Status of monument -> National monument
Pursuant to Article V para. 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 39 para. 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, at a session held from 6 to 12 May 2003 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The movable property of a piece of a stone Japodi urn with the figure of a Japodi horsemen from the village of Založje near Bihać, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the property of the Regional Museum of Una Sana Canton in Bihać, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The provisions relating to protection and rehabilitation measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH nos. 2/02 and 27/02) shall apply to the National Monument.
II
The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Government of the Federation) shall be responsible for ensuring and providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to protect, conserve, display and rehabilitate the National Monument.
III
The Government of the Federation shall provide the appropriate physical and technical conditions for the safekeeping of the National Monument and shall supervise its protection.
The display and other forms of presentation of the National Monument in Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be executed on the basis of conditions determined by the federal ministry responsible for culture.
IV
Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canton, and urban and municipal authorities, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument or jeopardize the preservation and rehabilitation thereof.
V
The removal of the National Monument from Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited.
By way of exception to the above provision, the temporary removal of the National Monument from Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purposes of display or conservation shall be permitted if it is established that conservation works cannot be carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Approval for the temporary removal of the National Monument from Bosnia and Herzegovina under the terms of the preceding paragraph shall be granted by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments (hereinafter: the Commission) if it is established beyond doubt that it will in no way endanger the National Monument. The Commission shall set out in its ruling on approval for the temporary removal of the National Monument all the conditions under which the removal may be effected, the time limit for the return of the property to the country, and the individual authorities and institutions responsible for securing those conditions, and shall notify the Government of the Federation, the relevant security authorities, the customs service of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the general public accordingly.
VI
The owner of the National Monument specified in clause 1 of this Decision, the Government of the Federation, the Federal Ministry responsible for culture, and the Federation heritage protection authority shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II to V of this Decision.
VII
The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.anek8komisija.com.ba)
VIII
Pursuant to Art. V para 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.
IX
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption and shall be published in the Official Gazette of BiH and the Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH.
This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović, Ljiljana Ševo and Tina Wik.
Chair of the Commission
Amra Hadžimuhamedović
No: 06-6-100/03-1
6 May 2003
Sarajevo
E l u c i d a t i o n
I – INTRODUCTION
Pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a “National Monument” is an item of public property proclaimed by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to be a National Monument pursuant to Articles V and VI of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and property entered on the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02) until the Commission reaches a final decision on its status, as to which there is no time limit and regardless of whether a petition for the property in question has been submitted or not.
The Regional Museum of Una Sana canton in Bihać applied to the Commission on 20 January 2003 with a proposal to designate the movable property of the piece of a stone urn with the figure of Japodi horsemen as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Pursuant to the provisions of the law, the Commission proceeded to carry out the procedure for reaching a final decision to designate the Property as a National Monument, pursuant to Article V of Annex 8 and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.
II – PROCEDURE PRIOR TO DECISION
In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:
Ÿ Data on the current condition of the property, including a description and photographs,
Ÿ Descriptions of the property in special studies,
Ÿ Documentation of the Regional Museum of Una Sana canton, Bihać
The findings based on the review of the above documentation are as follows:
1. Details of the property
Location
The piece of the stone urn with the figure of Japodi horsemen from the village of Založje nr. Bihać (inv. no. A 62) is on display in the permanent exhibit in the building of the Regional Museum of Una Sana canton in the Kapetan's tower in Bihać.
Historical information:
Two churches and a mediaeval building have been discovered in Malo Založje, 6 km north-east of Bihać, on the plateau of the hillock known as Gromile, the endmost promontory of Grmeč. One church and the residential building date from the 6th century CE. It was at the edge of the hillock, on a site known as Taločke njive, on a large mound, that the second, mediaeval church with burial vaults within the walls was discovered. In grave no. 2, alongside the north wall of the church, a slab was found with the engraved figure of Japodi horsemen, serving as the lid of the vault and set at floor level, which means that the vault was contemporary with the church. The excavations were conducted in 1954, and all the relevant material was published. The material is in the Regional Museum of Una-Sana Canton in Bihać. (Čremošnik, 1958, 117-120; Čremošnik, 1959,103).
