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 22 to 28 May 2007 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The historic site of the old military burial ground at Hrtar in Milatkovići, Čajniče Municipality, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument consists of the remains of an old military burial ground dating from the Ottoman period (one intact grave with nišan tombstones, two overturned nišan tombstones, and a heap of tufa stone which had been used as surrounds for the graves).

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 3677 and 3678, title deed no. 479/4, cadastral municipality Milatkovići, Municipality Čajniče, Republika Srpska, 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 Republika Srpska no. 9/02 and 70/06) 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 for the protection, conservation and presentation of 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 basic details of the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.

III

With a view to protecting the National Monument, protection measures are hereby prescribed relating to part of the area defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision: from a point on the forest track (Y=6595780, X=4828992) on c.p. no. 3678, from which it proceeds due north to the Drvaljica brook. The boundary line of the protected zone continues upstream to the end of c.p. no. 3677 then runs south along the forest margin, i.e. the boundary of c.p. 3677. From there the boundary line continues to a point on the forest track (Y=6595673, X=4828995) on c.p. no. 3678, then eastwards along the forest track to return to the starting point, thereby enclosing the protected zone.

The following protection measures are hereby prescribed for this area:

-       all works are prohibited other than investigative and conservation-restoration works, routine maintenance works, and works designed for the presentation of the monument, with the approval of the ministry of Republika Srpska responsible for regional planning (hereinafter: the relevant ministry) and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska (hereinafter: the heritage protection authority);

-       the site of the monument shall be open and accessible to the public, and may be used for educational and cultural purposes;

-       infrastructure works may be carried out with the approval of the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

-       the refurbishment of the burial ground and repairs to any damage are permitted solely subject to first drawing up a plan for repairs, restoration and conservation and to the approval of the relevant ministry, and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

-       the removal of lichen and moss from the stećaks is prohibited;

-       by way of exception to the above provision, the stećaks may be cleaned if required to examine the epigraphic or decorative features of a stećak, subject to first compiling a report and obtaining the approval of the entity ministry responsible for regional planning. The report should be based on such biological, chemical, physical and other analyses as a conservator considers necessary, and should include appropriate conservation measures and an assessment of the impact of cleaning methods on the stone;

-       the area is an archaeological site, and investigative works must therefore be carried out in the presence of an archaeologist;

-       the dumping of waste is prohibited.

The Government of Republika Srpska shall be responsible in particular for ensuring that the following measures are carried out:

-       conducting a geodetic survey of the site;

-       drawing up a plan for the repair, restoration, conservation and presentation of the National Monument.

The repair, restoration and presentation plan shall include:

-       archaeological investigations of the site of the National Monument;

-       tidying the burial ground and removing self-sown vegetation;

-       the routine maintenance of the monument.

IV

All movable artefacts found during the course of the archaeological survey shall be deposited in the nearest museum able to provide the necessary personnel, material and technical conditions or in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, catalogued, and suitably presented.    

All movable and immovable archaeological material found during the course of the archaeological investigations shall be professionally recorded.

Upon completion of the archaeological works the archaeologist leading the investigations shall submit a report to the Commission and to the institution that conducted the investigations.

The archaeologist leading the investigations must have access to all the movable and immovable archaeological material found during the course of the investigations and until his/her report is completed, for a period not exceeding three years.

All immovable finds shall be conserved in situ as the archaeological investigations proceed, and the movable archaeological material shall be conserved and placed for safe keeping in a suitable storage facility.

Upon receipt of a report on the investigations conducted, the Commission shall identify which movable artefacts shall be subject to protection measures to be determined by the Commission.

The removal of the movable artefacts found during the archaeological survey from Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited.

V

All executive and area development planning acts are hereby revoked to the extent that they are not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision.

VI

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.

VII

The Government of Republika Srpska, the relevant ministry and the 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 – VI of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.

VIII

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.kons.gov.ba)

IX

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.

X

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication 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: 05.2-2-250/05-6

23 May 2007

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 26 September 2005 the Sinan-paša Sijerčić Association for the Preservation of the Natural and Civilizational Heritage, Goražde, submitted a petition/proposal to the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to designate the old military burial ground at Hrtar in the village of Milatkovići, Čajniče Municipality, as a national monument.

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 para. 4 of Annex 8 and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.

