
f
the
hearth
f
house
number
1.
It
is of
yellow
sandstone
nd 2 cm.
igh.
Stone
acewith
udimentary
ody sculpture
um-
ber
)
found
n
house umber
8
at
Lepenski
ir .
It s of
yellow
andstonend
1
cm.
igh.
Sandstoneltar
rom ouse
umber
5 at
Lepenski
ir
;
28x 16 m.
Lepenski
ir
:
sandstone
culpture
number
2)
found
n
house umber
3.
t
appears
o
represent
an
animal
ead,
4 x
19
cm.
30
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Lepenski
ir
II:
sandstone
culpture
umber 4
showing
he
ornamental
atterns
haracteristicf
the
culpture
oundn
Stratum
I;
height,
4
cm.
LEPENSKI
VIR
continued
subjects
are
usually
ife-sizednd
always
ave
learly
indicated
acial
features.
here
are
no
chronological
differencesetween
he
figures
nd the ornamental
sculpture;
nd
there re even
works
epresenting
u-
man or animalfiguresnd sixteenwithabstract e-
signs.
t seems
hat he
group
f
ornamental
culpture
also
employs
igure-motives
hich
re,
however,
nte-
grated
nto
more
complex ompositions
hich the
artist,
ecause f therestrictions
mposed
n him
by
the natural orm
f the
boulder,
chematized
o the
extreme
nd dissolvednto
bstract
orms
nly
n
the
actual
process
f
transposing
is vision nto
stone.
Sculpture
rom
his
group
is
mainly
overed
with
curvilinear
otives:
endrils,
ircles,
arts
f
spirals
and,
only
xceptionally,
ections f
meanders
n
com-
binations
hich
int t
wastikas.
An
exceptionallace
mong
he
works f art f this
period
belongs
to
a
fairly
arge fragmented
and-
stone lab (not illustratedere)whichhas engraved
on it a
hunting
cene.
Only
the
lower
part
of
this
large
omposition
as
been
preserved
in
it the
figures
of
two hunters
hrowing
pears
at an animal
are
clearly
isible
mong nigmaticigns
n
the
form f
trapezoids.
Apart
from
culpture
nd
sacrificial
essels,
nly
tools,
weapons
nd bone and
stone
ornaments ave
been found
on the
floors f the
houses.
The most
numerousreflint
oolswhich
ll
belong
o themicro-
lithic
ndustry
scrapers,
otched
lades,
triangular
and oval
burins,
lades
and
points).
In
contrasto
flint
mplements
the
size
of
which aries
rom
.70
to
2.5
centimeters),
tone
tools are
macrolithic.
n
thefloors f almost ll of thehouses,massive and-
stone
nd schist
lubs were
found
with
dimensions
ranging
from
0.20 to
.455 meter.
The
flat sur-
faces
of
these
heavy
lubs
are
frequently
ecorated
with
engraved
avy, igzag
or
angular
ines,
while
some of
these ools
viewed as
a
whole,
are in
the
form
f a snake
r
fish. ther
requent
inds nclude
marble
rnaments
nd
boulders
with a
deep
groove
along
he
middle.
There
are
also
tools made of
antler
nd tubular
bones.
n
addition o
very
primitive
ools
made
of
split
one
roughly
ut at
one
end,
there
re
normally
finished
wls
of
various
ize
and
shape,
as well
as
extremelyinely
orked
oolsand decorative
eedleswith arved rnaments.
The
settlement
of Stratum
II
does not
exceed
the
boundaries
f the
arlier
ettlement,
ut ts
build-
ings
re
considerably
ess
numerous
nd
more
widely
spaced. They
are
technically
implified,
uilt in
a
cruder
ay
nd
do not
have
hardfloors
nd
carefully
built
nternal
tructures.
ithin
his
horizon,
hirty-
Lepenski
ir
toolmade f
ntler;
length,
.8
cm.
31
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Sculptured
oulder
f andstonerom
he
econd
culturaltratum
II)
at
Lepenski
ir;height,
cm.
Sculptured
oulder
number7)
of
andstoneromouse
number
4 of
Lepenski
ir
I;
height,
1cm.
Lepenski
ir I: two
andstone
orks
oundn
house
umber4.
Number
1
Left),
1
cm.
igh;
umber
8
Right)
0
high,
35
wide 22cm.
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LEPENSKI
VIR
continued
five ouse
oundations
ave
been
learly istinguished,
but
he
bundance f stone locks nd slabs
found n
the
whole
explored
rea
ndicates
hat
t
least
thirty
houses
were
nhabited
t
the
ime f theformationf
StratumI. The buildingstill retain hetrapezoidal
form
nd
are not
nfrequently
f
impressive
imen-
sions.
Wood and stone are
still the
basic
building
materials
large, eavy
tone
locks
re still
used
the
position
nd
form f the hearths emain
he
same.
Yet one
feels
hat
n
spite
f
the
persevering
endency
towards he
monumental,
he earlier
fine
sense
of
proportion
nd
the care n
finishing
oth
thewhole
and
the
details
ave
been ost.
