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 Gvozno necropolis with stećak tombstones near Kalinovik is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 1403 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 90 (old survey) land register entry no. 250, cadastral municipality Župa, municipality Kalinovik, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The National Monument consists of a necropolis with eighty-seven stećak tombstones
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 Republika Srpska no. 9/02) shall apply to the National Monument.
II
The Government of Republika Srpska 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, routine maintenance works, and works designed to display the monument, with the approval of the Ministry responsible for regional planning in Republika Srpska and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska (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
A protective strip with a width of 400 m from the boundaries of the site where the National Monument is located is hereby stipulated. The protective strip includes the potential archaeological site of Gradac, as a result of which all works are prohibited that could in any way damage or have the effect of altering the site.
- all works on the infrastructure are prohibited unless with the approval of the relevant ministry and the expert opinion of the heritage protection authority,
The dumping of waste is prohibited in both the protection zone and the protective strip.
The Government of Republika Srpska is responsible in particular for ensuring that the following measures are implemented:
- investigating the causes of damage and the possibility of repairing the stećak tombstones;
- cleaning the stećak tombstones;
- removing plant organisms from the stećak tombstones;
- repairing cracked and broken tombstones;
- ensuring that the site is accessible by making good the access road and paths to all parts of the site;
- 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 Republika Srpska, 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 Republika Srpska, the Ministry responsible for regional planning in Republika Srpska and the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska, 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 – VI 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: 05.1-02-228/05-5
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 2 November 2005 Goran Kalinić of Banja Luka, archaeologist and qualified staff member for archaeology in the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Historical Heritage of Republika Srpska submitted a proposal/petition to designate the historic site of the Gvozno 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)
- 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 Kalinovik region is a spacious karst mountain region, criss-crossed with hills, valleys and small watercourses.
Gvozno is a small karst plain in Treskavica, about 11 km to the north-west of Kalinovik. To the south and east the plain is surrounded by small karst hills, while to the west and north rise the forested areas of the mountain, at first gradually and then abruptly. Close to the plain are a number of springs from which flow brooks that irrigate the plain before disappearing underground.
The necropolis with stećak tombstones is located in the southern part of the plain, at the base of Gradac hill, on slightly elevated ground. It is about 300 m as the crow flies from altitude 1396 (Gradac).
About five hundred metres to the north-west of the necropolis, to the right of the road, Š. Bešlagić discovered the overgrown remains of a building with a semicircular masonry projection reminiscent of the apse of a church(1).
Historical information
Mt. Treskavica forms the boundary between the forested parts of Bosnia and the karst of Herzegovina, or between Bosnia and Hum. The south-western part of the mountain has been frequented since ancient times by herdsmen from the villages of Stolac and Ljubinje, known to this day as Humnjaci (men of Hum). In Gvozno, a relatively low depression, there was a good proportion of mountain agriculture as well as cattle raising.
Although the area has not been adequately investigated archaeologically, it can safely be said that it has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Gradac in Gvozno is a prehistoric hillfort where, during reconnaissance conducted in 1953, archaeological material from the Bronze and Iron Ages was discovered. In some places, sites dating from antiquity were founds. (Đ. Basler, 1956. 250).
The mediaeval župa (county) of Zagorje, to which Gvozno plain belonged, covered the area between the upper course of the Neretva and the Drina. The earliest reference to the župa dates from approx. 1322 in a charter issued by the Bosnian ban (governor) Stjepan II Kotromanić, granting the župas of Banica and Vrbanja to prince Vukoslav(2).This charter shows that Zagorje was represented by the župan (county prefect) Poznanj Purčić(3).
Charters of King Alphonso V of Aragon and Naples, dating from 1444 and 1445, refer to Veletin and Obalj as fortified towns in Zagorje. Besides these, there are the remains of another two mediaeval towns in the Kalinovik region, one near the village of Ljusići, and the other near the village of Bojići (Š. Bešlagić, 1962. 8).
