Status of monument -> National monument
Published in the “Official Gazette of BiH” no. 12/09.
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 4 to 10 November 2008 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The historic site of the Mramorje necropolis with stećak tombstones and old nišan tombstones in Lavšići, Municipality Olovo, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument consists of the necropolis with 46 stećak tombstones and the remains of a mezaristan (old Muslim burial ground) with nišan tombstones and stone grave surrounds.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 1759, title deed no. 192, c.p. no. 1755, title deed no. 165, c.p. no. 1713/1, title deed no. 165, c.p. no. 1670, title deed no. 165, and c.p. no. 1670, title deed no. 165, cadastral municipality Olovske Luke, 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 shall be permitted only 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,
- the property (garage) built without planning permission shall be removed,
- the foundations of another property (house) shall be removed,
- the access road shall be relocated to its original position and the area below the south and west sides of the necropolis shall be restored to the condition it was in before the road was laid.
The Government of the Federation shall be responsible in particular for carrying out the following measures:
- conducting a geodetic survey of the current condition of the property,
- drawing up a project for the repair, restoration and conservation of the necropolis and the old Muslim burial ground.
The project for the repair, restoration and conservation of the necropolis shall cover:
- archaeological investigations,
- clearing the stećak tombstones, nišan tombstones and stone grave surrounds of lichen and moss and making good any damage,
- tidying the necropolis and Muslim burial ground and removing self-sown vegetation,
- 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
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 and Ljiljana Ševo.
No: 02-02-228/07-9
5 November 2008
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 13 December 2007 Olovo Municipality submitted a proposal to designate the natural and historic site of the necropolis of stećak tombstones in Lavšići 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 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 hamlet of Lavšići, which is about 6 km to the east of Olovo as the crow flies, is beyond the village of Lišci. The necropolis with 46 stećci (pl. of stećak) (four slab-shaped, one chest-shaped and 41 gabled) is on the intersection of local roads at a site known as Mramorje. The tombstones are of good workmanship and average state of preservation, and lie west-east, north-south and northwest-southeast.
Fifty metres to the west of the necropolis is a small plot overgrown with pine trees, where there are the remains of some nišan tombstones and graves.
A local uncategorized macadam road runs between the necropolis and the plot with the nišans.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 1759, title deed no. 192, c.p. no. 1755, title deed no. 165, c.p. no. 1713/1, title deed no. 165, c.p. no. 1670, title deed no. 165, c.p. no. 1670, title deed no. 165, cadastral municipality Olovske Luke, Municipality Olovo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.(1)
The remains of the nišan tombstones and graves are on the plot designated as c.p. no. 1670, title deed no. 165.
The local macadam and asphalt roads constituting public property are on the plots designated as c.p. nos. 1744 and 2899, title deed no. 718, c.m. Olovske Luke.
The plots on which the monuments stand are in the sole ownership of D.P. ''Šumarstvo'' Olovo and Akif (Atif) Delimustafić, village of Lišci, Olovo.
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. The earliest reference to the town is in 1382, by the name Olovo Plumbum, followed by a reference in 1415 by the name “città de Piombo.” The abundance of ores and minerals determined its historical evolution, and the settlement and the town were named Olovo after the lead ore (olovo) found there (K. Horman, 1889, 63).
The old lead mine dates back to the period of Roman rule in Pannonia, Dalmatia and Illyrica.
In the 1370s there was a marked increase in mining operations in Bosnia, when the Olovo mine was also re-opened (P. Živković, 2008, 56). The settlement of Olovo took shape there in mediaeval times, with a fort called Olovac (M. Vego, 1957, 84). A mine closely associated with Olovo was the Kamenica mine, referred to in Dubrovnik records in 1376 (D. Kovačević, 1961, 26).
K. Jireček equated the original location of the Kamenica mine with the village of Kamensko, noting that it was very close to Olovo. M. Filipović, however, placed the Kamenica mine in the area of present-day Bakići Donji village, where there is a spring known as Kamenica, the remains of a settlement, a mine, and a church (P. Živković, 2008, 56). On this basis, and because there were no pits or mine shafts in Olovo but only around it, he put forward the view that Kamenica and Olovo were a single settlement (M. Filipović, 1934, 11).
