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Navitak necropolis with stećak tombstones in the village of Boganovići, the historic site

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Status of monument -> National monument

Published in the “Official Gazette of BiH” no. 36/09.

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 27 May to 2 June 2008 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

The historic site of the Navitak necropolis with stećak tombstones in the village of Boganovići, Municipality Olovo, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument). 

The National Monument consists of a necropolis with 37 stećak tombstones.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no .3181, title deed no. 126, cadastral municipality Solun I, Municipality Olovo, 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, 6/04 and 51/07) 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 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 erecting signboards with basic details of the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.

 

III

 

To ensure the on-going protection of the National Monument on the site defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:

-          all works are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works, including those designed to display the monument, with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning (hereinafter: the relevant ministry) and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the heritage protection authority),

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

-          works on the infrastructure are prohibited unless with the approval of the relevant ministry and subject to the expert opinion of the heritage protection authority,

-          the dumping of all kinds of waste is prohibited,

-          to avert the danger to the necropolis, the slope on the south side of the necropolis shall be made good, a barrier erected to protect it from further deterioration and to prevent further damage to the stećak tombstones, and the road, barrier and all temporary structures shall be removed.

 

The Government of the Federation shall be responsible for ensuring that a programme is drawn up for the systematic archaeological investigation and conservation of the necropolis, to include a geodetic survey of the current condition of the property, and for 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 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

 

On the date of adoption of this Decision, the National Monument shall be deleted from the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02, Official Gazette of Republika Srpska no. 79/02, Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH no. 59/02, and Official Gazette of Brčko District BiH no. 4/03), where it featured under serial no. 451.

 

X

 

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: 02-02-66/08-7

28 May 2008

Sarajevo

 

Chair of the Commission

Amra Hadžimuhamedović

 

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 Commission to Preserve National Monuments issued a decision to add the Necropolis in Boganovići, Municipality Olovo, to the Provisional List of National Monuments under serial no. 451.

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 – 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 the current owner and user of the property (copy of cadastral plan and Land Register entry);

-          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 village of Boganovići is about 3 km to the north-west of Olovo as the crow flies. The necropolis with stećak tombstones is in the middle of the village, on a small rise known as Navitak. The necropolis contains 37 stećak tombstones, some slabs, some gabled. The tombstones are of good workmanship, are set in rows, and lie west-east and north-south.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 3181, title deed no. 126, cadastral municipality Solun I, Municipality Olovo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The plot on which the tombstones are located is in the sole ownership of DP “Stupčanica” Olovo.(1) The local roads are registered as public property and are located on a site designated as c.p. no. 3180, title deed no. 124, c.m. Solun I, Municipality Olovo.(2)  

Historical information

Olovo is at the foot of Mt. Stoborje, at the confluence of the rivers Stupčanica and Bioštica, which then form the river Krivaja. High caves with the remains of ruins, which the local people call Gradine, indicate that there have been settlements in the Olovo region since ancient times (K. Horman, 1889. 63). During the Illyrian period the Desidiati tribe gravitated to this area  (B. Marijanović 1984. 55).

The abundance of ores and minerals determined its historical evolution, and the settlement and the town were named Olovo after the lead ore found there (Lat. plumbum, ital. città de Piombo) (K. Horman, 1889, 63).

The inhabited area of Olovo took shape there in mediaeval times, with a town called Olovac (M. Vego, 1957, 84).

Documents from the Ottoman period in Bosnia and Herzegovina provide evidence of the župa (county) of Olovo – a 1711 list of spahis, where the area or nahija around present-day Olovo is called Olovci. This indicates that the Ottoman authorities inherited the previous name of the county, which did not remain within its original boundaries (M. Filipović, 1934, 2).

