Status of monument -> National monument
Published in the Official Gazette of BiH, no. 13/10.
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 1 to 8 December 2009 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The archaeological site of the prehistoric hill fort, Iron Age tomb, Roman settlement, necropolis and movable heritage in Vašarovine, Priluka, Livno Municipality, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument consists of the archaeological site of a prehistoric hill fort, Iron Age tombs, Roman settlement and necropolis, and movable heritage housed in the Franciscan museum and gallery at Gorica, Livno.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 525 (old survey), Land Register entry no. 204, cadastral monastery Priluka, Livno Municipality, 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 Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 setting up 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 prescribed:
- all works are prohibited other than research and conservation-restoration works, including works designed to display the monument, subject to the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- the dumping of waste is prohibited;
- the site of the National Monument shall be cleared and shall be open and accessible to the public. It may be used for educational and cultural purposes.
IV
The removal of the movable heritage items referred to in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision or of any archaeological artefacts found on the archaeological site (hereinafter: the movable heritage) from Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited.
By way of exception to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Clause, the temporary removal from Bosnia and Herzegovina of the movable heritage for the purposes of display or conservation shall be permitted if it is established that conservation works cannot be carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or can be carried out to a higher standard and more quickly and cheaply abroad.
Permission for temporary removal under the conditions stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be issued by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, if it is determined beyond doubt that it will not jeopardize the movable heritage in any way
In granting permission for the temporary removal of the movable heritage, the Commission shall stipulate all the conditions under which the removal from Bosnia and Herzegovina may take place, the date by which the items shall be returned to the country, and the responsibility of individual authorities and institutions for ensuring that these conditions are met, and shall notify the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the relevant security service, the customs authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the general public accordingly.
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 the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canton, and urban and municipal authorities, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument or jeopardize the preservation and rehabilitation thereof.
VII
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 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.aneks8komisija.com.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, Martin Cherry, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović and Ljiljana Ševo.
No.05.1-2-2-40/2009-64
2 December 2009
Sarajevo
Chair of the Commission
Ljiljana Ševo
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 14 January 2003 the Gorica Franciscan museum and gallery in Livno submitted a proposal/petition to designate the archaeological site of Priluka Vašarovine, Livno municipality, with a Roman settlement and necropolis, prehistoric hill fort and Iron Age tombs, 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.
Statement of Significance
The extensive archaeological complex in Vašarovine is located on the terraced slope that runs down from below the hill fort to the lowlands of the Livno polje. The prehistoric settlement at the hill fort, with its two outposts at Grac and Mali [lesser] Grac, was in existence without a break from at least the late Bronze Age to late Antiquity. Its ideal location provides it with excellent lines of sight with other hill forts in the system of defences of the Livno, Duvno and Glamoč poljes, making this hill fort one of the most important tribal centres in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The hill fort and its outskirts remained no less important during Antiquity. The many known remains of the material and spiritual culture of Vašarovine attest to the municipal nature of the settlement as one of the most highly regarded sanctuaries and cultural centres to which the inhabitants of other, even quite remote municipia and towns of the Roman province of Dalmatia came on pilgrimage. In late Antiquity the hill fort area at Vašarovine acquired new fortifications consisting of thick, solid ramparts built of stone blocks bonded with mortar. Much extremely valuable movable and immovable archaeological material has been found in the present-day village of Vašarovine.
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:
- Documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property (copy of cadastral plan and Land Register entry)
- Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, details of war damage, details of 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 property are as follows:
1. Details of the property
Location
The village of Vašarovine is 8 km along the Livno to Bosansko Grahovo road, on a gentle slope descending via a succession of natural terraces down to the Livno polje.
The hill fort in Vašarovine is above the village, at an altitude of 847 m as measured in the village of Vašarovine at the foot of the east side of the hill fort), latitude 43°46.560', longitude 17°01.803', above the northeastern edge of the village.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 525 (old survey), Land Register entry no. 204, cadastral monastery Priluka, Livno Municipality, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Historical information
The fertile Livno polje has been well suited since ancient times to the development of agriculture and raising livestock. It is surrounded by about forty Illyrian hill forts, all well defended and within line of sight of other hill forts that could be used as refuges in times of danger. It was permanently settled in the early Bronze Age(1).