The numerous necropolises with stećak tombstones are evidence of the extent of settlement of this area in the mediaeval period. Among them are a large number of decorated stećaks, some with original designs and epitaphs. The stećak tombstones from the Kalinovik region can be roughly dated to the 14th and 15th centuries.
2. Description of the property
The necropolis with stećak tombstones occupies an area of 46 x 23 m. It consists of a total of 87 stećak tombstones, of which 4 are ridge-shaped (gabled), 54 chest-shaped, 27 slab-shaped and two are cruciform. Fourteen of the stećaks are decorated. They lie west-east, with a few lying north-west/south-east.
Stećaks no. 1 and 2 are chests, sunk into the ground and undecorated.
Stećak no. 3 (167 x 60x 10 cm) is a sunken slab, richly decorated. The upper surface has a roughly rectangular shield. Beneath the shield, parts of a long, straight sword can be made out, along with the hilt above and the tip below the shield. There is a fabulous animal of some kind with a forked tail, heraldic in nature, on the shield. In addition to the shield and sword, there is the figure of a man of roughly the same height as the shield, with one hand on his hip and the other on the sword and shield. His legs are slightly bent, as if he is in motion. He is wearing a short robe or shirt that flares out towards the base. Below this scene is a carved cross-rosette consisting of four linked circular garlands in each of which are two concentric garlands.
Stećak no. 4 is a slab, sunken and undecorated.
Stećak no. 5 (172 x 81 x 40 cm) is a chest, of good workmanship. It is leaning towards the south-west. It has no decoration.
Stećak no. 6 (152 x 82 x 118 cm) is a tall chest with a pedestal, leaning slightly towards the north-east side. It is decorated on all four vertical sides.
On the north-west face, immediately below the horizontal edge, is a carved border consisting of a zigzag line. The upper sections of the border contain vertical lines terminating in upward-facing semicircular lines. The remaining sections have vertical lines with arched extensions to the sides; the lines turn into spirals at the ends. The opposite face has a frieze at the top consisting of a carved zigzag line, and a carved, stylized floral ornament in the centre, consisting of vertical stems and two pairs of symmetrically spiralling leaves. The south-west side has a scene of a deer with branched antlers and raised head. There is a bird perched on the tip of the antlers. Behind the deer, another animal of some kind with a long neck can be made out. On the opposite side, spirals can be made out with a rectangular shield below them.
Stećak no. 7 (182 x 79 x 80 cm) is a tall undecorated chest.
Stećak no. 8 (168 x 75 x 50 cm) is a tall chest with a pedestal. The upper surface is decorated with the figure of a man. His head is represented as a circular twisted garland, his neck as a short line, and his robe is narrow at the waist and flaring out at the base. His right hand is on his hip, and he is holding a sword in his left. The other part of the surface has a stylized cross with arms of equal length terminating in circular garlands. The arms are composed of three incised lines and the garlands with two, giving them a carved appearance.
Stećak no. 9 (160 x 72 x 64 cm) is ridge-shaped, with a pedestal extending outwards by some 20 cm on all four sides. All the vertical sides of the tombstone are decorated. The south-east face has a carved dog with large raised head and open mouth. Its tail is raised and curved back. On the opposite face, a human figure can just be made out. The south-west side is decorated with three animal and two human figures. Two horses face one another, with a woman between them. Another part shows a foal with the figure of a man in front of it. The scene is in bas relief and badly worn, so that it is hard to make out. On the opposite site are three carved female figures with arms raised, wearing long, wide robes. All the women have both arms raised, with their long fingers at head height.
Stećak no. 10 (105 x 54 x 33 cm) is a small chest with pedestal, probably belonging to a child’s grave. It is leaning to the south-east and sunk into the ground. It is decorated on all sides. The upper surface has an incised rectangular shield with a sword below it. The shield bears three circular garlands. A crescent moon is incised on the lower half of the surface, below the tip of the sword, with below it swastikas to the left and right. To the left of the crescent moon are three semicircular garlands similar to those on the shield. On the other side is an indistinct design, a line and a circle with a pointed terminal. To the north side are two moving human figures, a circular garland and an object of some kind laid horizontally. On the south side is an incised horse and rider and three figures holding hands, as in a round dance. The west face has a carved cross of which the cross arms and upper vertical arm end in circles. To the right of the cross is a circular garland. The other face is decorated with a design consisting of vertical stems branching at the top and from the centre of which two spiral lines rise upwards.