Information concerning the exploitation of the mines in Olovo appears in 1382, during the reign of King Tvrtko I.  A mine closely associated with Olovo was the Kamenica mine, referred to earlier in Dubrovnik records; as, for example, on 15 February 1376 when Žore and Marko Bokšić undertook to give their creditors 90 miliar of lead in the month of April in Kamenica in Bosnia. Later that year, in 19 April, “creditores quondam Marini de Benvegnuta“ stated that under certain circumstances they would renounce all their rights in favour of the Bokšić brothers “tam de plumbo laborato in Bossina quam ibi existente..“  There is also a reference in these dealings to a certain quantity of lead “in Camenica in Bossina“ (D. Kovačević, 1961, 26).

M. Filipović is of the view that Kamenica and Olovo were a single settlement, since they found no pits (trenches) in Olovo but only around it, whereas the ore was processed in Olovo itself, the centre of social and religious life of the locals and newcomers alike (M. Filipović, 1934, 11).

There was also a mine called Çeçegl in the Olovo region, and on 11 February 1382 the Government of Dubrovnik sent Pasko Rastić to Bosnia “in contratas Çeçegli et Camenice“ to find the property of the late Mihail Mihaila Budačić (D. Kovačević, 1961, 26).

In addition to Čečelj, which still features in an Ottoman defter (tax census) of 1468/69, the small lead mines of Kruševo and Donje Podgrađe are also referred to as in the Olovo region (A. Handžić, 1999, 292, 293).

The opening of the mines and the urbanization of mediaeval Bosnia are the context for the appearance of stećak tombstones (pl. stećci), as a new expression of the marking of tombs that began in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries with the development of towns and the bourgeois class. This marked the end of a long period, from the 6th to the 11th century, during which graves were “anonymous.”

A. Benac, however, is of the view that the source of the wealth and power of Olovo's feudal lords lay in their vast pasturages and their herds and flocks, so that their kmets (serfs) were mainly shepherds and herders, and that there were also free peasants.

He based this opinion on the fact that the lead mines were initially in royal ownership, and were later owned by individual landowning families (the Radenović-Pavlović family, overlords of the Olovo region), making it more likely that they acquired their wealth and power in the same way as feudal lords in other parts of Bosnia (as part of the general socio-economic development of feudal society).

 

2. Description of the property

In his work entitled Olovo, A. Benac provided details of the whereabouts of stećak tombstones in the Olovo region, with a detailed identification and description of the tombstones.(3)   

The entire ornamental system in the necropolises of Olovo reveals a distinct school of art with its own principles of decoration and treatment of the decorated surfaces. Among the decorative motifs the most common are spirals, on 43 tombstones, rosettes, on 35, and rope twist, on 26. In addition, zigzag lines, circles, dotted circles, a rope twist circle, a circle with a rosette, a rayed circle, a semi-circle, a star, a bunch of grapes, a crescent moon, a mill and a carved button were also recorded. A feature of the tombstones in the Olovo region is that they have no figural scenes, but do feature human arms, and hands holding a spear or a sword. All these stećak tombstones are of limestone, most are technically of good workmanship, but most of the graves are inconsistent in orientation. The origins of Olovo's necropolises are attributed to the late 14th to late 15th century, with the majority of the tombstones dating from the first half of the 15th century. (A. Benac, 1951, 51-58)

An entire “system of grave sites“ emerged in the Olovo region, suggesting that this was a densely populated area known for its advanced mining. A feature of the stećci here is that they provide information on the original mediaeval house (for instance, a stećak in Klisa, which has carved ribbing on the sides, imitating the logs from which real houses were built) (ibid., 63).

The necropolis with stećak tombstones at Navitak in the village of Boganovići

The village of Boganovići lies in the Krivaja river valley on the left of the Olovo to Zavidovići, about 3 km as the crow flies from Olovo. 

There is a small rise in the middle of the village known as Navitak, where there is a mediaeval necropolis with stećak tombstones. 