There are several examples of advanced hill fort settlements in the Livno polje, including those at Vidoši, Begovač, Veliki and Mali Kablić, Grkovci, Prisoje and Korita(2).
The Livno region had inseverable links with the nearby area of the Delmatae from the end of the Copper and beginning of the Bronze Age(3), when the Cetina culture took shape in this part of the world(4).
2. Description of the property
The two basic forms taken by the remains of the material culture of the Delmatae are settlements and necropolises(5). Settlements, or hill forts, are of particular significance for the study of this region. They are located on the outermost slopes of the hills surrounding the polje, usually on high ground with natural defences in strategically advantageous places. It has been found that the hill forts in the Livno polje were used mainly as living quarters and defensive fortifications. Thus far not one site has been identified that was used solely or even mainly used for cult purposes and other events of a spiritual nature, even though there are such sites in the wider region(6). The hill forts of the Livno polje could be said to include certain areas of greater or lesser extent that served as local shrines alongside their principal function.
In the case of more advanced hill fort agglomerations, two components can be clearly identified: a primary and a secondary area(7). The primary component consists of the strategic fortified hilltop, serving as both a fortress refugium and the religious centre of the settlement, with the residential component coming third. The secondary component was not protected by ramparts, was a good deal larger than the primary in area, and was usually located beside the ramparts or on the hillside and at the foot of the hill, in the polje. This was used solely as living quarters. The absence of architectural elements built with durable materials makes this part of the hill fort harder to identify at first glance; the only indication that there was once a settlement here is the quantities of pottery sherds at the foot of the hill.
The Delmatae lived in tribes, with no firm social structure, so that the hill forts were bastions in a system of more or less organized defence in the event of quarrels with their immediate neighbours(8).
The hill fort above the village of Vašarovine was built on a typical, relatively low hill at the edge of a karst ridge encircling the wide valley in this part of the Livno polje and the village of Priluka(9). It faces east and south-east, with the lower edge of the plateau forming an almost straight line above a precipitous slope down to Vašarovine. A substantial stone embankment forms a semicircle around the hill fort to the southwest, west and northwest: to the east and southeast, facing the village, it is open. The embankment is about 140 m long and ranges in height from 5 to 10 metres, with a width in the mid section of about 22 m, narrowing gradually at the ends of 16 and 12 m.
A wall of cut stone evenly laid and set in mortar, with a width of 1.50 to 1.80 m, was later built along the spine of the embankment. A rectangular tower with sides of 9 and 4 m and a slight projection to the west was erected at the highest central point of the embankment. The remains of the foundations indicate that this wall extended south-westwards for 80 m, and south-eastwards for about 40 m, coming to an end before the embankment itself at each end. The natural ridge, at its highest in the middle, was used to build the great hill fort embankment. As a result, initially a limit tumulus rose in the middle of the embankment. When the wall was later built the tumulus was levelled and the tower was erected where it had been. There are no signs anywhere of dry stone retaining walls along the embankment, which probably consisted merely of piled stone.
The hill fort plateau is fairly level at the lower edge, rising slightly towards the embankment. It is about 88 m long at the lower edge and about 40 m wide at mid point. The entrance must have been between the edge of the plateau and the southeast end of the embankment.
The entire embankment is littered with sherds of prehistoric and occasional pieces of late Antique pottery, some coarse, some fine. The prehistoric pottery corresponds typologically exactly with finds from other hill forts in the Livno polje, but no ornamentation has been observed. Small pieces of slag iron were also found there. The excellent location provided the hill fort above Vašarovine with excellent lines of sight to other hill forts in the southeast Livno polje (Veliki Kablić, Suhača, Begovača, Orguz, Rujani), as well as with the hill fort on Nuhbegović hill. The southern part of the hill fort merges into a series of terraces of varying width along the gentle slope on this side. Numerous sherds of prehistoric pottery can be found here. It is obvious that the site was quite densely populated, and was a true settlement on the outskirts of the hill fort. There is also no doubt that the hill fort itself was inhabited too(10).