Stećak no. 11 is a slab, sunk into the ground and undecorated.
Stećaks nos. 12 and 13 are chests, damaged, sunk into the ground and undecorated.
Stećak no. 14 ( 174 x 81x 56 cm) is a tall chest, sunk into the ground. The upper surface and the two sides are decorated. The upper surface has a bas relief shield with a long sword below it. Below the crossguard , an arm embowed (bent at the elbow), shown to the shoulder, is holding the sword. On the north side are two carved horses with riders, with a deer in front of them. The first rider has his arms outspread, emphasized by disproportionately large hands and fingers. The other rider has one hand outstretched and the other on his hip. On the south side are three carved human figures in a round dance, a man on each side and a woman in a long dress in the middle. Their hands are raised to head-level.
Stećak no. 15 ( 160 x 63x 55 cm) is a tall chest, well carved, and slightly sunk into the ground. It is decorated on the upper surface and three of the vertical sides. The upper surface has a carved fabulous winged animal, the body of which is coiled like a snake. The body is thicker at the centre, tapering off into a long, forked tail. The jaws are wide open as it attempts to swallow a woman. The animal is rather reminiscent of a dragon (Š. Bešlagić, 1962. 39). The west side has a carved cross-rosette, similar to the design on stećak no. 3, but without the circular garlands. The north side has a carved round dance scene with three women in the middle and a man at each end, all holding hands at shoulder level. The men are wearing pointed caps. The leader of the round dance is holding a sword almost horizontally in his free hand. The man at the end of the round dance has his free hand on his hip. The women's dresses flare out at the base, and below them their legs can be seen, with the feet pointing in both directions. The opposite side of the tombstone has a running animal, most reminiscent of a horse and rider with outspread arms. In the background is a woman holding a bird in one hand and handing the hunter something with the other.
Stećak no. 16 is a sunken, undecorated slab.
Stećak no. 17 is a tall chest, and stećak no. 18 is an undecorated slab.
Stećaks nos. 19 and 20 are well cut, sunken chests without decoration.
Stećak no. 21 (210 x 100 x 40 cm) is a chest, quite badly damaged and sunk into the ground. The horizontal side has a carved cross of which the lower vertical arm is rather longer than the rest, and the top arm terminates in a semicircle.
Stećaks nos. 22, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 are chests, of good workmanship, without decoration.
Stećak no. 23 is a sunken, undecorated slab.
Stećaks nos. 29 and 30 are two sunken ridge-shaped tombstones. It is not known whether they are decorated, since the greater part of them is covered by soil.
Stećak no. 31 is a chest, leaning, chipped and sunk into the ground. It has no decoration.
Stećak no. 32 (180 x 78 x 90 cm) is a tall chest, damaged and overturned, without decoration.
Stećaks nos. 33 and 34 are undecorated chests.
Stećaks nos. 35 and 36 are undecorated slabs.
Stećak no. 37 (156 x 74 x 55 cm) is a tall chest, somewhat damaged and leaning. The south side of this tombstone has a carved scene consisting of a horse and rider, a woman holding the horse's head, and another woman standing in the background. The rider is holding some object which cannot be made out. The first woman is touching a long band reminiscent in shape of a dragon with her other hand. The other woman has a circular garland on her head (Š. Bešlagić, 1962. 42).
Stećak no. 38 is a sunken, cracked slab, without decoration.
Stećaks nos. 39 and 40 are the surviving fragments of former stećak tombstones.
Stećak no. 41 is ridge-shaped, leaning, damaged, and without decoration. It stands in the stone wall running alongside the necropolis.