Most of the stećci stand on the hillock, with a few on the west slope. A local macadam road running west-east leads to the site, forking just before the necropolis. The left fork leads to the houses to the north of the necropolis, and the right fork runs below the necropolis towards the valley and the houses to the south of the necropolis. At the crossroads, one road leads straight to two houses about 10-15 m of the necropolis, to the south and east. When this roadway to the two houses was laid, the residents damaged the original appearance of the necropolis, undercutting it to the south to provide a larger driveway outside their houses.

The stećci on this site belong to the group of necropolises of individual inhabited areas, villages or hamlets with a common burial ground for all the inhabitants. The people who lived there are believed to have been free peasant herders.

The stećci on this site indicate that there was no established custom governing the orientation of graves; half lie east-west, half north-south. Among the recorded necropolises in the Olovo region, there are certain traces of a majdan (quarry) where the stećci were cut for the village necropolis, in Boganovići. The stećci were worked in limestone, and in shape were gabled like houses or slab-shaped.

There are 37 stećci on the site (three slabs, 31 gabled and three of which the shape could not be determined since they are almost completely buried).(4)   

The gabled tombstones are cut to be rather narrower at the base, and all have plinths. The slabs are of cruder workmanship, also with plinths.

Decorative ornaments can be seen on ten of the tombstones, all of them gabled (nos. 12, 13, 15, 16, 21, 22, 26, 28, 35 and 36). The decorative motifs in Navitak are rope twist, rosettes, spirals, crosses, crescent moon and a bunch of grapes. The tombstones are of precise workmanship, with a few of crude workmanship.

Condition of the stećak tombstones

Stećak no. 1 – gabled, undecorated, visible damage to the sides, sunken towards the west;

-          the stećak measures 179 x 60 x 44 cm,

-          the plinth measures 201 x 75 x 17 cm, depth of plinth at front 15 cm and at the sides 15 cm.

Stećak no. 2 – gabled, covered with moss on the west side, earth is piled up to the roof pane on the east side;

-          the stećak measures 173 x 50 x 41 cm,

-          the plinth measures 197 x 70 x 20 cm, depth of plinth at front 11 cm and at the sides 10 cm.

Stećak no. 3 – gabled, of good workmanship and well preserved;

-          the stećak measures 154 x 50 x 52 cm,

-          the plinth measures 176 x 72 x 20 cm, depth of plinth at front 10 cm and at the sides 13 cm.

Stećak no. 4 – gabled, of good workmanship and well preserved, leaning to the west, undercut to the south, visible damage to the east and west roof panes;

-          the stećak measures 180 x 75 x 67 cm,

-          the plinth measures 210 x 76 x 23 cm, depth of plinth at front 16 cm and at the sides 15 cm.

Stećak no. 5 – gabled, unlike the previous ones this one is lying south-east/north-west, of good workmanship and well preserved, earth is piled up along the full length of the north side;

-          the stećak measures 140 x 47 x 50 cm,

-          the plinth measures 172 cm in length, the width could not be measured, height 17 cm, depth of plinth at front 14 cm and at the sides 9 cm.

Stećak no. 6 – slab, crudely cut surface, damaged, lying south-east/north-west, with earth piled up along the full length of the north side;

-          the stećak measures 162 x 72 x 30 cm, 

-          the plinth measures 190 cm in length and 16 cm in height, depth of plinth at front 18 cm and at the sides 12 cm.

Stećak no. 7 – gabled, buried under part of the road in length and breadth with only part of the ridge showing, indicating that it is gabled;

-          the visible length of the stećak is 130 cm.

Stećak no. 8 – buried in the middle of the road, visible damage to the surface, it was hard to determine its shape.

Stećak no. 9 – buried in the middle of the road, visible damage to the surface, it was hard to determine its shape.

Stećak no. 10 – gabled, of good workmanship and well preserved, standing to the right of the road, with the north side buried to plinth height;

-          the stećak measures 180 x 73 x 62 cm, 

-          the plinth measures 20 cm in height, depth of plinth at front 18 cm and at the sides 16 cm.