There are also references to other, smaller mines or leadworkings around Olovo: Kruševo, Donje Podgrađe and Čečelj (A. Handžić, 1999, 292, 293).
The mediaeval tombstones of Bosnia and Hum known as stećci became the subject of scholarly interest in not entirely favourable circumstances, hundreds of years after they had become a relic of a historic age. At the turn of the 18th-19th century, the western world began to hear of the unusual art to be found on tombstones in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Dalmatia, initially from the accounts of travellers that were not well documented enough to give rise to any significant interest in the west, particularly since western scholarship was then occupied with the analysis of entirely different works of art; as a result, the realistic, and indeed clumsy scenes on the stećci neither appealed to scholars nor aroused their interest. In Ottoman Bosnia itself, there were no forces capable independently of studying and presenting these treasures of mediaeval art (A. Benac, 1963, XVII, XXIX). In these circumstances, by the mid 19th century – when the process of modern national coalescence was in full swing and the question of whom Bosnia belonged to increasingly took on political and even apocalyptic significance – scholars were inclined to see the art of the stećci as having arisen from Bogomil teachings (A. Benac, 1963, XXIX). Nor was there any lack of efforts to give the stećci a purely Serbian or Croatian national stamp (V. Glušac, 1924, 31-35, 36-37, 50; Südland, 1990, 95, 96). From the mid 20th century, the prevailing scholarly opinion was that the stećci could not be explained by either “bogomilization” or any exclusively national theory, but rather than they should be situated in their own authentic world, the world in which they came into being, evolved and then died out in the late 15th century, after the mediaeval Bosnian state had itself come to an end.
The Bosnian context for the emergence of the stećci was dictated by the growing economic power of 14th century Bosnian feudal society, the opening of mines, and urbanization, along with the desire of individuals to mark their standing and power by the outward image of a tombstone. The large number of graves and burial grounds without stećci attest to the deep class differences of feudal society, which means that, chronologically speaking, the stećci echoed both the advance and the decline of feudalism and the development of towns and the bourgeoisie.
The birthplace of the stećak is Herzegovina (Đ. Basler, 1990, 130), and it was there, too, that the art of the stećak reached its peak. The slab tombstones of župans (lords of the county) of Trebinje, Grd (1151-1178) and Pribilša (1241), which may be regarded as the earliest known stećci, do not suggest a Bogomil origin. Both these župans lived at a time when Hum and Travunija were under Serbian Orthodox rule; nor could the Bosnian Church possibly have been present here (M. Vego, 1963, 196). It was the opening of mines and the urbanization of mediaeval Bosnia that form the context for the emergence of the stećak as a new way of marking graves, which began in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries with the development of towns and the bourgeoisie. These tombstones are typical of the mediaeval Bosnian state (Š. Bešlagić, 1982, 32).
Stećci form part of an unbroken sepulchral continuity in Bosnia that reaches far back into prehistoric times, and are clearly associated with the older sites of prehistoric settlements and places of worship, agglomerations and burial grounds dating from antiquity, late antique and early mediaeval churches and fortified towns. They are widespread throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the exception of the Posavina (Sava valley area) and the western part of Bosanska Krajina (the frontier region), with a few in western Serbia and Montenegro, Dalmatia and, here and there, in Lika.
Their epitaphs attest to various other names used in tandem to denote the stećci: bilig, kâm (stone), zlamen, kuća (house) and eternal abode. Popular names long in use include mramorje (marbles), mašeti, Greek tombs, old tombs, kaursko groblje (giaours' or infidels' burial grounds), and giants' stones.
The name most commonly used in reference works is stećak, deriving from the fact that they were designed to stand over graves as a monument. The word comes from the present participle of the verb stajati, to stand – stojeći or, as it used to be pronounced, steći.
Perhaps the primary significance of the stećak is its appearance, evolution and metamorphosis from smaller, simpler forms to larger and more complex ones. Though there is as yet no full analysis of the types of stećci, the nine different shapes represented at Radimlja near Stolac may be taken as a starting-point: from the plain slab to the slab with a plinth, the chest-shaped tombstone, the chest-shaped tombstone with plinth and tall chest-shaped tombstone, plain or with plinth, to the sarcophagus (gabled tombstone), sarcophagus with plinth and, finally, cruciform tombstone.
