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 8 to 13 November 2005 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The historic site of the Risovac necropolis with stećak tombstones, municipality Jablanica, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument consists of a necropolis with 41 stećak tombstones.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 1002, land register entry no. 404, and part of c.p. no. 1004, land register entry no. 398, cadastral municipality Risovac, municipality Jablanica, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The provisions relating to protection 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, 27/02 and 6/04) 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, and display the National Monument.
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and setting up signboards with the basic data on the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.
III
To ensure the on-going protection of the National Monument, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated, which shall apply to the area defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision.
- all works are prohibited other than research and conservation and restoration works, including those designed to display the monument, with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the heritage protection authority),
- the site of the National Monument shall be open and accessible to the public, and may be used for educational and cultural purposes,
- all works on the infrastructure are prohibited unless with the approval of the relevant ministry and the expert opinion of the heritage protection authority,
A protective strip with a width of 500 m from the boundaries of the site where the National Monument is located is hereby stipulated.
- the quarrying of stone, the siting of potential environmental polluters as prescribed by regulations, the construction of industrial facilities and major infrastructure and all structures and facilities that could endanger the National Monument whether during construction or during operation are prohibited.
- the dumping of waste is prohibited in both the protection zone and the protective strip.
The Government of the Federation is responsible in particular for ensuring that the following measures are implemented:
- cleaning the stećak tombstones of lichens and moss;
- repairing cracked and broken tombstones;
- drawing up and implementing a programme for the presentation of the National Monument.
IV
All executive and area development planning acts not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision are hereby revoked.
V
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.
VI
The Government of the Federation, the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning, the Federation heritage protection authority, and the Municipal Authorities in charge of urban planning and land registry affairs, shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II to V of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.
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.aneks8komisija.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.
This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović, Ljiljana Ševo and Tina Wik.
No. 05.1-02-231/05-4
9 November 2005
Sarajevo
Chair of the Commission
Dubravko Lovrenović
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.
On 24 October 2004 the board of experts of the Archaeological Department of the Museum of Sarajevo submitted a proposal/petition to designate the historic site of the Risovac necropolis with stećak tombstones 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:
- Documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property (copy of cadastral plan and copy of land registry entry)
- Details of legal protection of the property to date
- Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage, data on restoration or other works on the property, etc.
- Historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision.
The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the site are as follows:
1. Details of the property
Location
The Blidinje Nature Park is a mountainous area in the north-western region of Herzegovina. It was founded in 1995 with the aim of systematically preserving and improving its natural and cultural values and distinctive features.
The rich flora of the Park now consists of a great diversity of plants, from Mediterranean to high alpine natives, include many endemics, from fungi to the glory of the Park, the white-bark pine, of which Masna Luka and environs has the largest population in Europe. Among the many animals in the Park, the brown bear and the chamois are of particular note. The meeting of karst and glacial structures gives the region a particular charm and dramatic note.
It is not known for certain when people first began to inhabit these regions. The passer-by can now see prehistoric tumuli, Roman roads, the ruins of mediaeval churches, and many necropolises of stećak(1) tombstones, as well as as well as alpine chalets with surviving elements of indigenous architecture, and a large number of typical stone boundary walls.
The necropolises with their stećak tombstones are rich in ornamental, symbolic and figural scenes. The designs indicate that this area has links not only with Herzegovina but also with Kupres and western Bosnia. Many of the decorations and other scenes make Blidinje a distinct entity. Most of the stećaks are decorated with rosettes, crescent moons, crosses and various borders. Figural representations vary in content, with hunting, jousting and round-dance scenes the most common. Their appearance and location in untouched natural surroundings makes them one of the richest and most interesting necropolises in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Risovac is a small village and region in the north-eastern part of the Blidinje Park. The Risovac necropolis(2) is located alongside the road and a contemporary Catholic cemetery, from which it is separated by a concrete barrier.
Historical information
The plateau by the Blidinje lake, with its pastures, arable areas and mountain massifs of luxuriant vegetation, abundant stone and timber, wealth of wildlife and numerous springs, offered relatively favourable conditions for the area to be settled at an early date.