No conservation has been carried out on the church and the site has not been placed under legal protection. A recent survey of the site ascertained that the site of the finds on Gromila is largely under grass and shrubs, with the remainder of the area ploughed or under clover.
Legal status to date
The piece of the stone urn with the figure of Japodi horsemen from the village of Založje has not thus far been under legal protection.
2. Description of the property
The slab is of the local stone known as bihacita (a marl stone) and measures 1.94 x 0.74 x 0.1 m. It was originally 0.15 m thick, as evidenced by the almost halved figures on it. The upper surface and the sides are decorated with engraved figures. On the surface of the slab are the figures of five horsemen in a row, one behind the other, facing right. The scene with the horsemen is surrounded by an engraved line. On the lower side below the border is a framed field filled with unbroken rhombs similar in structure to a meander. On the right-hand side is an animal standing erect, resembling a panther with front paws raised and head facing to the rear. On the left-hand side are two images. The lower is the ichtyphallic male figure of a soldier with the same cap as the horsemen. On the upper part, separated by a line, there remains part of the engraved figure of the rear part of some animal, probably a panther. The scenes on the sides are part of the main scene, a procession moving from left to right of the observer. It is headed by an ichtyphallic warrior as leader, with a panther facing backwards bringing up the rear.
The style of the figures on the slab indicates the influence of archaic Greek art, Venetic situla art, and La Tène influence. The archaic influence is visible in the lower edge, decorated with endless rows of rhombs, of which the model is the archaic Greek key. The stylized indication of the horses' manes is comparable with the representation of the same detail on archaic vases.
The figures of the horsemen are stylized: the nose in the form of a triangle and the lips of a circle indicate the influence of La Tène Celtic elements. The same influence is visible in the horsemen's weapons: broadswords with bifurcate handles. The horse tackle is indigenous, of prehistoric origin. The clothing is highly stylized, so much so that the horsemen appear to be naked. However, on the thighs of the first and second horsemen are lines indicating the length of the clothes, and others above the feet indicating the top of the shoes. The horsemen wear helmets, which are indicated in highly stylized form, but it is clear that they are Illyrian helmets, which were no longer in use at the time the relief was made, meaning that the entire scene is anachronistic and indicative of the longevity of tradition in this region (Čremošnik, 1959, 106-107).
The slab was probably the gravestone of some Japodi princeps. There are similar figures of the deceased to be found on the urns in nearby Ribić. This slab is one of the the only Japodi monuments from the Roman era, dating to the first/second century CE. The figures on the slab, like many other monuments belonging to the Japodi, indicate the longevity of prehistoric forms from the last four centuries BCE and the first and second CE, before Roman influence triumphed.
Conservation and restoration works
Thus far there have been no conservation or restoration works on the fragment of the stone urn with figures of Japodi horsemen from the village of Založje.
Present condition of the item:
The piece of the stone urn with figures of Japodi horsemen is on display in the permanent exhibit of the Regional Museum of Una Sana canton in Bihać (inv. no. A 62). The conditions in which it is kept are acceptable, but the Museum does not have any security system.
III – CONCLUSION
Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument, adopted at the fourth session of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments (3 to 9 September 2002), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above. The Decision was based on the following criteria:
A. Time frame
B. Historical value
C. Artistic and aesthetic value
C.v. value of details
D. Clarity
D.i. material evidence of lesser known historical periods
D.ii. evidence of historical changes
D.iv. evidence of a specific type, style or regional manner
G. Authenticity
G.i form and design
G.ii. material and content
G.iii. use and function
H. Rarity and representativity
H. i. unique or rare example of a certain type or style
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- Photographs of the fragment of the stone urn
- Documentation of the Regional Museum of Una Sana canton in Bihać (copy of inventory entry)
Bibliography:
During the procedure to designate the slab as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
Čremošnik, Irma, «Arheološka istraživanja u okolici Bihaća» (Archaeological investigations in the Bihać area) Journal of the National Museum (Archaeology) new series, vol. XIII, National Museum, Sarajevo 1958, 117-136.
Čremošnik, Irma, «Spomenik sa japodskim konjanicima iz Založja kod Bihaća» (Monument with Japodi horsemen from Založje nr. Bihać) Journal of the National Museum (Archaeology) new series, vol. XIV, National Museum, Sarajevo 1958, 103-111
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