One of these terraces, to the right of the road that forks off to the village from the asphalt road, has produced a considerable amount of archaeological artefacts (Delmatae jewellery). When digging a hole for a septic tank in the autumn of 1974, Mate Romić found these artefacts and donated them to the local museum in Livno. Another local resident, Jakov Svalina, also found quite a lot of archaeological material while digging the foundations of a house, but these finds did not reach the museum. A study of the site where they were found could suggest that this constituted a single site which was later artificially cut through by the village road, and that the site was 70 m long and about 10 m wide(11), or perhaps even larger; in the absence of archaeological excavations, it is impossible to be certain.
The material found by Mate Romić came, he claims, from a common grave in which about twenty people were buried in the foetal position. The skeletons were laid east-west with the head facing east. The grave was apparently lined with slabs of mudstone on both sides, but had no covering slab. It was about 3 m long, 2 m wide and 0.60 m deep(12). About 2 m to the east of this grave, a plough turned up another mudstone slab, suggesting that there are more graves at this site.
All this leads to the conclusion that this terrace on the outskirts of the hill fort was probably a necropolis belonging to the hill fort complex above Vašarovine(13).
Apart from the jewellery from the larger common grave on this site, the finds included an iron spearhead, part of a sword, a bronze pendent and a bronze spiral tubule, found in a separate grave, and another iron spearhead from a second grave. Both these graves were about ten metres south of the common grave(14).
Finds from the common grave
1. Fibulae:
- a bronze spectacle fibula with a figure-of-eight spiral and bronze plate. On the underside of the fibula were two separately attached bronze hooks, one of which served as the foot of the fibula and the other as the catch plate for the pin. This was probably originally bronze, but was broken off and replaced by an iron pin of which only some traces of iron oxide remained;
- a bronze violin-bow fibula with a high squarish foot, cast in a single-sided mould;
- a bronze violin-bow fibulae of Certosa type with a thin, ribbon-like bow and long C-shaped foot.
2. Decorative clothes pins:
- a bronze pin with a globular head, missing its tip;
- a bronze pin of the same type with an intact bronze bead at the neck;
- a pin with a globular head and moulded neck;
- a bronze pin with a biconical head and moulded neck;
- a double bronze pin of twin-spiral type, missing their tips;
- a double bronze pin of cruciform type.
3. One specimen of combination annular jewellery consisting of two bronze spiral scrolls and a substantial cast bronze hoop.
4. Bronze wire earrings with an intact bronze bead, a glass paste bead decorated in white and a bronze spiral pendant.
5. Bronze appliqué for a belt, cast, with two lugs at the bottom to attach it.
Finds from the individual graves
1. A bronze pendant or amulet decorated with fine embossed ornamentation; five holes along the lower edge, from which bronze chains might have hung;
2. A bronze disc-shaped pendant;
3. Wide spirals of bronze wire;
4. Several pieces of a bronze chain;
5. A broad-bladed iron spearhead with a rib of square section;
6. An narrow-bladed iron spearhead without a pronounced rib; the blade forms an elongated rhomb in section;
7. A piece from an iron sword.
It is a great pity that these graves were not systematically excavated and that no protective excavations have yet been carried out on the site. The insufficient and not entirely reliable information gleaned from the owner provides only some of the elements needed to reconstruct the method of burial. It can, however, be said that these were flat burials, further evidence that flat burials were the main type of burial in Delmatae lands, at least in the later Iron Age. The tomb architecture clearly consisted of slabs of mudstone laid along the sides to form a frame for the grave. It seems likely that there were also covering slabs, which could have been removed earlier after being caught up by a plough blade. This type of grave has been observed previously in Delmatae lands, and Vašarovine provides further evidence that it is typical of the Iron Age in this region(15). It would appear that in this case there were both individual and common graves in the same necropolis.
Quantities of movable and immovable archaeological material are almost invariably found in the village of Vašarovine during building works(16). One chance find provides the possibility of at least roughly locating the prehistoric hill fort(17): a grave in which several individuals were buried. This was to the west of the street, about ten metres from the road and southeast of the hill fort in Vašarovine. This and earlier finds(18) suggest that the necropolis covered an area of about 1000 sq.m. It seems from what the finder has said that the grave was discovered in very obscure circumstances. It was probably constructed from a number of stone slabs set upright, while the covering slab was broken. Other relevant details, such as the length, width and height of the grave, were not recorded. The grave lay north-south, and ten or more skeletons were buried (or, as the finder reported, thrown in) in a disorderly fashion.