There have been no systematic archaeological investigations of the area. Archaeological methodology has been used to locate or to hypothesize the existence of about thirty sites the knowledge of which is based solely on chance finds or the results of reconnaissance. In Barzonja, reconnaissance conducted in 1953 discovered the remains of an open prehistoric settlement between the stećak tombstones and to the east of the necropolis. There is a prehistoric hillfort in Podjelinak, a small settlement (50 x 25m), where shards of earthenware vessels and grindstones, probably dating from the Bronze and Iron Ages, were found. In Sesaruša, the remains of a prehistoric hillfort (85 x 85 m) and Roman fortifications abound in archaeological material indicating the Bronze and Iron Ages and the Roman era (P.Oreč 1978).
Stone tumuli have been recorded in Hrbine-Risovac, with numerous tumuli of which the most prominent is the Zmijska tumulus(3) and the Marića cemetery-Risovac-Lokve (4).
Chance finds of coins, two Illyro-Greek drachmas of Dyrrachium (229-100 BCE) and a drachma of Apollonius (229-100 BCE) from the Bare site, are evidence of a money-based trading economy from the late Iron Age.
A Roman coin of Galien (235-268) and Aurelian (270-275) have been found on the Bare site(5). Apart from this coin and traces of the presence of the Romans in prehistoric hillforts, and the assumption that Roman roads ran through the area, there are as yet no known monuments of antiquity.
Historical information on the region in the mediaeval period is very meagre. Blidinje belonged to the Drežnica district, which formed part of the župa (county) of Večerići (Večenike) in Hum land (Anđelić, T. 2005. 417).
From 1325, Blidinje was part of Bosnia, ruled by the Kotromanić stock. During the reign of Tvrtko I Kotromanić, the Bosnian noble Mastan Bubanjić lived in Drežnica. He is referred to as a witness in royal charters dating from 1354 and 1355. In the 14th century he had his own estate in Blidinje, Masna Luka, where he and his sons were cattle farmers. A 14th century inscription in Bosnian Cyrillic, carved into the living rock in Donja Drežnica, refers to him.
From 1357, Blidinje and western Hum belonged to Hungary's King Ludovic I, as the dowry of his wife Jelisaveta, daughter of Stjepan Kotromanić. After the death of King Ludovic, the region fell within the mediaeval Bosnian state, where it remained at least until 1463.
Numerous remains of the foundation walls of late mediaeval religious architecture in Crkvina-Badnji and many necropolises with stećak tombstones are evidence of settlement in this area in the mediaeval period. The stećak tombstones can be dated to the second half of the 14th and the 15th centuries (Bešlagić, Š. 1955. 70).
2. Description of the property
The necropolis occupies an area of 33 x 21 m. Part of it is located on a wide tumulus with a diameter of approx. 16 m.
It consists of 41 stećak tombstones: 10 slab-shaped, 20 chest-shaped, 7 tall chests, 3 ridge-shaped (gabled) with pedestals and one ridge-shaped without a pedestal. They lie north-west/south-east, west-east and north-south. Fourteen of the tombstones (34%) are decorated.
Stećak no. 1 (measuring 200 x 140 x 75 cm) is a tall chest, decorated on all sides. The upper surface has a border of two parallel lines between which are incised zigzag lines on the north and east edges of the surface, and a bifoliate design on the other two sides. There is a carved eight-petalled rosette in the centre of the surface, with above it a carved crescent moon. Within the panel, there are four designs towards the corners, of which only one five-pointed star can be made out. At the top of the south side is a frieze of two incised parallel lines, between which is an incised bifoliate design. The east face of the tombstone has two small carved crosses at the edges of the face, one of them set at an angle. The north side has a frieze of two parallel lines with zigzag lines between. The west face has a hunting scene showing a deer with branching antlers, a horse and a mounted hunter holding out a spear.
Stećak no. 2 (measuring 165 x 100 x 75 cm) is a tall chest, narrowing somewhat towards the pedestal. It is well cut and well preserved, with minor damage to the west side. The east face is decorated with a carved crescent moon and two rosettes, one six-petalled and the other eight-petalled.
Stećak no. 3 (measuring 185 x 120 x 50 cm) is a chest, well cut and well preserved. It is decorated on all sides. At the top is a border of two incised parallel lines between which are incised slanting parallel lines to the east and south and zigzag lines to the west and north. All the vertical sides have a frieze at the top of two incised parallel lines with heart-shaped leaves between, within which are four-petalled flowers. The leaves are set horizontally.