II – PRELIMINARY PROCEDURE

In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:

-       details of the current condition and use of the property, including a description, architectural survey and photographs

-       an inspection of the current state of the property

-       a copy of the cadastral plan

-       a copy of the Land Register entry

-       historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision

Pursuant to Article V para. 2 of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 37 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, before rendering a final decision designating a property as a national monument, the Commission is required to provide the owner of the proposed monument, the person submitting the petition, the institutions responsible for heritage, professional and academic institutions, experts and scholars, as well as other interested parties, to express their views. On 26 September 2005 the Commission received a Petition with covering letter from the Sinan-paša Sijerčić Association for the Preservation of the Natural and Civilizational Heritage, Goražde.

Accordingly, the Commission sent a letter ref. 05.2-35-250/05-2 of 15 February 2007 requesting documentation and views on the designation of the old military burial ground at Hrtar in the village of Milatkovići, Čajniče Municipality, as a national monument as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Čajniče Municipality (Mayor, cadastre department, Municipal Court), the Ministry of Regional Planning, Construction and the Environment of Republika Srpska, the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska and the Institute for the Protection of Monuments under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport, and the Sinan-paša Sijerčić Association for the Preservation of the Natural and Civilizational Heritage, Goražde.

The Commission subsequently sent a letter ref. 05.2-36.1-11/12-135 of 16 November 2012 to the Banja Luka Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights, Čajniče branch, requesting cadastral plans from the Austro-Hungarian survey and title deeds for c.p. nos. 3677 and 3678, c.m. Milatkovići, Čajniče.

In response, the Commission has received the following documentation:

-       letter ref. 094-0-Rz-07-000 013 of 19 February 2007 from the Land Registry office of the Municipal Court in Foča notifying the Commission that the Court does not possess the Land Register, which was destroyed by fire during World War II;

-       letter ref. 07-40-4-565-1/07 of 22 February 2007 from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport notifying the Commission to Preserve National Monuments that the Institute has no documentation on the site of the old military burial ground at Hrtar in the village of Milatkovići, Čajniče Municipality;

-       letter ref. 50-50-952-21/07 of 12 March 2007 from the Banja Luka Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights, Čajniče branch, notifying the Commission that the Čajniče branch has no details relating to the site in question, that the establishment of the registry cadastre is in force, and that a qualified person from the Commission and a qualified person from the Čajniče branch will need to be present on site to identify the plots;

-       letter ref. 01-624-1/07 of 9 August 2007 from the Mayor of Čajniče notifying the Commission that details such as the municipality, town or village, cadastral plots, cadastral municipalities and excerpts from the cadastre may be obtained from the Čajniče branch of the Banja Luka Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights;

-       letter ref. 21.50/952.2-123/12 of 22 November 2012 from the Banja Luka Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights, Čajniče branch, supplying the Commission with the cadastral details of the site in question.

The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the property are as follows:

1. Details of the property

Location

The old military burial ground is in the forest about half an hour's walk to the west [of the village of Milatkovići] at a place called Hrtar in the village of Milatkovići. The village is reached by road from Čajniče via the village of Zaborak, from which a rough track, barely passable even in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, leads through fields and forest to Milatkovići. The remains of the old military Muslim burial ground are above the meadow called Rustovina in the place known as Hrtar, on the edge of pine and beech forest. The site is about half an hour to the west of the last house in the village and the burial ground where members of the Božović family are buried.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 3677 and 3678, title deed no. 479/4, cadastral municipality Milatkovići, Municipality Čajniče, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Čajniče Municipal Council is the owner of the plots.

Historical background

Nothing is known of Čajniče in the time of the mediaeval Bosnian state. The entire area is in the upper Drina valley, which was on the borders of the Serbian state until 1377, when Nikola Altomanović's lands were divided between Bosnia's King Tvrtko I and Serbia's Prince Lazar, and the district was allotted to Bosnia. When the Kosača landowning family gained strength in the late 14th and 15th centuries, the region came under the rule of Sandalj Hranić and herceg Stjepan Vukčić Kosača. Among the archive documents of Dubrovnik dating from that period, the most numerous are those relating to trade, artisanal and transit activities in Foča, Goražde and Ustikolina. This region, rich in forests and fertile valleys, was ideal for the development of livestock herding, bee-keeping, and the production of grain and other agricultural crops. Although there is no reference to Čajniče itself in mediaeval sources, in the very abundant archive material of that time relating to the upper Drina valley, the numerous necropolises with stećak tombstones, local folktales, and the earliest Ottoman sources are evidence that this region was well settled(1). Despite the absence of references to Čajniče in mediaeval sources, it was already a market town when the Ottomans arrived in the region.(2)