Finds
1. Weaponry:
- An iron spearhead with an elongated blade and pronounced rib of trapezoid section; the tip of the spearhead and the socket broken off; length 32.3 cm;
- An iron spearhead with a long blade and less pronounced rib of elongated rhomboid section; the socket is decorated with two parallel incised lines; length 30.2 cm;
- An iron spearhead with a broad blade and very pronounced rib of trapezoid section; remaining length 18.5 cm;
- A smaller iron spearhead with an elongated blade and pronounced rib of rhomboid section; remaining length 17.4 cm;
- An iron scabbard for a spearhead, remaining length 13.3 cm;
- A single-edged iron curved short sword in three pieces;
- A fragmented curved iron knife 7.2 cm long;
- Other badly damaged finds included the tip of an iron spearhead, three pieces of the socket of an iron spearhead or scabbard, and an iron nail.
2. Jewellery:
- A bronze fibula of pre-Certosan type with a concave bow and longish foot, ending in the shape of a bird’s head turned away from the bow. The arch of the bow towards the head is decorated with incised parallel lines and two small ribbed protuberances; the section of the bow towards the foot is decorated with an incised “pine needle” design. Length 5.8 cm, height 2.1 cm;
- A late La Tène bronze fibula with a fairly thick bow, trapezoid in section. The long foot extends into a damaged tang-shape curved back towards the bow. The steep end of the bow is decorated on both sides with three incised parallel lines. Length 6.8 cm, height 2.3 cm;
- A bronze fibula of thinnish metal with the bow deltoid in section when seen from above. The edges of the bow, which is quite badly damaged, are decorated with finely incised “pine needles.” The foot has not survived. Length 4.8 cm, height 1.1 cm;
- Spiral spectacle fibulae of bronze wire with a figure-of-eight between discs, two identical specimens, lacking any trace of the fastenings. Length 3.7 cm, height 1.7 cm;
- Spiral spectacle pendants of bronze wire with an arched pin rest between two discs, two specimens;
- Glass paste beads as part of a necklace, three types, all cylindrical;
- A small bronze button with a lug inside;
- Dome-shaped buttons with a small lug inside, two specimens;
- A bronze button of almost conical shape with markedly more pronounced moulding on the inside;
- Two specimens of bronze pins;
- A damaged bronze pin with a conical head;
- A link of bronze wire with a diameter of 3.3 cm, probably an earring;
- Decorative plaques of sheet bronze, three specimens;
- A damaged bronze button with a long spike and small lug inside;
- Two coils of bronze wire wound in a spiral, semicircular in section;
- Two iron bars forming part of a rectangular belt buckle, quadrangular in section.
The finds from the common grave in Vašarovine are mainly decorative articles, followed by weaponry and pottery. Most are of bronze or iron, with a few of glass paste or clay. Various techniques were used to make them: casting, forging, embossing, winding etc. Combinations of various techniques have also been observed in the decoration, with reverse relief, incisions, punch marks, carving (jewellery and weaponry) and, in the case of pottery, incisions and concavities.
3. Pottery
- A sizeable pottery vessel (five sherds) of clay mixed with fine grains of limestone. This large, thin-walled pottery vessel was decorated with incised parallel lines with deep depressions between them;
- A smaller vessel or pot-bellied beaker with a cylindrical neck and two handles between the transition from the neck to the belly and the rim. The bottom of this small beaker is shaped like an omphalos. The top of the pot-bellied section bears a row of pitted depressions between the handles;
- A small vessel with a single ribbon handle and a small annular base.
There is nothing closely analogous to the pottery vessels from Vašarovine in any of the Iron Age necropolises of the same period in Delmatae lands. The fact is that vessels were very rarely placed in graves at this time, a feature most clearly documented by the fully investigated necropolises in the Liburnian region. The typological and technological features of the three pottery vessels from the grave in Vašarovine are akin to the forms of pottery produced in the settlements at Pod near Bugojno(19). The data from the Pod settlement are wholly reliable, and corroborated by the clear stratigraphy; with this in mind, the pottery finds from Vašarovine could date from the first half of the 4th century BCE.