Stećak no.4 (measuring 180 x 70 x 100 cm) is ridge-shaped with a pedestal (measuring 210 x 100 x 30 cm), monolithic. It is damaged on the south and north faces, and is leaning slightly towards the north-east. The sides are decorated. The east side has a carved hunting scene showing a hunter piercing a boar with his spear and another with a weapon resembling a bow, also aiming at the boar, which is being attacked by a dog from the other side. Behind the dog is a carved twisted circular garland with another circular garland within it. Above this scene, by the «roof» of the tombstone, is a frieze of two incised parallel lines with zigzag lines between. The west side has a carved hunting scene with a mounted hunter aiming his spear at a fleeing deer. A dog is chasing the deer. Above this is the indistinct figure of another hunter with a spear. The frieze at the top, up to the «roof», is idential to the one on the other side.
Stećaks no.5, no.6 and no. 7 are undecorated chests.
Stećak no.8 (measuring 125 x 55 x 40 cm) is a chest decorated on the vertical sides with a frieze of two parallel lines. The north-eastern part is sunk into the ground.
Stećak no.9 is an undecorated slab.
Stećak no.10 is an undecorated chest.
Stećak no.11 is part of an undecorated slab.
Stećak no.12 is a chest, damaged and partly sunk into the ground, decorated on the upper surface with a carved cross the arms of which terminate in an anchor-shape. The western part of the upper surface has a border of two parallel lines between which are tendrils with trefoils. The decoration is in bas relief.
Stećak no.13 (measuring 176 x 95 x 32 cm) is a chest, decorated on the upper surface with a carved cross, the arms terminating in anchors. The edge of the surface has a border of two parallel lines between which are tendrils with trefoils. The border is 25 cm wide.
Stećaks nos. 14 and 15 are undecorated chests, somewhat damaged and sunk into the ground.
Stećak no. 16 is a chest with a carved crescent moon on the upper surface.
Stećaks nos. 17 and 18 are undecorated chests, somewhat damaged and sunk into the ground.
Stećaks nos. 19 and 20 are small undecorated chests.
Stećak no. 21 (measuring 150 x 86 x 48 cm) is a chest, of good workmanship, damaged (chipped). The upper surface has a carved cross with ovoid arms. The upper and side arms are of roughly the same side, while the lower vertical arm is rather longer and widens from the middle towards the end.
Stećaks nos. 21 and 22 are undecorated slabs. Stećak no. 21 is sunken and cracked.
Stećak no.23 is an undecorated slab.
Stećak no. 24 (measuring 150 x 57 x 80 cm) is a tall chest, of good workmanship, leaning towards the north-east side where it is sunk into the ground. It is decorated on the sides and the north-west face.
The south-west side has a carved tournament scene. Two men on horseback, their spears held horizontally, are facing one another. Between them is a woman in a long robe, flaring out at the base, who is holding the horses by the head.
The north-east side has a carved hunting scene, also with two men on horseback in a similar position to those on the south-west side, except that their weapons cannot be scne. Between them is a deer. All the figures are shown in slight motion. The north-west front has a carved, stylized cross-rosette measuring 80 x 50 cm.
Stećaks nos. 25 and 26 are undecorated slabs.
Stećak no. 27 is a narrow slab, damaged on the north and west sides. The upper side has a carved design reminiscent of a four-petalled rosette or circle, divided by a cross into four sections.
The grave beneath the tombstone has been excavated. Pieces of wood were found at a depth of 60 cm. Two short, thin boards were set north-south along the width of the grave, together occupying an area of 45 x 22 cm. Below them, lying longitudinally, was a lid of pine boards (43 cm wide and approx. 2-3 cm thick). The lid lay somewhat at an angle on the north side, where there was a greater quantity of piled soil into which the stećak is sunk. Below the lid, at a depth of 70 cm, lay the skeleton of an adult male of average height. The head was to the west and the legs to the east. Boards were also found beneath the skeleton. Access to the head was hampered by the stećak next to this one, as a result of which the head was not uncovered. A tooth was found by the legs, which could have belonged to another grave (Š. Bešlagić, 1959. 64).
Stećak no. 28 is a slab of poor workmanship and irregular shape.
Stećak no. 29 is a slab (measuring 200 x 110 cm) that once served as the pedestal of the stećak next to this one.
Stećak no.30 is an undecorated chest.
Stećak no. 31 (measuring 126 x 50 x 80 cm) is a tall chest that has been overturned and detached from its pedestal. The upper and north-east sides are decorated. The north-east side, now uppermost, features three figures in a round dance.
The upper surface has a carved border with a stylized cross in the centre. The arms are the same width as the border. At the ends of the vertical arms are six-petalled rosettes, while the cross arms terminate in a rectangular enlargement.
