Prahistory

The wider surroundings of present-day Veles have been populated since prehistory. Evidence for human presence has been found in the cave Makarovec in the locality of Pešti, where the unique thoroughgoing explorations of the early Stone Age in Macedonia have been made, and a fossil fauna as well as stone artefacts have been found, most probably from the late Stone Age. In ancient times, the present-day territory of Veles has been part of the Macedonian area Amphacsitida, which has stretched along the coasts of the River Axios (Vardar), and the area has been populated with Macedonian tribes from the Pajonic-Pelagonian Group. Traces have been found in the site of Tekje, 2 km away from Bašino Selo, as well as in the locality of Tumba in the village Karaslari; there are ancient necropolises in the villages Ivankovci and Dolno Orizari. A few testimonies exist about the ancient city of Argos, near Veles. The location of Veles would have a greater significance on the change-over from classical period to the Middle Ages.