The archaeological site of Crkviste is located in the modern village of Morodvis (Morobizdon), in the foothill of the mountain Plackovica, about 7 km south of Kocani. The researches, which began in 1980, have revealed a large church complex. The early Christian representative basilica with marble decorated floor, columns and capitals decorated with Christian motifs, dates between the 5th and 7th century. As an integral part of the 5th-century basilica, an early Christian built tomb was discovered. It is polychromous, decorated in the signium technique. Morobizdon reached its greatest prosperity between the 10th and 14th century. In the 11th century it became the bishop’s seat of the famous Bregalnica bishopric, when the new cathedral church, with floors decorated in opus sectile, church furniture made of stone and partly preserved fresco decoration, was built. In the 13th century, a new, smaller church was erected above this one. In the area around the church, a cemetery dating from the 12th to the 20th century was discovered. There are about 380 graves unearthed so far, with grave offerings made of bronze, silver, glass, bone and textile. Towards the end of the 11th century, this region was under the rule of Serbia, which caused the decline of the prosperity of Morobizdon. With the decree of the church council held in Skopje in 1347, the seat of the Bregalnica bishopric was transferred to Zletovo.
In 2006, short-term excavations were conducted in the area beside the northwestern wall of the church. A few graves dating from the 12th century were discovered, along with parts of architecture and fragments of pottery that date to the late-antique period (5th-6th centuries).