Stećak no. 42 (163 x 67 x 54 cm) is a tall chest, decorated on the upper surface and two vertical sides. The upper surface has a carved embowed arm holding a sword. There is a thick longitudinal line on the arm, suggesting armour. The fingers are very long. The sword is also long, with a large crossguard and a hilt with a rounded end. Above the sword is a carved crescent moon framed top and bottom by two rows of four small apples each. The north side has a carved hunting scene. It is possible to make out a moving horse and rider, with two animals suggesting chamois in front of them, and the figure of a man with a sword facing the nearer animal. Below this scene are another three animals, the middle one facing in the opposite direction from the other two. On the north-west face is a carved scene of a men's round dance. Three of the men are wearing caps with pointed attachments. Their legs are bent at the knee, suggesting that they are moving. The leader of the round dance has his free hand raised high. The scene is highly dynamic.
Stećak no. 43 is a chest with no particular features, built into the stone wall.
Stećaks nos. 44, 45, 46, and 47 are sunken, undecorated slabs.
Stećak no. 48 is a slab, quite badly sunken and cracks. It has a carved cross on the upper surface, of which the lower arm is rather longer than the others and widens slightly at the base.
Stećak no. 49 is a sunken, damaged slab without decorations.
Stećaks nos. 50, 51, 52 and 54 are chests, quite badly damaged, and undecorated. Stećak no. 53 is a slab only part of which is above ground, without decoration.
Stećak no. 55 is a sunken, damaged slab.
Stećak no. 56 is a quite large slab, measuring 190 x 158 cm, also sunken and damaged.
Stećak no. 57 is a damaged chest, and stećaks nos. 58 and 59 are two slabs so much sunken that little of them can be seen.
Stećak no. 60 is a tall chest, without decoration.
Stećaks nos. 61, 62 and 63 are sunken slabs.
Stećak no. 64 is a well cut but partly sunken chest.
Stećak no. 65 is a sunken slab.
Stećak no. 66 is a chest, well cut, damaged, and leaning to the north.
Stećak no. 67 is a chest of good workmanship, cracked and leaning to the side. The horizontal surface of this tombstone has a design of a tree with two pairs of symmetrical, upward-curving branches. There are two symmetric tendrils at the top of the tree.
Stećak no. 68 is a damaged chest.
Stećaks nos. 69 and 70 are parts of slabs.
Stećaks nos. 71, 72, 73 and 74 are well cut chests, quite badly damaged, leaning and partly sunk into the ground, without decoration.
Stećak no. 75 is a chest, of good workmanship, decorated on the upper surface with a carved seven-petalled rosette.
Stećaks nos. 76 and 77 are sunken, undecorated chests.
Stećak no. 78 (195 x 92 x 55 cm) is a large chest of good workmanship.
Stećaks nos. 79, 80, 81 and 82 are undecorated chests.
Stećak no. 83 is a sunken slab.
Stećak no. 84 (155 x 80 x 55 cm) is a large chest with pedestal, monolithic, decorated on all vertical sides. The south-west side has a carved horse with a bird on it. In front of the horse is the figure of a man, and behind it the figure of a woman. Both figures have their hands on their hips. The opposite side has a carved dog with a large raised head and long tail. The north-west face has a dog with a quite large, ungainly head, open mouth, lolling tongue and raised curly tail. The south-east face is badly worn and the design is not quite distinct, but a carved galloping horse can be made out.
Stećak no. 85 is a large chest with a pedestal, monolithic, extracted from the quarry but unfinished. It stands 15 m from the western end of the necropolis.
Stećaks nos. 86 and 87 are cruciform tombstones.
Stećak no. 86 is 180 cm high, 42 cm wide overall, 75 cm with the arms, and 25 cm thick. It stands at the north-west end of the necropolis.
Stećak no. 87 is 200 cm high, 55 cm wide, 87 cm with the horizontal arms, and 25 cm thick. It stands in the extreme southern part of the necropolis, 8 m. from stećak no. 1. Both crosses stood on the north-western edge of graves surrounded by stone and slabs. They are regularly and finely cut, and have no decoration. The crosses are broken, overturned, and sunk into the ground.