Čajniče was occupied during the Ottoman offensive which began in the summer of 1465 in the Herceg's lands. First to fall to them were the eastern regions of the Herceg's lands, including the forts of Mileševac and Samobor(3). Čajniče and Samobor were listed, together with other nahijas and towns in the region (Pljevlja, Foča, Goražde, Bistrica with Ustikolina, Osanica, etc.), in the defter [tax census records] for 1468/69, in the nahija [smallest administrative unit in the Ottoman Empire] of Samobor, in the vilayet of Hercek in the Bosnian sandžak. The nahija of Samobor or Pribud was referred to by its dual name until the 18th century. In that same census, Čajniče is described as "the bazaar of Čajniče in the nahija of Samobor," and was listed in the imperial has [crown lands, from Ar. khas] with an iron mine, six forges, and 415 smelting furnaces. The 1477 census listed Čajniče in the imperial has with 190 households and 5 bachelor households. The nahija belonged to the Drina kadiluk, but in 1572 Čajniče was referred to as a kasaba [small town] in the Foča kadiluk. In 1582 it became an independent kadiluk in its own right, to which the nahijas of Pribud and Samobor (previously a single nahija) belonged, along with Dubštica (with its centre in Rudo) and Međurječje.(4)

In mediaeval times, the main road through this region was the Via Drinae, and Foča and Goražde were its principal towns. In the Ottoman period, the road from Bosnia to Istanbul ran through Čajniče. Judging from the 1573 account by the French traveller Philippe Dufresne Canaye and Evliya Çelebi's 1664 account, Čajniče was a wealthy town.(5)

2. Description of the property

The remains of the old military burial ground at Hrtar are on a gentle slope on the southern edge of mixed beech and pine forest. It is about half an hour's walk to the west of the houses in the village of Milatkovići, along a path that was once a footpath to Ustiprača. According to local residents, there are the remains of some kind of building below the southern edge of the forest, in the meadow known as Hrtar, close to the burial ground on a terraced site. An inspection of the grassy area revealed no sign of these remains.

The remains of the old military burial ground cover a small area of about 100 x 50 m, with the longer side following the lie of the land west-east. The entire area is covered with fallen leaves and branches, with some plant growth. It is full of stones, partly visible above ground and covered with moss. It is impossible to say how many graves there were in the burial ground. As well as three fallen nišan tombstones and a heap of cut tufa blocks, there is one intact grave with its nišan tombstones still standing. This lies west-east with a slight deviation to the north. In the large burial ground in Presjeka near Ustikolina, all the old Muslim graves lie in the same direction as the one surviving grave in Hrtar, not facing south-east as was the usual practice(6). The headstone, which is about 2.20 m high, is square in section, with a long neck topped by a turban and mudžereta(7). The footstone is in the shape of a narrow upright slab terminating in a ridge, about 30 cm wide and 12 cm thick. The grave is about 3 m long and is surrounded by cut tufa basal stones of varying sizes, giving the impression of massive stone blocks. The base of both nišan tombstones was covered in earth and moss, so that it was not possible to ascertain how they were mounted on the grave; however, given the remains of several tufa basal stones with holes to take the head and footstones, suggesting that these two were probably mounted in the same way. There were similar findings in the burial ground in Presjeka near Ustikolina(8).(9)

The headstone nišan has carvings of a spear and banner on the south face, a curved sabre on the north face. Both motifs are frequently to be found on the earliest known nišan gravestones dating from the second half of the 15th and the 16th century, but the nišans from that period are stouter, of cruder workmanship, and usually end in the shape of a prism.

One square-section headstone topped with a neck and turban is lying on the ground, together with the plinth, to which it is still attached. It is similar in workmanship to the headstone on the only surviving grave, but its condition made it possible to determine whether it was decorated.

Parts of yet another overturned nišan, this one polygonal in section and narrowing at the top, are partly covered with earth and moss. These two fallen tombstones probably also belonged to the same grave, but it would require excavations to confirm this.

The nišan gravestones are well cut from hard, mainly white stone, apart from the footstone on the grave, which is grey. All the other scattered or piled-up blocks were cut from tufa and were used as grave surrounds. They show no signs of joining holes. Among them were a number of blocks with holes in the middle into which the nišan gravestones would have been fitted.

