The late Lepenski Vir (6300–6000 BC) architectural phase saw the development of unique trapezoidal buildings and monumental sculpture,[3] related with the admixing of Iron Gates Hunter-Gatherers with newly arrived Early European Farmers.

Apart from the Iron Gates gorge, the Đerdap UNESCO Global Geopark includes parts of the Miroč and Kučaj mountain massifs, with total area of 1,330 km2 (510 sq mi), and was the first such designation in Serbia.

Long habitation on the site was also enabled by the proximity of the great river, the natural richness of the hinterland, and the thermic benefits of the accumulated limestone cliffs (considering the ice age which had just ended).

Also, the swirling water actually deposited materials on the downstream side of the plaz, known today as Katarinine Livadice, making it stronger and more stable instead of allowing the fast and strong river current to erode it.

Construction of the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station, which would flood the bank regions with its artificial lake, was slated to begin, so archaeologists wanted to explore the area as much as possible before that happened.

[6] The excavations ended in 1971 when the whole site was relocated 29.7 m (97 ft) higher to avoid flooding from the newly formed Đerdap Lake, created by the construction of the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station.

Trescovăț, a bare porphyritic cliff (679 m (2,228 ft) high) rises on the left bank of the Danube opposite Lepenski Vir like a giant sentinel of the prehistoric settlement.

This suggests a complex semi-nomadic economy with managed exploitation of resources in the area not immediately surrounding the village, something remarkable in terms of the traditional view of Mesolithic people of Europe.

[18][19] Based on their research, Starović concluded that the blending of the populations occurred almost immediately, during the first immigrant generation, which was unique, as in other parts of Europe two such different communities would initially live in proximity to each other.

[18] In a two-way autosomal DNA admixture model two were Early European Farmers (with isotope analysis showing that they were migrants that did not grow at Lepenski Vir[21]), one of mixed Western Hunter-Gatherer-EEF and one of WHG-ancestry.

They were explored up until the 1980s, when the river valley was flooded after the construction of the Iron Gate I and Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Stations:[10] Based on an amount of anthropological changes in the skeletons, a microevolution was attested, as Srejović estimated that at least 120 generations lived in the settlement (2,000 years) while Hungarian anthropologist János Nemeskéri [hu] estimated that during the entire human habitation in Lepenski Vir, there were 240 to 280 generations, or almost 5,000 years of continual habitation.

Apart from the human instinct for best use of space and for a "pleasing to the eye" sense in architecture, it is quite possible that Lepenians possessed certain forms of knowledge in this area that we would not usually attribute to or expect from people of that era.

Mostly burned deer antlers were discovered, but it is believed that, in order to render the trapezoid shape of both the plateau and the houses they must have used sticks, tightening of ropes, vertical rods, etc., or natural features, such as shadows.

[5] Despite the millennia which separate then from now, the architectural plan of the settlement seems contemporary and fully recognizable to us today,[25] while architect Bogdan Bogdanović has said that "everything, absolutely everything, to the smallest detail" about the Lepenski Vir, has enormous importance.

The most representative sculptures were discovered in this house, such as the Praroditeljka ("Foremother"), Danubius, Praotac ("Forefather"), Rodonačelnik ("Progenitor"), and Vodena vila ("Water fairy").

The sculptures, fireplaces, altars, tables, arranged square stones, round depressions and intriguing triangles were all built ("concreted") into the hardened porphyritic floors.

[29] A pebble stone, placed in the geometrical center of the house and part of the floor installation representing the "head" of the perceived figure, is also variously explained.

[31] The existence of a large outer fireplace along with and an apparently not very practical internal one, prompted Pavlović to conclude that the small hole in the house floor actually served to hold and maintain the fire or ember, which developed over time into a ritual.

Marija Jovin and Siniša Temerinski, from the Institute for the protection of the monuments, created a model based on the pronounced inclination of the purlin, removal of the central pillar and a change in the direction of the roof carrier.

It was based on an older version of the simple tripod by Velizar Ivić and a more complex variant of Petar Đorđević, who worked on the excavation on the Padina location.

The team headed by physical anthropologist Sofija Stefanović [sr] who reconstructed the face of the 10,000-year-old human, with help from experts in osteology, DNA and forensics, using the metaverse technology, used in gaming.

[14][41] As the concept of an "architecturally modern" settlement and its culture seemed so disconnected from accepted knowledge on the subject at the time, fringe theories on the civilization of Lepenski Vir developed.

[42] As the axial tilt has changed since then, a geospatial analysis was conducted using the GPS, which proved that the "double sunrise" occurred at that time as well, and that it was visible from the original location of Lepenski Vir.

[44] As only the specific position of the Sun during the winter and summer solstices was necessary to calculate the time using a reference point which repeats after one year, they believe that Lepenians used the "double sunrise" as a basis for some kind of a solar calendar which dated to 6300–6200 BC.

Even Srejović, who died in 1996 and was unaware of the phenomenon, said that, based on the geographical configuration of the gorge, the "dance of light and shadows occasionally reach the levels of hierophany".

As the Danube now passes above the natural rocky "anchors" which previously caused it to whirl, it took only 10 years for the river to dislodge and wash away portions of the old bank and to undermine the old location, already weakened by the archaeological excavations.

[15] The findings of the Lepenski Vir study, published for the first time on 16 August 1967 at a press conference organized by Lazar Trifunović, radically reenvisioned the history of Europe.

Opposing voices, however, claimed that Lepenski Vir can't be dated to the Mesolithic, as Europe was barely inhabited at the time and the population lived in caves and other natural shelters.

[14] The research issues that Lepenski Vir presents are typical of similar archaeological sites from prehistoric periods: without written evidence and because of the absence of wider context, excessively broad conclusions tend to be extrapolated from a quite narrow base of information.

Additionally, the skeletal remains from Lepenski Vir comprise almost half of one of the largest Mesolithic anthropological series, and are important for the future bio-archaeological and DNA research.