Stećak. no. 11 – gabled, visible damage to the plinth and north end;

-          the stećak measures 150 x 50 x 44 cm, 

-          the plinth measures 178 (visible length) x 79 x 25 cm, depth of plinth at front 12 cm and at the sides 11 cm.

Stećak. no. 12 – gabled, of good workmanship and decorated at the ends, visible cracks on the roof panes and damage to the west side, earth is piled up on the east side of the stećak;

-          the stećak measures 158 x 68 x (visible height) 69 cm, 

-          the plinth measures 180 cm in length and 20 cm in height, depth of plinth at front 16 cm and at the sides 17 cm.

The ends are both decorated identically. The gable is surrounded by a rope twist with a five-lobed rosette in the middle. Below are two spirals, of which the ends are turned down vertically towards the base. The ornament was carved into the stone.

Stećak no. 13 – gabled, of good workmanship, but with damage to the south end where part of the decoration is missing, and buried on the east side to plinth height;

-          the stećak measures 130 x 50 x 67 cm, 

-          the plinth measures 130 cm in length and 15 cm in height, depth of plinth at front 18 cm and at the sides 15 cm.

The decorative motifs are similar to those on stećak no 12, except that the ends of the spirals are curved into an S shape. The ornament was also carved into the stone.

Stećak no. 14 – gabled, well cut and well preserved, undecorated, leaning to the west;

-          the stećak measures 162 x 65 x 58 cm,

-          the plinth measures 186 x 72 x 20 cm, depth of plinth at front 12 cm and at the sides 15 cm.

Stećak no. 15 – gabled, of good workmanship with decoration, but damaged, and with earth piled up on the east side;

-          the stećak measures 149 x 53 x 55 cm,

-          the plinth measures 179 x 60 x 16 cm, depth of plinth at front 13 cm and at the sides 10 cm.

The edges of the roof panes and the sides are damaged. A rope twist runs across them with a stud-like or semi-orb terminal at one end (the west end). The decoration is in relief.

Stećak no. 16 – gabled, of good workmanship and well preserved, lying north-east/south-west, decorated on the south-west end, covered with moss and with earth piled up to the east and west, and visible damage to the side roof pane;

-          the stećak measures 183 x 65 x 50 cm,

-          the plinth measures 200 x 75 x 20 cm, depth of plinth at front 14 cm and at the sides 14 cm.

The south-west end is decorated with a cross of which the lower upright is long and widens into a solid plinth. The upper arms terminate in semi-orbs. The ornament was carved into the stone.

Stećak no. 17 – gabled, covered with moss, well cut and well preserved, lying north-east/south-west, visible damage to the south side;

-          the stećak measures 195 x 70 x 64 cm,

-          the plinth measures 230 x 91 x 20 cm in length, depth of plinth at front 17 cm and at the sides 14 cm.

Stećak no. 18 – gabled, lying north-east/south-west, of good workmanship but damaged at the south-west end, and with earth and stones piled up along the full length of the east side, covered with moss and overgrown with weeds;

-          the stećak measures 160 x 70 x 44 cm,

-          the plinth measures 174 cm in length and 18 cm in height, depth of plinth at front 12 cm and at the sides 15 cm.

Stećak no. 19 – gabled, well cut and finished, buried under earth and stones along the full length of the south side, damage to the plinth and the edges of the north side, lying south-east/north-west;

-          the stećak measures 169 x 67 x 44 cm,

-          the plinth measures 198 cm in length and 20 cm in height, depth of plinth at front 15 cm and at the sides 15 cm.

Stećak no. 20 – slab, undecorated, crudely cut, damage to the west side edge, lying north-south;

-          the stećak measures 160 x 57 x 23 cm,

-          the plinth measures 170 x 65 x 20 cm, depth of plinth at front 10 cm and at the sides 6 cm.

Stećak no. 21 – gabled, lying north-south(5), leaning to the south and east, damage to the south end and the west side, sunken to plinth height, decorated on both ends and the roof panes;

-          the stećak measures 160 x 64 x 60 cm.

