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Prehistoric tumuli, necropolises with stećak and nišan tombstones in the village of Sovići, sepulchral ensemble

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Status of monument -> National monument

Published in the “Official Gazette of BiH”, no. 38/10.

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 7 December 2009 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

The sepulchral ensemble of prehistoric tumuli and a necropolis with stećak and nišan tombstones in the village of Sovići, Municipality Jablanica, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument consists of the monuments at the following locations in three mahalas of the village of Sovići:

1. Gornja mahala,

- at Stublenica, a mediaeval monument – one grave with a stećak,

- at Zec, a mediaeval necropolis, five surviving graves with stećak tombstones,

- at Batuša, a prehistoric tumulus and an isolated stećak,

2. Srednja mahala,

- Srednja mahala 1, at Hrbine, a prehistoric tumulus and mediaeval graves with two stećak tombstones,

- Srednja mahala 2, two surviving graves with stećak tombstones in a Catholic cemetery),

- Svatovsko groblje (Ranica), mediaeval necropolis, 18 graves with stećak tombstones,

3. Donja mahala,

- Donja mahala 1, a mediaeval necropolis beside a Muslim burial ground, 21 graves with stećak tombstones and old nišan tombstones in the Muslim burial ground,

- Donja mahala 2, by the Mijić house, eight stećak tombstones,

- at Vrtla, 17 graves with stećak tombstones, ,

- at Plavi Greb, six graves with stećak tombstones

The National Monument is located on sites designated as cadastral plot no. 349, title deed no. 130, Land Register entry no. 130, c.p. 466, 469, title deed no. 405, Land Register entry no. 99, c.p. 467, title deed no. 246, Land Register entry no. 246, c.p. 468, title deed no. 248, Land Register entry no. 248, c.p. 549, title deed no. 200, Land Register entry no. 200, c.p. 564, 565, title deed no. 153, Land Register entry no. 153, c.p. 573, title deed no. 22, Land Register entry no. 22, c.p. 648 (part) and 653, title deed no. 386, Land Register entry no. 386, c.p. 830, title deed no. 9, Land Register entry no. 9, c.p. 832, title deed no. 12, Land Register entry no. 12, c.p. 844, title deed no. 19, Land Register entry no. 19, c.p. 916, 1152, title deed no. 316, Land Register entry no. 316, c.p. 1158, title deed no. 157, Land Register entry no. 157, c.p. 1509, title deed no. 197, Land Register entry no. 197, c.p. 1619, title deed no. 60, Land Register entry no. 60, cadastral municipality Sovići, Municipality Jablanica, 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.

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:

- a regulatory plan and management plan shall be drawn up to ensure that the integrity and clarity of the National Monument are preserved, to identify the potential for the modern development of the village in a manner that will not be detrimental to the National Monument, and to identify opportunities for linking the sites for the purpose of presentation of the National Monument;

- works on the infrastructure are prohibited except 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);

- all works that could have the effect of endangering the National Monument are prohibited, as is the erection of temporary facilities or permanent structures not intended solely for the protection and presentation of the National Monument;

- the construction of buildings the appearance or use of which could be detrimental to the National Monument is prohibited within a radius of 50 m from the boundaries of the protected site;

- the dumping of waste is prohibited.

Gornja mahala

- all works are prohibited other than research and conservation and restoration works, including those designed to display the monument in situ, with the approval of the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

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

- the use of modern technical solutions is permitted in order to identify the positions of the stećak tombstones;

- the relocation or removal of the stećak tombstones from the graves is prohibited;

- during restoration, conservation and routine maintenance of the monument, its original appearance shall be maintained, and original materials and techniques shall be used;

Srednja mahala

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

- the relocation or removal of the stećak tombstones from the graves is prohibited;

- during restoration, conservation and routine maintenance of the monument, its original appearance shall be maintained, and original materials and techniques shall be used;

- the course of the River Doljanka shall be made good.

Donja mahala

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

- the relocation or removal of the stećak tombstones from the graves is prohibited;

- during restoration, conservation and routine maintenance of the monument, its original appearance shall be maintained, and original materials and techniques shall be used;

- the course of the River Doljanka shall be made good.

Conservation-restoration projects should cover:

- repairing damage to the stećak and nišan tombstones;

- conservation-restoration works based on original documentation and preliminary investigative works;

- the reconstruction of the necropolis and its restoration to its orginal condition.

The following urgent protection measures are hereby prescribed with a view to protecting the National Monument:

- conducting a preliminary survey of its condition to identify the nature and extent of damage;

- archaeological investigations, after first drawing up a programme;

- making good damage to the most endangered sites;

- relocating the newly-built road and restoring the National Monument to its original condition;

- clearing the National Monument of litter and waste and tidying the necropolis;

- clearing lichen and moss from the stećak and nišan tombstones and making good any damage.