Sandstone
culpture
onstitutes,
n this
hase
oo,
he
most characteristiceature f the household
quip-
ment.
t
is
interesting
hat
n
this
period,
he
sculp-
turedworks
are
made
exclusively
f
boulders
he
dimensionsf which
ange
from
orty
o
sixty
enti-
meters.Although oththe position nd the basic
subjects
f the
sculpture
ontinue
o
be
the
same,
considerable
lterations
re visible
n
stylisticoncep-
tion
nd
technique.
he
surfaces
f the econd
lane
are
considerably
eeper,
o
that he
culpture
akes n
a
more
pronounced
lastic
quality.
The
technique
becomes
onsiderably
reer,
ut
on the
other
and,
he
earlier,
killfully
chieved
armony
etween
henat-
ural
outline
f
the
boulder nd
the
plastic
content
infused
nto
t
has
been
disturbed.
A
totalof fifteen orks f
sculpture
as
discov-
ered
n
Stratum
I.
Seven
of thesehave
figures
nd
the
remaining
ight
are
decorated
with
ornamental
patterns.
he
figuresgainrepresentnly
he
human
head,
butnow
they
have
pronounced
ish-likeea-
tures;
n
somecases
they
ttain
monumental
ropor-
tions.
Two
figures
rom
his
phase
combine
rna-
mentalmotiveswith human
features.
ore
striking
changes,
owever,
re
noticeable
n the
worksmodeled
in
the ornamental
tyle.
n
this
phase,
curvilinear
motives
ield
o rectilinear
rnaments,
ith
prev-
alenceof
chevrons,
igzags
or
broken
ngular
ines
and
plaits.
While
the ools
nd
weapons
f
stone
nd
bone
rethe ame
s
in the
precedinghase,
certain
decline
n
thenumber
f
stone
mplements
s notice-
able,
although
his tratum
ielded
n
exceptionally
finelyngraved
tone
lub
n
the
form
f a
fish.
The finds from the two latest habitation ori-
zons
a
and
b)
which
ormtratumII and overlie he
earlier ettlements
ntirely,
re
of
particularmpor-
tancefor the
understanding
nd
chronology
f the
culture
epresented
n
Strata
and I. The settlements
of
Stratum
II are
associated ith
he
full
flowering
of the
Early
Neolithic
eramic
ulture,
he
Starevo-
Krs-Cris ulture
lready
well-known rom
xcava-
tions n this
region.
n
their
buildings
nd
general
layout,
he
settlementsf Stratum
II differ
harply
from hose
n
Strata
and
II.
While the earlier
et-
tlements
xpanded
long
he
west-eastxis
and
always
remained ithinheU-shaped ecess, orizons II a
and
III b
spread
north
nd
south
eyond
he
bound-
aries of the
U-shaped
recess
nd cover
n
area of
approximately
500
square
meters. he
houses
as-
sociated
with
these
horizons
III
a
and
b),
though
only
partly reserved,
learly
how that
he
old
ar-
chitectural
attern
as
been
completely
bandoned
and
that he
sense
for a
planned
building
nd
com-
fortable
welling
has
been
lost.
The
basic
building
materials no
longer
tone,
ut earth.
ven
wood is
not
usedto
any ignificant
xtent.
he
changes
n
the
type
f
building
re so
pronounced
hat
very
adical
alterationsf
the
general
onditionsf
ife,
nd
pre-
sumably
f
the
climate s
well,
must
be
assumed.
Horizon II a is characterizedypitsofvarious ize,
some of whichwere
certainly
sed
as
underground
dwellings.
n
the later
ettlement
Horizon
III
b)
quadrangular
mud huts
were
built above
ground.
Inside
themon the floor f
stamped lay,
there s
frequently
n
oven
with
U-shaped
ase
of
rubble
nd
an
upper
structure
f
fired
arth.
Stone
sculpture,
microlithicools
and
heavy
stone
clubs
disappear
completely,
ut
the
pottery
hows
surprising
bun-
dance
f forms
nd
echniques
f
decoration.
The
pottery
orms
haracteristicf Stratum
II
include
deep hemispherical
owls,
pherical
essels
with a
curved
or
cylindrical
eck,
shallow conical
dishes
on a
ring
foot;
also a
unique
ceramic
orm:
large
vases with a wide
quadrangular
owl on a
perforated
uadrangular
oot.
The
predominantype
is monochrome
are
and
pottery
with
roughened
uneven xternal
urface
ecorated
ith
ncisions
nd
impressions
f
fingers
r
nails.
Vases with
white
(Horizon
III
a)
and
later
(Horizon
III
b),
dark
painted
rnaments
n a
red
background
epresent
nly
sporadic
inds.
Numerous
urnishedtone
xes,
bone
tools
nd
pendants
f
fired
lay
or of
bone
complete
the
otherwise
ery
ich
equipment
rom hese
atest
habitation
orizons.