The basic shape of the stećak is a recumbent or erect stone monolith. Erect stone monoliths may be in the form of a stela, obelisk or nišan. Tombstones of this type are found in greater numbers in north-eastern Bosnia (in the Srebrenica and Zvornik area), featuring only singly in other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most stećci are recumbent monoliths, which take three shapes: slabs, chests and sarcophagi (gabled tombstones). Slabs are the most common, followed by chest-shaped stećci; gabled stećci are the least common. These recumbent tombstones are the primary and principal form of the stećak, and are found throughout the area of their distribution.
The artistic treatment of the stećci is to be seen in their form and decoration. As well as their pure function as lasting grave markers, stećci are designed to arouse in the observe a feeling of beauty, the aesthetic tendency of which is reflected in the forms of the gabled tombstones (sarcophagi) and the so-called tall chests.
The basic artistic quality of the stećci is their decoration, executed using two different techniques – usually in bas relief, though incised lines are not uncommon. The decorative motifs on the stećci possess the marked symbolism characteristic of mediaeval art, and fall into five groups that overlap and complement each other: social and religious symbols, representations of the posthumous round dance, figural scenes and pure ornament. There is also a sixth group of unclassified motifs: those of symbolic function, geometric forms, representations of certain unusual articles, and damaged motifs of which the meaning cannot be deciphered.(2)
Taken as a whole, the ornamentation on the stećci reveals the mindset and sensibility of an entire era, both of the people who were involved in making them and of the deceased whose final resting place is beneath these great tombstones, in honour of whose wishes – as some of the epitaphs reveal – the stećci were carved.(3)
With 3,000 to 4,000 specimens, the Herzegovina municipalities of Nevesinje and Konjic take first place in numbers of stećci, while among the municipalities of Bosnia, Rogatica stands out with 2,628. The number of stećci in a given necropolis is also an important indicator of social movements in mediaeval Bosnia in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Since most necropolises contain fewer than ten stećci, and those with 300 or more, belonging to larger communities, are the exception, small burial grounds may be regarded as family graveyards, indicating that the breakup of the old clan-based society and the emergence of small family communities organizing their own burial grounds as a sign of their “new” identity was already well advanced (P. Anđelić, 1966, 455-495).
The mediaeval conception of death changed in western Europe with the Protestant reformers, who “based their ideas and beliefs solely on the Bible, rather than on a combination of the Bible and `tradition' which had built up over the centuries” (Daniell, 1997, 196-199). Following a brief transitional period marked by the emergence of a hybrid stećak-nišan tombstone, the burial practices embodied in the stećci died out in the decades following the establishment of Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Hum, when gravestones began to differ by confession.
2. Description of the property
The stećci of the Olovo region, in the transitional or buffer zone between central and eastern Bosnia, where every shape taken by stećci is represented, from slabs to pillars or obelisks, are relatively long, low and narrow. The most common shape is the gabled or sarcophagus-like stećak, reflecting the specific features of tombstones in this region in their size and the way they taper inwards towards the base, usually along their length only, though occasionally with tapering ends as well. Four pillar-like stećci have been recorded. Thirteen small family necropolises with from two to seven or eight tombstones have been recorded in the Olovo area; the others appear to be communal burial grounds, in which there are often distinct groups of tombstones of better workmanship, and with decorations, in the middle or on the perimeter of the burial ground. This is the case at Klisa and Grebljica in Bakići. Communal burial grounds, with ten to thirty graves, belonged to individual clans, while those with fifty or more tombstones would have belonged to a wider rural community (L. Fekeža, 2008, 65-67).