Stećaks nos. 32, 33, 34 and 35 are undecorated chests, somewhat damaged and sunk into the ground.
Stećak no. 36 is ridge-shaped with no pedestal, overturned and cracked. It has no decorations.
Stećak no. 37 (measuring 168 x 70 x 80 cm) is ridge-shaped with a separate pedestal, sunk and overturned onto its north-east side. It is decorated on the faces. On the north-west side the gable is separated by a carved band which also divides the surface vertically from the middle of the gable to the pedestal. The other side of the stećak is decorated similarly except that the band widens towards the pedestal. In addition, there are designs of a carved six-petalled rosette and crescent moon.
Stećak no. 38 is an undecorated slab.
Stećak no. 39 is ridge-shaped with a pedestal, and overturned. It has no decorations.
Stećak no. 40 is a small undecorated chest.
Stećak no. 41 (measuring 127 x 54x 62 cm) is a tall chest of good workmanship, but damaged. It is decorated on the upper and south-west sides. The upper surface has a carved cross (76 x 33 cm), the arms of which terminate in circles. The vertical arms are much longer than the cross arms. The same design is found on the side of the tombstone.
3. Legal status to date
The site is not on the Provisional List of National Monuments of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments; the decision is being adopted on the basis of the petition referred to above.
The Regional Plan for BiH to 2000 lists the site as a Category III monument.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
In 1953 and 1954, Šefik Bešlagić recorded the stećak tombstones in Blidinje. Only one grave was excavated, in the Risovac necropolis.
Experts from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport have drawn up a «Study of the influence of forestry on biologically sensitive sites», with special section «Individual national parks and nature parks: Prenj-Čvrsnica-Čabulja» which includes the area of Blidinje. The Ponor necropolis is referred to as one of the most valuable cultural and historical monuments. The study does not include special protection measures.
5. Current condition of the property
An on site inspection in September 2005 revealed the following: some stećak tombstones have suffered damage as a result of long exposure to the elements. Plant organisms, mainly lichens, are present on the north-east side of the majority of the stećak tombstones, which are damaging the structure of the stone. Some of the stećak tombstones have been overturned.
6. Specific risks to which the monument is exposed
Long-term lack of maintenance could lead to lasting damage to the decorations on the tombstones.
III – CONCLUSION
Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), 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.iv. composition
C. v. value of details
G. Authenticity
G.i. form and design
G.ii. material and content
G.v. location and setting
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:
o Copy of cadastral plan
o Copy of land register entry
o Drawings – plan of the necropolis (Š. Bešlagić)
o Documentation of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport: «Study of the influence of forestry on biologically sensitive sites», with special section «Individual national parks and nature parks: Prenj-Čvrsnica-Čabulja» which includes the area of Blidinje.
o Photodocumentation from the site, September 2004: nos. 1, 1a, 2, 3, 3a, 4 - 4c, 8, 10, 21, 21a, 24, 37, 41, view a-d, surroundings, group of stećak tombstones.
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the monument as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1959. Bešlagić, Šefik, Stećci na Blidinju (Stećak tombstones in Blidinje), Zagreb 1959.
1971. Bešlagić, Šefik, Stećci, kataloško-topografski pregled (Stećak tombstones, a catalogue and topographical survey), Sarajevo, 1971. 142-143.
1978. Oreč, Petar, Prapovijesna naselja I grobne gomile, (Posušje, Grude I Lištica) (Prehistoric settlements and grave mounds [Posušje, Grude I Lištica] Jnl of the National Museum XXXII/1977., Sarajevo, 1978.181-291, 1-10.
1982. Bešlagić, Šefik, Stećci-kultura i umjetnost (Stećak tombstones – culture and art), Sarajevo, 1982.
1988. Various authors, Arheološki leksikon Bosne i Hercegovine (Archaeological Lexicon of BiH), Vol. 3, National Museum in Sarajevo, Sarajevo 1988
2005. Proceedings of the First International Symposium Blidinje 2005 (16.09 -17.09.2005).
(1) The Regional Plan covers eleven necropolises with stećak tombstones: Dugo Polje, Risovac-Suho polje, Barzonja, Brčanj-Ponor, Donje Bare, Jezero, Križevi-Striževo, Humac-Striževo, Sritna njiva-Donja drežnica, Lokve-Donja Jablanica.
(2) The site is also known as Suho polje.
(3) AL BiH, Vol. 3, 216.
(4) AL BiH, Vol. 3, 220.
(5) AL BiH, Vol. 3, 260.
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