Rope twists run along the length of the roof panes and marks the eaves, but are set back from the gables at the ends. The north end has two spirals, the right-hand one larger. The ends of the spirals extend into a common stand at the base. Between the spirals is a rosette with triangular lobes.

The front end has the same spirals, with their common stand extending into a cross. The part of the stećak below the left-hand spiral is damaged and missing. The arms of the cross terminate in semi-orbs. The ornaments were carved into the stone.

Stećak no. 22 – gabled, decorated, lying east-west, of good workmanship and well preserved, overturned onto its east side, with a visible crack halfway across;

-          the stećak measures 185 x 75 x 55 cm, 

-          the plinth measures 218 x 101 x 22 cm, depth of plinth at front 15 cm and at the sides 16 cm.

The lower ends of the edges extend into narrow “fists“ on which the tombstone appears to be standing. There are no other decorations.

Stećak. no. 23 – gabled, lying east-west, visible damage to the plinth, south sides and edges of the roof pane;

-          the stećak measures 195 x 70 x 72 cm,

-          the plinth measures 200 x 82 x 22, depth of plinth at front 10 cm and at the sides 13 cm.

Stećak. no. 24 – gabled, lying east-west, leaning to the north, covered with moss;

-          the stećak measures 170 x 70 x 52 cm,

-          the plinth measures 206 x 84 x 24 cm, depth of plinth at front 20 cm and at the sides 11 cm.

Stećak no. 25 – gabled, lying east-west, of good workmanship, visible hollow on the roof, covered with moss;

-          the stećak measures 194 x 78 x 60 cm,

-          the plinth measures 231 x 92 x 20 cm, depth of plinth at front 20 cm and at the sides 14 cm.

Stećak no. 26 – gabled, lying east-west, covered with moss, of good workmanship and with decoration, but with damage to the plinth on the west end;

-          the stećak measures 150 x 60 x 50 cm,

-          the plinth measures 60 cm in width and 15 cm in height, depth of plinth at front 10 cm and at the sides 10 cm.

Only the west end is decorated, with two spirals of which the common stand extends into a cross with arms ending in semi-orbs and the lower part of the upright widening into a solid plinth. The spirals thus rise from an upright that forms an integral part of the cross.

Stećak no. 27 – gabled, of good workmanship and well preserved, lying east-west, covered with moss and with earth piled up on the south side, visible damage to the west side of the plinth;

-          the stećak measures 180 x 70 x 65 cm,

-          the plinth measures 230 x 89 x 20 cm, depth of plinth at front 25 cm and at the sides 17 cm.

Stećak no. 28 – gabled, covered with moss, of good workmanship, lying east-west, with a visible crack on the north side;

-          the stećak measures 160 x 63 x 60 cm,

-          the plinth measures 190 x 90 x (visible height) 13 cm, depth of plinth at front 22 cm and at the sides 12 cm.

On each side of the western part of the roof panes is a sculpted six-lobed rosette, with a crescent moon in the middle of the south roof pane.

Stećak no. 29 – gabled, lying east-west, of good workmanship but covered with moss, damaged on the north side;

-          the stećak measures 173 x 70 x 43 cm,

-          the plinth measures 203 x 95 x 17 cm, depth of plinth at front 10 cm and at the sides 10 cm.

Stećak no. 30 – gabled, well cut and finished, damaged on the ridge at the west end, lying east-west;

-          the stećak measures 108 x 50 x 50 cm,

-          the plinth measures 113 x 53 x 15 cm, depth of plinth at front 10 cm and at the sides 10 cm.

Stećak no. 31 – gabled, lying east-west, damaged on the south side, and with visible cracks on the north roof pane;

-          the stećak measures 147 x 45 x 38 cm,

-          the plinth measures 173 x 65 x 14 cm, depth of plinth at front 10 cm and at the sides 8 cm.