The road leading to the village of Lišci forks off the main Olovo-Kladanj road to the right, coming from Olovo, at the third kilometre. Another three kilometres down the road, at a crossroads, is the site of the necroplis with stećci at Mramorje in the hamlet of Lavšići. Fifty metres to the west of the necropolis is a small plot overgrown with pine trees, where there are the remains of three small nišan tombstones and three graves. A local uncategorized macadam road runs between the necropolis and the plot with the nišans. Reference works to date have not yet dealt with the tombstones in this necropolis.(4) It should be noted that there are no necropolises with stećci in the village of Berisalići in Olovo Municipality, and that the necropolis listed in the Archaeological Lexicon of Bosnia and Herzegovina as being located in this village is in fact the one at Mramorje in Lavšići. Following a technical survey of the necropolis and locating the position of the stećci it was found that it contains 46 in all (four slab-shaped, one chest-shaped and 41 gabled). The tombstones are of good workmanship and average state of preservation, and lie west-east, north-south and northwest-southeast.
Seven of the tombstones were found to bear decorative ornaments (two slabs, nos 1 and 40;five gabled, nos. 4, 20, 22, 24 and 30). The decorative motifs are spirals, rope-twists, crosses in circles, a crescent moon and a short sword.
A high level of aesthetically value forms are to be seen in this necropolis: the roofs of the stećci are worked to imitate the roof of a house, which differentiates them from other stećci in the Olovo region, and there are also double graves. The basic artistic quality of the stećci is their decorations in relief and reverse relief, and one epitaph.
The epitaph features on stećak no. 22, was found in 1962, and reads, in transcription: A SE LEŽI DA[B]IŽIVЬ NA SVOJE[JI] ZEMLJI NA PLEMENITOJ, A NE OMRЬ (UMRЬ) SI VSE (SVE)! (M. Vego, 1970, 44-45) (Here list Da[b]iživЬ on his own noble lands, and all shall die).(5) The necropolis dates from late mediaeval times – the late 14th or early 15th century (Archaeological Lexicon, vol.3, 1988, 75).
Fifty metres as the crow flies to the west of the necropolis are the remains of an old Muslim burial ground where the almost completely buried remains of broken nišan tombstones and a number of stone surrounds can be seen. The size of the graves, the appearance of the stone surrounds and the fact that they are almost completely buried all indicate that this is a very ancient burial ground that has not been used for a hundred or more years, as indicated by the remains of a nišan with a fez. The graves with surrounds face almost due south.
Condition of the stećci
Stećak no.1. – chest with plinth and decoration, marked on the surface as a double grave, damage to the ends and sides, overgrown with grass and shrubs to the east, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 165 x 94 x 48 cm,
- the plinth measures 180 x 110 x 28 cm;
A feature of this stećak is that the top is marked by a relief band running lengthwise along the middle, to indicate a double grave. The west end is decorated with two spirals with a band between running over the top of the tombstone to indicate the double grave. The sides each bear four evenly arranged spirals. The motifs are in bas relief.
Stećak no. 2. – gabled, undecorated, buried to the height of the plinth, visible damage to the west side of the roof pans, covered with moss, shrubs and weeds, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 140 x 50 x 30 cm.
Stećak no. 3. – gabled, undecorated, buried to the height of the plinth, covered with moss, shrubs and weeds, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 120 x 60 x 44 cm.
Stećak no. 4. – gabled with decoration, buried and damaged at the west end and on the roof ridge, covered with moss, overgrown with weeds and grass, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures190 x 90 x 55 cm;
At the top of the gable where the roof panes meet at the east end is a crescent moon in relief, with evenly arranged motifs of crosses in a circle in reverse relief.
Stećak no. 5. – gabled, undecorated, leaning to the south and overgrown with shrubs and weeds, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 175 x 90 x 68 cm.
Stećak no. 6. – gabled, undecorated, cracks were noted at the west end and north side, overgrown with shrubs and weeds, lying west-east, buried slab with decoration of crude workmanship;
- the stećak measures 195 x 100 x 118 cm.
Stećak no. 7. – gabled, undecorated, buried and damaged, covered with moss and shrubs;
- the stećak measures 160 x 68 x 30 cm.
Stećak no. 8. – gabled, buried over its full length to ridge height;
- the stećak measures 170 cm in length.
Stećak no. 9. – gabled, undecorated, buried and covered with moss, overgrown with weeds and grass, visible cracks on the roof panes, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 199 x 82 x 32 cm.