Burial method
Little can be said about the burial method, given the circumstances in which the finds were made. There are indications, however, that this was a flat grave in a necropolis, composed of slabs of stone, some placed upright around the sides, over which a larger slab was laid as a cover. This was a form of burial that was modified over the prehistoric period up until the advent of the Romans in this part of the world. The purely skeletal burials (inhumation) form the next feature that is always associated with this type of tomb structure on the eastern Adriatic coast, regardless of whether the deceased is laid in the foetal position or supine. The grave at Džeparuša in Vašarovine contained several skeletons (ten or more) buried in succession in the 5th and the first half of the 4th century, and was probably a family tomb. This type of tomb is also found elsewhere in the Delmatae lands(20), usually in flat necropolises, another essential feature of Iron Age cultural evolution in the eastern Adriatic region and, in particular, the Delmatae lands.
The hill fort and its outskirts remained no less important during Antiquity. The many known remains of the material and spiritual culture of Vašarovine attest to the municipal nature of the settlement as one of the most highly regarded sanctuaries and cultural centres to which the inhabitants of other, even quite remote municipia and towns of the Roman province of Dalmatia came on pilgrimage. In late Antiquity the hill fort area at Vašarovine acquired new fortifications consisting of thick, solid ramparts built of stone blocks bonded with mortar(21).
The finds in the village of Vašarovine consist of a votive relief of the goddess Magna mater (Cybele); a votive relief of the god Dionysus (Liber); a fragment of a cippus with a depiction of Attis; and an altar with an inscription, dedicated to the god Silvanus(22), in the Franciscan museum and gallery at Gorica in Livno. They attest to the funerary customs and beliefs of the inhabitants of southwest Bosnia at that time.
1. Votive relief of the goddess Magna Mater (Cybele)
The lower part of the body of the goddess, carved in relief, has survived; she is wearing high shoes. A long, gathered dress is wound around her legs, and an animal image (lion or dog) can be made out to the left. To the right is a larger animal, on whose head and neck the goddess’ hand is resting. Part of an inscription panel with the remains of lettering SAC(rum) can be seen at the base of the monument. Site: Vašarovine; Date: 1st to 2nd century. Inventory no. 121
2. Votive relief of the god Dionysus (Liber)
The god Liber (Dionysus) is portrayed on the votive relief in the nude, wearing deep shoes, with a cloak over his shoulders fastened by a buckle on the right shoulder. He has a garland of vine leaves on his head, with a bunch of grapes on each side. He is holding a kantharos in his right hand, from which he is pouring wine, which a seated panther is drinking. In his left hand he is holding a staff (thyrsos) around the bottom of which a snake is twined. A hemispherical vessel with a handle in the middle features in front of the staff. The lower part of the monument bears an inscription panel with a three-line inscription:
LIB.P.S.VLP.
VICTORINA.PRO.
SALVTE.SVA.P.
Lib(ero) P8atri) S(actrum) Ulp(ia)/ (Victorina pro/ salute sua p(osuit).
Site: below Gradina hill fort; date 2nd century. Inventory no. 122.
3. Fragment of a cippus
The fragment has been battered at the sides. The surviving surface bears the draped, mournful figure of Attis in relief, with a Frisian cap on his head and arms folded.
Site: Vašarovine, Grebci, date 2nd century. Inventory no. 120.
4. Altar dedicated to Silvanus
The top of the altar has a band of geometric motifs in relief, in the form of a circle and two triangles. The panel bearing the inscription, framed top and bottom by stepped mouldings, has a three-line inscription:
SI. AVG. SAC.
AEL CATIVS
EIDEN POS sic!
Sil(vano) Aug(ustš) sac(rum) Ael(ius) catius eiden (sic) pos(uit)
Site: Vašarovine, date 2nd century. Inventory no. 123.
Silvanus was the chief and most widely revered divinity, god of forests, fields and wild game. He is intimately associated with the goddess Diana, goddess of forests, hunting and wild game. They are often depicted with nymphs, lesser divinities of forests and water. Liber, who arrived with Italic colonists, is very similar in some respects to Silvanus. The cult of Magna Mater is an eastern cult, introduced to Dalmatia in the 1st century by solders and merchants.
3. Legal status to date
The Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina to 1980, Stage B, valorization of natural and cultural assets, lists the hill fort in Vašarovine as a protected Category I monument (of national importance), under serial no. 122, as part of the landscape of the Livno polje.