Stećak no. 32 – gabled, lying north-south, overturned onto its west side, covered with moss and in poor condition;

-          the stećak measures 126 x 50 x 40 cm, 

-          the plinth measures 150 x 60 x 12 cm, depth of plinth at front 13 cm and at the sides 10 cm.

Stećak no. 33 – slab, lying north-south, amorphous, covered with moss;

-          the stećak measures 148 x 68 x 24 cm, 

-          the plinth measures 170 x 94 x 16 cm, depth of plinth at front 13 cm and at the sides 10 cm.

Stećak. no. 34 – gabled, lying east-west, covered with moss, visible cracks on the east end and with earth piled up against the west end;

-          the stećak measures 153 x 54 x 54 cm,

-          the plinth measures 65 cm in width and 20 cm in height, depth of plinth at front 13 cm and at the sides 10 cm.

Stećak. no. 35 – gabled with decoration, lying east-west, leaning to the north, covered with moss;

-          the stećak measures 187 x 65 x 52 cm,

-          the plinth measures 218 x 80 x 13 cm, depth of plinth at front 17 cm and at the sides 17 cm.

The two ends have identical decorations. The gable is surrounded by a wide band of rope twist, within which is a five-lobed rosette. Below the gable are two spirals, the ends of which run vertically down to the base. The decorations at both ends are carved into the stone.

Stećak no. 36 – gabled with decoration, lying east-west, of good workmanship, covered with moss and with earth piled up on the south and west sides, visible damage to the south side of the roof pane;

-          the stećak measures 163 x 70 x 60 cm,

-          the plinth measures 190 x 80 x 20 cm, depth of plinth at front 15 cm and at the sides 15 cm.

The ends are decorated in the identical manner as those of tombstone no. 35.

Stećak no. 37 – it is hard to identify its shape since it is completely buried (on A. Benac's plan of the necropolis it is marked as a slab).

 

3. Legal status to date

The Regional Plan for BiH to 2000 lists fourteen sites of necropolises with stećak tombstones (428 in all) as category III monuments, without specifically identifying them.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments issued a decision to add the Necropolis in Boganovići, Municipality Olovo, to the Provisional List of National Monuments under serial no. 451.

 

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

Research works, consisting of recording and describing the sites in Olovo Municipality, have been conducted by Alojz Benac and Šefik Bešlagić.

No conservation or restoration works have been carried outl.

 

5. Current condition of the property

The findings of an on site inspection on 14 March 2008 are as follows:

-          most of the stećak tombstones are of good workmanship and well preserved,

-          as plant growth begins again in spring the necropolis becomes overgrown with grass, weeds and shrubs,

-          the stećci are at risk of rapid deterioration due to the lack of regular maintenance,

-          some of the stećci are chipped, damaged, overturned, or partly or wholly sunken and buried,

-          stećak no. 4 is endangered by the widening of the access road to a house,

-          there are plant organisms, mainly lichens and moss, on most of the stećci, damaging the structure of the stone,

-          decorative ornaments can be seen on ten of the tombstones, all gabled,

-          it was learned from local residents that weather conditions and the widening of the road to the house have caused soil to fall away from the site, with human bones also emerging from the soil, which was corroborated by the inspection of the condition of the site.

 

6. Specific risks

-          works to widen the access to a house for local people, which is directly endangering the necropolis,

-          long-term disintegration and neglect of the site,

-          adverse weather conditions,

-          self-sown vegetation.

 

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.v.       value of details

D.         Clarity

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

E.         Symbolic value

E.i.       ontological value

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

G.         Authenticity

G.i.       form and design

G.ii.      material and content

G.iv.      traditions and techniques

 

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-          Copy of cadastral plan,

-          Copy of land register entry,

-          Photodocumentation, 11 photographs taken on site.