Stećak no. 10. – gabled, undecorated, buried and overgrown with shrubs and grass, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 166 x 67 x 16 cm.
Stećak. no. 11. – gabled, undecorated, covered with moss, overturned and completely buried, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 110 cm in length.
Stećak. no. 12. – slab covered with moss and buried on the west side, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 150 cm in length x 25 cm in height.
Stećak no. 13. – gabled with plinth, undecorated, covered with moss, buried to the height of the roof pane to the north;
- the stećak measures 184 x 78 x 48 cm.
Stećak no. 14. – gabled, undecorated, buried on the north side, damaged at the west end, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 174 x 83 x 70 cm,
- the plinth measures 168 cm in length x 18 cm in height.
Stećak no. 15. – gabled, undecorated, buried to the height of the roof panes, standing right next to stećka no. 14, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 162 x 54 x 22 cm.
Stećak no. 16. – gabled, undecorated, buried, covered with moss, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 164 x 72 x 49 cm.
Stećak no. 17. – gabled with plinth, undecorated, buried over its whole length on the north side, covered with moss and overgrown with weeds, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 164 x 74 x 57 cm,
- the plinth measures 150 cm in length x 34 cm in height.
Stećak no. 18. – gabled, undecorated, covered with moss and overgrown with weeds, buried to the height of the plinth, damage to the west side of the roof pane, lying northwest-south-east;
- the stećak measures 184 x 90 x 65 cm.
Stećak no. 19. – gabled, undecorated, buried, covered with lichen and overgrown with weeds, lying northwest-southeast;
- the stećak measures 165 x 75 x 32 cm.
Stećak no. 20. – gabled with plinth and decoration, earth piled up against the east side, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 175 x 75 x 70 cm,
- the plinth measures 185 cm in length x 41 cm in height;
The ends and the west side are decorated with the identical spiral ornament, which differ from other spirals in the Olovo region, being reminiscent of a prehistoric fibula. The motifs are in shallow relief.
Stećak no. 21. – gabled, undecorated, buried, covered with lichen and overgrown with grass, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 157 x 68 x visible height of 32 cm.
Stećak. no. 22. – gabled with plinth, decoration and epitaph, noticeable damage and cracks to the north and south sides, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 165 x 90 x 84 cm,
- the plinth measures 185 x 100 x 17 cm;
The decorative motifs on the ends differ in that at the west end there is a sword between the spirals, the ends of which extend down to the plinth. The gables are decorated with rosette motifs. To the north there are also spiral ornaments, evenly arranged close to the edges of the side and front. To the south is the epitaph, which reads in transcription:
A SE LEŽI DA[B]IŽIVЬ NA SVOJE[JI] ZEMLJI NA PLEMENITOJ, A NE OMRЬ (UMRЬ) SI VSE (SVE)!
Stećak. no. 23. – gabled, undecorated, covered with moss and overgrown with grass, buried to the height of the plinth, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 160 x 64 x 45 cm.
Stećak no. 24. – gabled with decoration, buried to the height of the roof panes, damaged at the east end, covered with moss and low-growing grasses, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 150 x 73 x 40 cm;
A rope-twist border runs across the ends and along the edges of the roof at the sides, imitating the roof of a house. Both sides (north and south) of the western part of the roof panes are decorated with spiral motifs, and there is a crescent moon motif in the middle of the roof pane to the north.
Stećak no. 25. – gabled, undecorated, covered with moss, plinth completely buried on the west side, lying northwest-southeast;
- the stećak measures 173 x 88 x 56 cm,
- the plinth is 20 cm in height to the east; the width of the plinth from the chest is 20 cm to the east and 12 cm to the south.
Stećak no. 26. – gabled, undecorated, covered with moss, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 197 x 78 x 64 cm,
- the plinth measures 219 x 96 x 22 cm.
Stećak no. 27. – gabled, undecorated, misshapen on the east side, missing its plinth on the west side, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 159 x 68 x 49 cm.
Stećak no. 28. – gabled, undecorated, covered with moss, of crude workmanship, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 174 x 67 x 65 cm,
- the plinth measures 227 x 98 x 15 cm.