There a various other pieces of hard stone on the site of the burial ground, but it was impossible to tell whether they belonged to some small, almost amorphous stećak tombstones, so this question remains unresolved.

The proposal/petition states that the burial ground in Milatkovići dates from 1415-1419, probably on the basis of some tradition. The burial ground in Presjeka near Ustikolina is also associated in local tradition with the early years of the Ottoman conquest of these parts(10). It is a known fact that large, decorated nišan gravestones of the type found in Milatkovići, imposing in size and often elaborately decorated, were erected to commemorate Muslim shahids [martyrs] who suffered a hero’s death fighting for their faith. A similar nišan gravestone, albeit rather more massive and elaborately decorated, was found in the Shahid's burial ground in Presjeka, west of the burial ground already described there. Graves more than three metres long, with surrounds like those in Milatkovići and the burial ground in Presjeka, were found in the Shahid's burial ground.(11)

The nišan with a turban in Milatkovići has all the features of a shahid's grave, both in size, material and workmanship and in the choice of decorative motifs (the spear and banner and the sabre), as well as in the size of the grave itself. Judging from parallels in the wider region, the burial ground in Milatkovići could date from the late 15th or the 16th century. The nišan gravestone that most closely resembles this one is in the old Muslim burial ground at Varoš in the hamlet of Popovići near Kalinovik.(12)

3. Legal status to date

No prior statutory protection.

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

None

5. Current condition of the property

The site is derelict, the stone is covered with moss, and the surviving nišan tombstones have fallen and are lying on the ground. One grave is intact, and its surround can be made out below the leaves.

6. Specific risks

Natural factors will lead to further deterioration.  

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.i.       quality of workmanship

C.ii.      quality of materials

C.iii.      proportions

C.v.      value of details

D.         Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)

D.i.       material evidence of a lesser known historical era

E.         Symbolic value

E.v.      significance for the identity of a group of people

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:

-       Ownership documentation(13)

-         letter ref. 21.50/952.2-123/12 of 22 November 2012 from the Banja Luka Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights, Čajniče branch, supplying the Commission with the cadastral details of the site in question.

-       Documentation on previous protection of the property

-         letter ref. 07-40-4-565-1/07 of 22 February 2007 from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport notifying the Commission to Preserve National Monuments that the Institute has no documentation on the site of the old military burial ground at Hrtar in the village of Milatkovići, Čajniče Municipality.

-       Photodocumentation

-         photographs of the property taken on 9 May 2007 and 4 October 2012 by archaeologist Lidija Fekeža and historian Zijad Halilović using Canon EOS 450D digital camera.

-       Technical documentation

-         technical survey of the property (survey of the monument) conducted on 9 May 2007 by Lidija Fekeža. The protected zone was surveyed on 4 October 2012 by Zijad Halilović, archaeology specialist, and Ešref Salihagić, surveyor and freelance associate.

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the monument as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:

1940.    Dinić, Mihailo. Tri francuska putopisca XVI veka u našim zemljama (Three 16th century French travel chroniclers in our lands). Belgrade: Anniversary of Nikola Čupić, bk. XLIX, 1940, 85-118. Cyrillic.

1973.    Petrović, Đurđica. “Arhivsko-istorijska istraživanja” (Archival and jistorical Research) in: various authors: Gornje Podrinje u doba Kosača (The Upper Drina valley in the time of the Kosača's), Academic research programme no. III/1973. Sarajevo: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, 1973, 38-85.

1977.    Šebić-Redžić, Azra. “Staromuslimansko groblje na Presjeci” (Old Muslim burial ground in Presjeka) in: various authors: Gornje Podrinje u doba Kosača (The Upper Drina Valley in the Time of the Kosača's), Academic research programme no. IV/1973. Sarajevo: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, 1977, 66-72.

1978.    Šebić-Redžić, Azra. “Staromuslimansko groblje na Presjeci kod Ustikoline /II/” (Old Muslim burial ground in Presjeka nr. Ustikolina [II]) in: various authors: Gornje Podrinje u doba Kosača (The Upper Drina Valley in the Time of the Kosača's), Academic research programme no. V/1973. Sarajevo: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, 1978, 78-117.

1978.    Kovačević, Kojić, Desanka. Gradska naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države (Urban settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state). Sarajevo: 1978. Cyrillic

1979.    Bešlagić, Šefik. Nišani XV i XV vijeka u Bosni i Hercegovini (15th and 16th century nišans of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Sarajevo: Academy of Science of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Works, bk.. LIII, Social Sciences Dept., bk. 30, 1978.