The special
significance
of
Lepenski
Vir lies in
the
fact that
below the horizons
with
the
material
ofthe
previously
nown tracevo-Krs-Cris
ulture,
strata avebeen foundwith
monuments
f
a
prehis-
toric ulture
hich
has
been
up
to
now unknownn
the
Danubian
region
nd
in
the
broader
uro-Asian
territory.
he
archaeological
aterial rom
Horizons
III
a
and III b is
definitely
ssociated
ith
he
finds
characteristicf
the
earliest
hase
of the
Starevo
Culture,
which an
be
dated
afely
n
the first
alf
33
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10/11
Lepenski
ir: Settlement
,
view rom
he orthwest
owardhe
anube.
34
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11/11
Lepenskiir
toolmade f
bone;
length,
cm.
Sacrificialessel f
clay
ound
n
the
loor f
hut
from
ayer
II
b
(Lepenski
ir II
b);
height,
4
cm.
nd
width,
0 cm.
ofthe ifth illennium
.c.
This
means hat he ulture
represented
n
Strata
and
II
precedes
he
formation
of the
Starevo
roup
nd
that t must
e defined
n
terms f a
Protoneolithiculture hosecommunities
did not
yet
have
any knowledge
f
agriculture
nd
stock-breeding.y
means f
formal
nalogies,
oo,
he
finds rom
trata and I
can
be
associated
nly
with
theforms ound n Protoneolithicnd the earliest
Neolithic
ulture
f Asia
Minor,
r
with
ome
forms
of
Mesolithicultures
n
Europe.
he earliest
tratum
I
settlement,
ith ts
planned
house
forms,
tone
sculpture
nd
plastered
loors
ecalls
he
architecture
of Protoneolithic
nd
earliest
eolithic ites
f
Pales-
tine,
yria,
natolia,
ran
nd
raq,
uch
s
the
ettle-
ments n
Wadi
Felah,
Jericho,
ailar,
Ras
Shamra,
LEPENSKI VIR
continued
Tel
Ramad,
Kalat
Jarmo
nd
Tepes
Sarab.
In
the
same
period
there
ppear
sculptured
ebbles
n
the
Near
East,
e.g.
in
Eynan,
Ain
Shakri,
har
Hagolan
and
Gesher. hese
analogies
re
probably
f
interest
merelys cultural,otchronological,arallels. hey
cannot
e
made
use
of
in
an
attempt
o
explain
he
origin
f the
culture
iscovered
n
Strata
and
II at
Lepenski
ir,
or to
establishts
absolute
hronology.
At
this
tage
t s
possible nly
o state
he
following
that he
culture
iscovered
n
Strata and II
origi-
nated
n
the
hilly
andscape
f
the
ron
Gate
region
that
ts
enters
ere
robably
ocated
n
the
proximity
of the
great
Danubian
whirlpools
whichare
espe-
cially
onvenientor
primitive
ishing
nd
which,
o-
gether
with
the
wooded
hinterland
bounding
n
game
and
wild
fowl,
provided
wo
practically
nex-
haustible
ources f
food,
permitting
he
earliest et-
tlers o
live
n
one
ocation or
ong
periods
f
time
in spiteof their rimitiveconomy;hat t waspre-
ceded
by
the
great
ut
remote
raditionf
the
Upper
Palaeolithic
anubian
ultures
nd
that t
developed
at
the
critical
tage
when
human
ommunitiesn
this
part
of
Europe
were
bandoning
he
economy
ased
on
hunting
nd
gathering
nd
beginning
o
produce
food first
hrough
he
domesticationf
animals
nd
then
y
he
ultivation
f the
oil.
The
culturendart
of
Strata and II were
based
on a
hunting-fishing
economy
nd
developed
n
the
tmosphere
f
a
kind
of
autocratic
ocial
order.
The
culture
epresented
in
Horizons II
a
and III
b,
in
contrast,
as
evolved
by
farmers
nd
stock-breeders,
n
a
community
ith
a
democratic
organization.
These momentous
changesneconomyndsocial elations ere ufficient
in
themselveso
alter
basically
he
old
culture,
o
that t
s
not
necessary
o
presuppose
n
influx
f new
settlers
r
the
presence
f some
direct xternal
n-
fluences. he
progress
made
in
the
economic nd
social
spheres
esultedn
perceptible
tagnation
f
some
forms f
culture,
rimarily
n the
field
f art
and n
religious
oncepts.
ecause f all
this,
t
would
seem
hat
he culture
iscovered
n
Strata
and
II
at
Lepenski
Vir
bridges
he
gap
hitherto
xisting
e-
tween
the
Mesolithic
nd
Early
Neolithic ultural
groups
f
the
Danubian
egion.
Theauthor asborn nKragujevac,ugoslavian1931.
He was
educated t the
University
f
Belgrade
where
he
receivedisdoctorate.e
is
now
Present
ocent n
Prehistoric
rchaeology,
hilosophical
aculty
f
the
University
f
Belgrade.
ince
1955,
Dr.
Srejovi
as
been he
principal
nvestigator
t
excavationsf
a
num-
ber f
prehistoric
nd
Classical ites:
Doclea,
Municip-
ium
S
(Komini),
Domavia
(Sase),
Donja Brnjica,
Korbovo,
juljaci,
mong
thers.
is
most
ecent ork
is
at
Lepenski
ir.
35
Thi d l d d f 147 91 1 45 S 25 J 2015 08 03 55 AM
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