Stećak no. 29. – gabled, undecorated, buried on the west side and covered with moss, lying northwest-southeast;
- the stećak measures 173 x 75 x 49 cm,
- the plinth measures 216 cm in length x 18 cm in height.
Stećak no. 30. – gabled with decoration, buried on the north side and overgrown with weeds and grass, visible damage to the south end, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 213 x 133 x 110 cm,
- the plinth measures 230 x 161 x 41 cm;
A line in relief runs across the front end and along the edges of the sides of the roof, while the north end has a rope-twist border indicating the roof, imitating the roof of a house. The decoration is in relief.
Stećak no. 31. – gabled, undecorated, covered with moss, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 174 x 66 x 53 cm.
Stećak no. 32. – gabled, undecorated, overturned and buried on the north side, covered with moss and with visible cracks, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 133 x 52 x 24 cm,
- the plinth measures 153 cm in length x 8 cm in height.
Stećak no. 33. – gabled, of crude workmanship, buried and covered with moss, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 160 x 73 x 32 cm.
Stećak no. 34. – gabled, covered with moss and overgrown with weeds, buried at the west side, lying northwest-southeast;
- the stećak measures 183 x 70 x 71 cm,
- the plinth measures 88 cm in width.
Stećak. no. 35. – gabled, undecorated, buried on the east side and covered with moss and low-growing weeds, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 181 x 72 x 37 cm,
- the plinth measures 190 x 79 x 14 cm.
Stećak. no. 36. – part of a broken slab, overgrown with weeds, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 90 x 53 x 11cm,
- the plinth measures 105 x 79 x 21 cm.
Stećak no. 37. – gabled with plinth, undecorated, overturned onto its east side, damaged and overgrown with thorns, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 123 x 38 x 30 cm,
- the plinth measures 158 x 48 x 26 cm.
Stećak no. 38. – gabled, undecorated, of crude workmanship and damaged, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 160 x 61 x 60 cm,
- the plinth measures 173 x 90 x 15 cm.
Stećak no. 39. – gabled with plinth, undecorated, leaning to the south, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 176 x 70 x 44 cm,
- the plinth measures 204 x 105 x 10 cm.
Stećak no. 40. – slab with decoration, of crude workmanship, overgrown with low-growing grass, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 189 x 125 x 43 cm;
A line dividing the tombstone into two runs the full length of the top of the slab. The motif is in reverse relief.
Stećak no. 41. – gabled with plinth, undecorated, damaged, lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 172 x 69 x 39 cm,
- the plinth measures 192 x 83 x 7 cm.
Stećak no. 42. – gabled with plinth, undecorated, covered with lichen and moss, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 165 x 72 x 55 cm,
- the plinth measures 180 x 96 x 15 cm.
Stećak no. 43. – gabled with plinth, undecorated, overgrown with grass and thorns, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 176 x 54 x 51 cm,
- the plinth measures 232 x 84 x 22 cm.
Stećak no. 44. – gabled with plinth undecorated, buried on the south side to the height of the roof pane, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 162 x 54 x 38 cm,
- the plinth measures 199 x 78 x 22 cm.
Stećak no. 45. – part of a stećak of which all that is visible is part of the north end, from which it was noted that it is gabled and lying north-south;
- the stećak measures 48 x 43 x 41 cm.
Stećak no. 46. – slab, of crude workmanship, buried with only the top visible, lying west-east;
- the stećak measures 160 x 112 x 8 cm.
Condition of the nišan tombstones in the burial ground in the village of Lavšići near Olovo
Nišan no. 1. – Broken nišan with fez incised with a hajji's band, without epitaph, measuring 10.5 x 10.5 x 36 cm.
Nišan no. 2. – Broken nišan, rectangular in section at 7.5 x 19 cm. The height of the tombstone emerging above ground is 11 cm.
Nišan no. 3. – Broken nišan, square in section with sides of 11.5 cm and a height of 23 cm, without epitaph.
Nišan no. 4. – Broken nišan with pleated turban, square in section with sides of 11.5 cm and a height of 37 cm, without epitaph.
Nišan no. 5. –Broken nišan of which the lower part is square in section with sides of 10 cm, and a height of 42 cm, without epitaph.