4. Research and conservation-restoration works
There are numerous hill fort sites in the Livno polje, especially around the edges, constituting the most important group of prehistoric sites in this part of the world(23).
In 1976 and 1977 a team from the Centre for Balkan Studies of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, working with Prof. Dušan Nikić of the local museum in Livno, conducted a systematic two-level examination of the hill forts, gathering considerable data in the process. The first level of the investigations consisted of identifying the forts as archaeological sites and historic monuments; the second entailed describing them, making a photographic record, and conducting a geodetic survey and soundings in some of the hill forts.
The site of Gradina (hill fort), Priluka-Vašarovine, is listed as a prehistoric hill fort and late Antique fortification in the Archaeological Lexicon of Bosnia and Herzegovina(24).
A. Benac and B. Govedarica conducted soundings, dating the hill fort to the late Bronze and Iron Ages.
5. Current condition of the property
The findings of an on-site inspection conducted on 30 October 2009 are as follows:
- the hill fort stands on a typical, relatively low hill on the edge of a karst ridge;
- to the east the hillside, which is covered with tall-growing vegetation, falls away precipitously towards the village where there are houses;
- access to the hill fort is easiest from the south (the settlement on the outskirts);
- a substantial embankment forms a half-circle surrounding the southwest, west and northwest sides of the hill fort;
- the plateau of the hill fort is fairly level at the bottom, rising slightly towards the embankment.
6. Specific risks
- the site has not been investigated;
- absence of public awareness of the importance of the site as an archaeological site.
III – CONCLUSION
Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.
The Decision was based on the following criteria:
A. Time frame
B. Historical value
C. Artistic and aesthetic value
C.iv. composition
C.v. value of details
D. Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)
D.ii. evidence of historical change
D.iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner
E. Symbolic value
E.i. ontological value
E.ii. religious value
G. Authenticity
G.i. form and design
G.v. location and setting
H. Rarity and representativity
H.i. unique or rare example of a certain type or style
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- Ownership documentation:
- Copy of cadastral plan, c.p..525 (old survey), c.m. Priluka, plan no. Z30 CXVI S9 b/1, scale 1:6250, issued on 6.11.2009 by Livno Municipality, Department of Proprietary Rights, Geodetic Affairs and Real Property Cadastre, Hercegbosna Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Land Register entry for plot no. 525, Land Register entry no. 204, c.m. Priluka, NAR and RZ no. 3161/09, issued on 20.10.2009 by the Land Registry Office of the Municipal Court in Livno, Hercegbosna Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Photodocumentation:
- Photographs of the site taken on 30.10.2009 by archaeologist Silvana Čobanov using Canon 1000D digital camera.
- Drawings.
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the property as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1983. Borivoj Čović, Dušan Nikić. Arheološka problematika zapadne Bosne (Archaeological issues in western Bosnia), Archaeological Society of BiH, Proceedings, vol. I, “Grobnice željeznog doba iz Vašarovina kod Livna” (Iron Age tombs from Vašarovine near Livno). Sarajevo: 1983.
1983. Govedarica, Blagoje. Arheološka problematika zapadne Bosne (Archaeological issues in western Bosnia), Archaeological Society of BiH, Proceedings, vol. I, “Iz najstarije prošlosti Livanjskog polja” (The ancient past of the Livno polje). Sarajevo: 1983.
1985. Benac, Alojz. Utvrđena ilirska naselja I (Fortified Illyrian settlements I), “Delmatske gradine na Duvanjskom polju, Buškom Blatu, Livanjskom i Glamočkom polju” (Delmatae hill forts in the Duvno polje, Buško Blato, and the Livno and Glamoč poljes) (Borivoj Čović, ed.). Sarajevo: 1985.
1986. Marijan, Boško. “Zajednička grobnica željeznog doba iz Vašarovina kod Livna” (A common grave of the Iron Age from Vašarovine near Livno), Journal of the National Museum in Sarajevo, Archaeology, n.s., vols 40/41. Sarajevo:1986
1988. Čović, Borivoj (ed.). Arheološki leksikon BiH (Archaeological Lexicon of BiH), vol. 3. Sarajevo: 1988.
1994. Periša, Darko. Livanjski kraj u povijesti (The Livno region in history), “Livno u prethistorijsko doba” (Livno in prehistoric times). Split-Livno: 1994.