 

Bibliography

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

 

1889.    Hörman, Kosta, “Olovo”, Jnl of the National Museum, Sarajevo, Jan-Mar. 1889, 63-77

 

1934.    Filipović, Milenko, Varošica Olovo s okolinom (The Small Town of Olovo and its Environs), Belgrade, 1934

 

1951.    Benac, Alojz, “Olovo”, Srednjovjekovni nadgrobni spomenici Bosne i Hercegovine, II (Olovo, Mediaeval Tombstones of Bosnia and Herzegovina, II), Belgrade, 1951

 

1957.    Vego, Marko, Naselja bosanske srednjovjekovne države (Settlements of the Mediaeval Bosnian State), Sarajevo, 1957

 

1961.    Kovačević, Desanka, Trgovina u srednjovjekovnoj Bosni (Trade in Mediaeval Bosnia), Sarajevo, 1961

 

1971.    Bešlagić, Šefik, Stećci, kataloško-topografski pregled (Stećak Tombstones, a Catalogue and Topographical Survey), Sarajevo, 1971, 230-231

 

1978.    Kovačević-Kojić, Desanka, Gradska naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države (Urban Settlements of the Mediaeval Bosnian State), Sarajevo, 1978

 

1980.    Vaious authors, Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina; Stage B - valorization of natural, cultural and historical monuments, Institute for architecture, town planning and regional planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 1980, 51

 

1984.    Brunislav Marijanović, “Mlađe kameno doba” u Visoko i okolina kroz historiju, I, (predhistorija, antika i srednji vijek) (the New Stone Age in Visoko and Environs through History I [Prehistory, Antiquity and Mediaeval Times]) Visoko, 1984, 15-29

 

1999.    Handžić, Adem, “Rudarstvo i rudarski trgovi u Bosni u drugoj polovini XV vijeka” u Radovi – Simpozijum – rudarstvo i metalurgija Bosne i Hercegovine od prahistorije do početka XX vijeka (Mining and Mining Trade in Bosnia in the latter half of the 15th century, in Collected Papers – Symposium – Mining and Metallurgy of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Prehistory to the Beginning of the 20th Century), Zenica, 1999, 283-321

 


(1) A letter from Olovo Municipality, Department of Economic Affairs, of 17 March 2008 states that the information in the Land Register is currently being processed by the Department and will then be submitted to the Municipal Court in Visoko, which is responsible for issuing information from the Land Register.

(2) A letter from Olovo Municipality dated 12 May 2008 provides cadastral details of the plots bordering on the protected site with the necropolis with stećak tombstones.

(3) He listed 263 tombstones on twelve sites, most of them (159) gabled (sarcophagi) with plinth, seven gabled without plinth and two double gabled tombstones with plinth; there were also 30 slabs without plinth and 21 slabs with plinth, eleven chest-shaped tombstones with plinth and 32 without, and one obelisk.  Sixty-one of the 263 were decorated.

(4) A. Benac listed 38 stećak tombstones in his work (7 slabs and 31 gabled). A study of the plan of the necropolis with stećak tombstones reveals that the three that are now buried are marked as slabs (A.Benac, 1951,  36 and Plan VI).

(5) On the plan of the necropolis with stećak tombstones at Navitak in the village of Boganovići, Municipality Olovo, drawn by A. Benac, this stećak is marked as lying east-west, indicating that it has been shifted to its present orientation of north-south. (A.Benac, 1951. Plan VI).



Plan of the necropolis Part of the Navitak necropolisCentral part of the necropolis - stecak tombstone no. 5 and 6, above 14 and 4, 15 and 3The eastern part of the necropolis
The western part of the necropolisGroup of stećak tombstones - Stećak tombstone no. 21, 22 and 23Group of stećak tombstones - Stećak tombstone no. 16, 17, 18 and 19Group of stećak tombstones - Stećak tombstone no. 34, 35 and 36, in a front
Group of stećak tombstones - Stećak tombstone no. 23, 24 and 25Group of stećak tombstonesArcheological findings Stećak tombstone no. 12
Stećak tombstone no. 13Stećak tombstone no. 21Stećak tombstone no. 22Stećak tombstone no. 28
Stećak tombstone no. 35   


BiH jezici 
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