Nišan no. 6. – Broken nišan, square in section with sides of 11.5 cm and a height of 23 cm, without epitaph, on a grave covered by a stone slab.
Remains of grave no. 7. – Stone surround measureing 365 x 200 cm marking a grave of which the broken nišan can just be seen above ground.
There are also a number of other remains of stone surrounds, now buried.
3. Legal status to date
In the procedure prior to the adoption of a final decision on designation the records relating to the protection of the property were inspected. The findings are:
The Regional Plan for BiH to 2000 lists as Category III monuments 14 sites of necropolises with stećci (428 stećci, without precise identification, in the Olovo Municipality (various authors, 1980, 51).
A letter from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport dated 29 August 2008 states that the Necropolis with stećci in Lavšićk, Olovo, is not a listed property. The Institute's records show that there are no protected necropolises of stećci in the Olovo area.
A letter from the Department of Economic Affairs of Olovo Municipality dated 26 August 2008 states that no building permits of any kind have been issued for the land on and around c.p. nos. 1755 and 1758, c.m. Olovske luke.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
No research or conservation and restoration works have been conducted.
5. Current condition of the property
The findings of an on-site inspection conducted on 14 August 2008 are as follows:
- a necropolis with 46 stećci (four slab-shaped, one chest-shaped and 41 gabled) was recorded at Mramorje in the village of Lavšići;
- the tombstones are of good workmanship and in an average state of preservation, and lie west-east, north-south and northwest-southeast;
- seven stećci were found with decorative ornaments, and one with an epitaph;
- five tombs were also found in the area between the stećci;
- some of the stećci are chipped, damaged, overturned, or partly or completely buried;
- there is a garage on the site that is detrimental to the landscape;
- 50 m to the east of the necropolis are the remains of the foundations begun in preparation for the construction of a house, and a driveway leading to the house has been dug to the south of the necropolis;
- fifty metres to the west of the necropolis is a small plot overgrown with pine trees, where there are the remains of broken nišan tombstones and a number of graves with stone surrounds lacking their nišan tombstones, now completely buried;
- 50-70 m to the north of the necropolis is a house and outbuildings (stables etc.)
- the stećci ae at risk of rapid deterioration as a result of neglect.
6. Specific risks
- illicit building,
- excavation and use of an access road below the south and west side of 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.ii. quality of materials
C.v. value of details
D. Clarity
D.i. material evidence of a lesser known historical era
D.iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner
E. Symbolic value
E.i. ontological value
E.iii. traditional value
E.v. significance for the identity of a group of people
F. Townscape/landscape value
F.iii. the building or group of buildings is part of a group or site
G. Authenticity
G.i. form and design
G.ii. material and content
G.iv. traditions and techniques
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:
- Copy of cadastral plan;
- Copy of land register entry;
- Photodocumentation, photographs taken on site;
- Drawings.
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
1924. Glušac, Vaso, “Srednjovekovna ‘bosanska crkva’", in: Prilozi za književnost, jezik, istoriju i folklor, IV (The Mediaeval “Bosnian Church,”, in Contributions to Literature, Language, History and folklore, IV), Belgrade, 1924
1934. Filipović, S. Milenko, Varošica Olovo s okolinom (The Market Town of Olovo and its Environs), Belgrade, 1934
1957. Vego, Marko, Naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države (Settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state), Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1957
1961. Kovačević, Desanka, Trgovina u srednjovjekovnoj Bosni (Trade in Mediaeval Bosnia), Sarajevo, 1961
1963. Benac, Alojz, Stećci, Prosveta, Belgrade, 1963
1966. Anđelić, Pavao, “Doba srednjovjekovne bosanske države” (The Age of the Mediaeval Bosnian State), in Kulturna istorija Bosne i Hercegovine od najstarijih vremena do početka turske vladavine (Cultural History of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Earliest Times to the Start of Turkish Rule), Sarajevo, 1966
1970. Vego, Marko, Zbornik srednjovjekovnih natpisa Bosne i Hercegovine (Anthology of Mediaeval Inscriptions of BiH), vol. IV p. 44 and 45, Sarajevo, 1970.