1979.    Šebić-Redžić, Azra. “Šehitsko groblje na Presjeci” in: various authors: Gornje Podrinje u doba Kosača (The Upper Drina valley in the time of the Kosača's), Academic research programme no. VI/1973. Sarajevo: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, 1978, 45-49.

1979.    Çelebi, Evliya. Putopis – odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama (Travelogue – Excerpts on Yugoslav countries). Sarajevo: 1979.

1982.    Šabanović, Hazim. Bosanski pašaluk (The Bosnian Pashaluk). Sarajevo: 1982.

(1) Petrović, Đurđica, “Arhivsko-istorijska istraživanja,” in various authors: Gornje Podrinje u doba Kosača, naučnoistraživački program br. III/1973. Sarajevo: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, 1973, 38-42

(2) Kovačević, Kojić, Desanka, Gradska naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države, Sarajevo: 1978, 87.

(3) Vego, Marko, Naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države, Sarajevo: 1957, 28, 97; Šabanović, Hazim, Bosanski pašaluk, Sarajevo: 1982, 44

(4) Šabanović, Hazim, Bosanski pašaluk, Sarajevo: 1982, 117, 136, 139, 195.

(5) Dinić, Mihailo, Tri francuska putopisca XVI veka u našim zemljama. Beograd: Godišnjica Nikole Čupića, knj. XLIX, 1940, 99; Čelebija, Evlija, Putopis. Odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama. Sarajevo: 1979, 399-403

(6) Šebić-Redžić, Azra, “Staromuslimansko groblje na Presjecikod Ustikoline /II/”, 98. Translator's note: in the amended decision sent for translation this reference remains in the body of the text; I have turned it into a footnote for the sake of consistency.

(7) Translator’s note: word not found in any dictionary at my disposal nor on the Internet. None of the Turkish, Arabic, Persian or Urdu dictionaries at my disposal on the Internet produced a result that appears to make sense. It is perhaps a variant or (or typo for) mudževez, the peaked top featuring on some turbans.

(8) The burial ground at Presjeka is the only partly investigated old Muslim burial ground (with about 100 nišans) in the wider area “at Presjeka” about 10 km north-west of Ustikolina, at the intersection of the old roads for Jabuka and Previle. (Šebić-Redžić, 1977, 66-67). The similarities between these burial grounds are: their location in uninhabited places remove from any current habitation; they are located on slopes overgrown with trees, alongside roads; they are derelict; the decorations on the tombstones – spears, banners, sabres, and also, in Presjeka, motifs of a bow and arrow, mace, “apples” and human hands/arms; some of the graves are over 3 m in length; they have tufa surrounds; the nišan tombstones are mounted on tufa plinths; the large tombs in central group in Presjeka lie west-east. The differences are that the burial ground in Presjeka is walled, and also differs in the number and different types of graves, and in the fact that among the forms of nišan tombstones there were variations within a given form that were not found in the burial ground in Milatkovići; and in that one nišan bears an epitaph. The burial ground in Presjeka is associated with the historical figure of Turhan Emin beg, who died in the second half of the 16th century.  Burials were conducted there for more than a century (Šebić-Redžić, 1978, 84-85).

(9) Šebić-Redžić, Azra, “Staromuslimansko groblje na Presjecikod Ustikoline /II/,” in various authors: Gornje Podrinje u doba Kosača, naučnoistraživački program br. V/1978.

(10) Šebić-Redžić, Azra, “Staromuslimansko groblje na Presjeci kod Ustikoline /II/,” in various authors: Gornje Podrinje u doba Kosača, naučnoistraživački program br. V/1978. Sarajevo: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, 1978, 84, 85

(11) Šebić-Redžić, Azra, “Šehitsko groblje  na Presjeci,” in various authors: Gornje Podrinje u doba Kosača, naučnoistraživački program br. VI/1979. Sarajevo: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, 1978, 46-49.

(12) Bešlagić, Šefik, Nišani XV i XV vijeka u Bosni i Hercegovini, Sarajevo: Akademija nauka Bosne i Hercegovine, Djela, knj. LIII, odjeljenje društvenih nauka, knj. 30, 1978, 30,-31,sl. 37.

(13) Translator’s note: under Ownership documentation details are given of a letter from the Sokolac branch of the Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights relating to cadastral details for a site in Bjelosavljevići. Since this appears to have no relation the present decision, I have omitted it.