1994. Zaninović, Marin. Livanjski kraj u povijesti (The Livno region in history), “Livanjsko polje u antici kao primjer delmatske zajednice” (The Livno polje in Antiquity as an example of a Delmatae community). Split- Livno:1994.
1999. Milošević, Ante. Arheološka zbirka Franjevačkog muzeja u Livnu (The archaeological collection of the Franciscan Museum in Livno), Foreword. Split: 1999.
(1) Darko Periša, Livanjski kraj u povijesti, “Livno u prethistorijsko doba,” Split-Livno: 1994, 19, 24.
(2) Blagoje Govedarica, “Iz najstarije prošlosti Livanjskog polja,” Arheološka problematika zapadne Bosne, Archaeological Society of BiH, Proceedings, vol. I, Sarajevo: 1983, 58.
(3) Ante Milošević, Foreword, Arheološka zbirka Franjevačkog muzeja u Livnu, Split :1999, 7.
(4) For more on the historical background, see the decision of the Commission designating the archaeological site of the prehistoric hill fort of Velika gradina in Vidoši, Municipality Livno, FBiH, Official Gazette of BiH no. 32/09
(5) Blagoje Govedarica, op.cit, 1983, 56.
(6) One such is Mandina hill fort in the Duvno polje, that could have been a religious centre for the wider region, and the hill fort on Veliki Obljaj in the Glamoč polje, where to all appearances the hill fort complex was dedicated to the dead (Govedarica, 1983, 56)
(7) Blagoje Govedarica, op.cit., 1983, 56.
(8) Blagoje Govedarica, op.cit., 1983, 56.
(9) Alojz Benac, Utvrđena ilirska naselja I, “Delmatske gradine na Duvanjskom polju, Buškom Blatu, Livanjskom i Glamočkom” (Borivoj Čović, ed.), Sarajevo:1985, 114.
(10) Alojz Benac, op.cit., Sarajevo: 1985, 116.
(11) Borivoj Čović, Dušan Nikić, Arheološka problematika zapadne Bosne, Archaeological Society of BiH, Proceedings, vol. I, “Grobnice željeznog doba iz Vašarovina kod Livna,” Sarajevo: 1983, 87.
(12) Romić destroyed all the skeletal material.
(13) Borivoj Čović-Dušan Nikić, op.cit., Sarajevo: 1983, 88.
(14) Several such individual graves were found, and some of the skeletal material from two graves was purchased from Mate Romić by Prof. Alojz Benac and Dr. Ž. Mikić of the Centre for Balkan Studies in Sarajevo. M. Romić seems to have sold the jewellery and other archaeological material to private individuals.
(15) Borivoj Čović, Dušan Nikić, op.cit., Sarajevo: 1983, 91.
(16) Boško Marijan, “Zajednička grobnica željeznog doba iz Vašarovina kod Livna,” Jnl of the National Museum in Sarajevo, Archaeology, n.s., vols. 40-41, Sarajevo: 1985-1986, 24.
(17) While digging a garage pit near his house in Džeparuša meadow in the autumn of 1984, Stipe (Ivo) Svale came upon the grave at a depth of 1.20 to 1.50 m.
(18) The material from the Iron Age tomb discovered by B. Čović and D. Nikić was found on the other side of the village street, and belongs to the same prehistoric necropolis as the find in Grudina meadow, the property of Marijan Romić.
(19) The Commission to Preserve National Monuments of BiH designated the archaeological site of Pod, a prehistoric hill fort in Bugojno, as a national monument of BiH at its 21st session (Official Gazette of BiH no. 75 -28)
(20) Boško Marijan, op.cit., Sarajevo: 1985-1986, 28.
(21) Boško Marijan, op.cit., Sarajevo: 1985-1986, 23.
(22) Maja Petrinec, Tomislav Šeparović, Bono Mato Vrdoljak, Arheološka zbirka Franjevačkog muzeja u Livnu, Split:1999, 71, 72.
(23) Alojz Benac, “Gradina u Vidošima,” Arheološka problematika zapadne Bosne, Archaeological Society of BiH, Proceedings, vol. I, Sarajevo: 1983, 93.
(24) Borivoj Čović (ed.), Arheološki leksikon BIH, vol. 3,Sarajevo: 1988, 240.
|