1980. Various 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
1982. Bešlagić, Šefik, Stećci – kultura i umjetnost (Stećci – Culture and Art), Sarajevo, 1982
1988. Arheološki leksikon Bosne i Hercegovine (Archaeological Lexicon of BiH), vol. 3, 75, Sarajevo,1988
1990. Basler, Đuro, Kršćanska arheologija, II. izdanje, Crkva na kamenu (Christian Archaeology, 2nd ed., Churches in Stone), Mostar, 1990
1990. Südland, L. V. (Ivo Pilar), Južnoslavensko pitanje. Prikaz cjelokupnog pitanja, Varaždin (The Yugoslav Question. Full account of the issue, Varaždin). Title of original: L. v. SÜDLAND, Die Südslawische Frage und der Weltkrieg. Übersichtliche Darstellung des Gesamt-Problems, Wien, 1990
1997. Daniell, Christopher, Death and Burial in Medieval England, 1066-1550, Routledge, London and New York, 1997
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
2008. Fekeža, Lidija, “Stećci olovskoga kraja” u Zborniku radova sa znanstvenoga skupa “Tristota obljetnica stradanja samostana i crkve u Olovu (1704-2004) (Stećci of the Olovo Region, in Proceedings of the Seminar “Tricentenary of the destruction of the monastery and church in Olovo [1704-2004]), Sarajevo, 2008
2008. Živković, Pavo, “Veze Olova i Dubrovnika u srednjem vijeku” u Zborniku radova sa znanstvenoga skupa “Tristota obljetnica stradanja samostana i crkve u Olovu (1704-2004) (Links Between Olovo and Dubrovnik in Mediaeval Times, in Proceedings of the Seminar “Tricentenary of the destruction of the monastery and church in Olovo [1704-2004]), Sarajevo, 2008
(1) A letter from the Land Register office of the Visoko Municipal Court dated 15 August 2008 states that the real property cadastral records of Olovo Municipality had not been handed over to the Land Register office of the Visoko Municipal Court, which is not therefore in a position to respond to our request until Olovo Municipality hands over records of the real property in the municipality.
(2) In general terms, the ornaments on stećci reveal the views and sentiments of an entire era, both of the people who were involved in making them and of the deceased who found their final abode there, and whose wish it was – as some epitaphs relate – the stećci were carved. The world of Bosnia's and Hum's stećci abounds in symbolism, full of crosses, crescent moons, solar discs, swastikas and stars, scenes of the round dance, tournaments, cavalry processions, military weapoons, shields and arcades, vines and bunches of grapes, stylized fleur de lis and rosettes, deer and wild boar, coats of arms, swords and spears, portraits of the deceased with a disproportionately large raised hand, books, roofs and representations of houses.
(3) In line with the specific political, economic and cultural situation of various regions, the art of the stećak led to the formation of distinctive local styles. The leading role is that of the stonemasons' yard in Herzegovina, based in the Stolac region, in Trebinje and Bileća, and in Gacko and Nevesinje. A fourth stonemasons' yard was active in the wider Konjic area, and a fifth in the Lištica region. The principal stonemasons' centres in western Bosnia covered the area between Kupres and Duvno, and those of central Bosnia provided for the area around Travnik. In eastern Bosnia, the work of four stonemasons' yards can be identified: one between Kladanj, Olovo and Ilijaš, another around Zvornik, a third in Ludmer and a fourth around Rogatica. There were also centres of scribes, with the Herzegovina school – probably with several centres or workshops – again in first place. A significant centre of epigraphic literacy was to be found in the Stolac area, with Semorad as its most prominent figure (Š. Bešlagić, 1982, 479-482).
(4) In the Archaeological Lexicon of Bosnia and Herzegovina this necropolis is listed under the name Mramorje as being located in Berisalići, Olovo, with 34 stećci in the form of slabs and sarcophagy with decorations of spirals, a cross, a crescent moon and an epitaph. (Arheol. leksikon, vol. 3, 1988, 75).
(5) Marko Vego also published the epitaph in 1971: “Novi i revidirani srednjovjekovni natpisi iz Bosne”, Naše starine, 48, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
|