Here and there between the graves with stećak tombstones can be seen graves that are merely surrounded by stone on the surface. One such grave, which is in the middle of the necropolis, has been excavated. The stone lid of a horizontally-laid, undressed slab which covered the tomb (175 x 60 cm) was found at a depth of 80 cm. The tomb was framed by upright stone slabs. The headstone and footstone slabs were each of a single piece of stone, and the sides were composed of one or two slabs. Some black earth was scattered inside the tomb. The human skeleton lay at a depth of 100 cm. It measures 130 cm from shoulders to heels, with the shoulders 31 cm wide. The head faces north-west and the feet south-east. The are are outspread and the hands partly set beneath a bowl. The deceased was a man about 35 years old (Š. Bešlagić, 1962. 103).
The quarry for the stećak tombstones of the Gvozno necropolis was a few dozen metres to the south-west of the necropolis, at the foot of Gradac hill.
3. Legal status to date
Pursuant to the law, and by Ruling of the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of NR BiH no. 912/51 dated 24 October 1951 in Sarajevo, the site of the Gvozno necropolis with stećak tombstones was placed under state protection.
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
Between 1954 and1956, Š. Bešlagić recorded and process the necropolises with stećak tombstones in the Kalinovik area as part of a programme of the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina. His colleagues were Đuro Basler, archaeologist-conservator, Pavao Anđelić, senior custodian of the National Museum in Sarajevo, Mehmed Mujezinović, orientalist-epigrapher, and Ranko Rosić, photographer.
5. Current condition of the property
An on site inspection in September 2005 revealed the following:
There is no building close to the necropolis.
Some stećak tombstones have suffered damage as a result of long exposure to the elements. The stećaks are at grave risk from the presence of plant organisms, lichens and moss. A large number of the stećaks are sunk into the ground and cannot therefore be inspected in full. In order to determine the final number of decorated stećaks, it is essential to embark on the clearing of the necropolis, which will entail first the removal of moss, and then research works to provide final details of the numbers and diversity of decorative designs.
6. Specific risks to which the monument is exposed
Long-term lack of maintenance could lead to permanent 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 Plan of the necropolis, drawing by Đ. Basler in Š. Bešlagić, Kalinovik 1962
o Photodocumentation from the site, October 2005
1. Gradac hill
2. view of the necropolis
3. decorated stećak tombstones (from no. 3 to no. 87)
4. details of damage
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the monument as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1934. Milojević, Ž. Borivoje, Treskavica. Glacijalni reljef (Treskavica: Glacial relief) Jnl of the National Museum XLVI (natural sciences volumes), Sarajevo, 1934, 65 - 72.
1956. Basler, Đuro, Kalinovik i okolica (Kalinovik and environs) Jnl of the National Museum XI, Sarajevo, 1956, 247-252.
1964. Ćirković, Sima, Istorija srednjovekovne bosanske države (History of the Mediaeval Bosnian State) Belgrade, 1964.
1965. Wenzel, Marian, Ukrasni motivi na stećcima (Decorative designs on stećak tombstones) Sarajevo, 1965.
1971. Bešlagić, Šefik, Stećci, kataloško-topografski pregled (Stećak tombstones, a catalogue and topographical survey), Sarajevo, 1971. 142-143.
1978. Dinić, Mihajlo, Zemlje Hercega Svetoga Save (The Lands of Duke St Sava). in: Srpske zemlje u srednjem veku (Serbian lands in the mediaeval period), Belgrade, 1978, 178-269.
1982. Vego, Marko, Postanak srednjovjekovne bosanske države (Origins of the Mediaeval Bosnian State), Sarajevo, 1982, 51-54.
1982. Bešlagić, Šefik, Stećci-kultura i umjetnost (Stećak tombstones – culture and art), Sarajevo, 1982.
1998. Various authors, Bosna i Hercegovina od najstarijih vremena do kraja Drugog svjetskog rata (Bosnia and Herzegovina from ancient times to the end of World War II), Sarajevo 1998.
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