The area is an archaeological site, and all investigative works must therefore be carried out in the presence of an archaeologist.

All movable artefacts found during archaeological investigations shall be housed in the nearest museum or in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, processed and suitably presented.

The removal of the movable artefacts referred to in the previous paragraph (from Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited.

By way of exception to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Clause, if the leader of the investigations determines that a given artefact must be processed abroad, and provides evidence to that effect to the Commission, the Commission may permit the temporary removal of the artefact from the country subject to detailed conditions.

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

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: 05.2-2.2-40/2009/65

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 5 August 2009 Jablanica Municipality submitted to the Commission a proposal /petition to designate the mediaeval necropolises with stećak tombstones at Sovići 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 national monument consists of two prehistoric grave mounds (tumuli), 78 graves with stećci (pl. of stećak), 27 nišan tombstones and eight stećci no longer in situ, at a total of nine sites in the village of Sovići, Jablanica Municipality. This historic site is of particular significance on account of its mixture, and in places merger, of burial grounds from different periods: mediaeval graves with stećci located on prehistoric tumuli, 16th-19th century Muslim burial grounds mingled with stećci, Catholic graves of recent date in mediaeval burial grounds with stećci, and so on. The concentration of graves ranging in date from prehistory to the 19th century reflects the unbroken density of habitation in the village of Sovići.

The stećci at these sites in Sovići are slab-shaped, chest-shaped or gabled (sarcophagus-like). Five of the 85 stećci are decorated with realistic and symbolic designs (a scene of a combat between a cavalryman and an infantryman, figures in a round dance holding birds, a rosette, the figure of a warrior holding a lance and a sword and with his body stabbed by a sword, a cross, a female round dance. stars, a crescent moon and a sword).

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

- Details of 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.

- Pursuant to Article 12 of the Law on the Implementation of Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments Established Pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the following procedures were carried out for the purpose of designating the property as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina:

- A letter ref. 02-02-1133-10/09-VIII of 30 June 2009 supplied the resolution of Jablanica County Council prohibiting the relocation of stećci beyond the boundaries of Jablanica Municipality and an article in Dnevni avaz daily newspaper of 13 July 2007 in which local residents both Muslim and Catholic expressed their dismay at the removal of stećci from the village of Sovići

- A letter ref. 02-36-9/09-101 of 10 August 2009 to Jablanica Municipality, notifying it that members of staff from the Commission would conduct a technical and photographic survey of the monuments at the various sites in Sovići and requesting the Municipality to provide experts (surveyors) to assist in identifying the plots

- A letter ref. 05.2-26.1-9/09-225 of 17 November 2009 requesting the Land Registry office of the Municipal Court in Konjic to provide a copy of the Land Register entries for the identified plots at the sites in the village of Sovići, Jablanica Municipality

- A letter ref. 07-40-4-3198-1/09 of 25 August 2009 was received from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport.

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 Sovići is in the western part of Jablanica Municipality on the Jablanica–Doljani–Blidinje–Duvno road, about 12 km from Duvno as the crow flies. The village consists of three mahalas: Upper, Middle and Lower.

Historical information

There were already human communities in what is now Jablanica in the 3rd and 2nd millennia, as evidenced by the remains of hill forts and tumuli discovered in Djevoro, Glogošnica, Križ hill above the village of Mrakovo, the hill above the village of Dobrigošće, Gradište near Ostrošac, Orlovac on Slatina, Ružno hill in Čehari, and above Palića mahala in Baćina. The remains of tumuli have also been found in the hamlet of Batuša in Gornja (upper) mahala and in Hrbine in Srednja (middle) mahala in the village of Sovići, and in the Marića burial ground of Lokve on Risovac(1).

Prehistoric grave mounds or tumuli are known by a variety of terms, including barrow, mound, burial mound, tumulus and hill (the terms used in the local language in Bosnia and Herzegovina are gomila, gromila, kamena gomila, grobna gomila, tumulus, unka, humka, unjka and zaspa). They are the most numerous prehistoric structures, mainly concentrated in southern Bosnia, the Drina valley and Herzegovina, with scattered instances in central and northern Bosnia. Tumuli are earth mounds, usually circular in plan, though sometimes elliptical, originally probably conical in shape, but now mainly reduced to a dome shape, some quite high, others lower. They consist of a mixture of earth and stone, except in typically karst areas, where they are of stone alone (except those in the poljes). With the exception of tumuli serving as fortifications (liminal tumuli as part of a hill fort system) and those used for cult purposes, known locally as zaspa(2), most tumuli are sepulchral structures with one or more burials, which may be connected (burials from the same chronological stage in family or clan tumuli) or even from different stages of the same period. It is not uncommon to find burials from entirely different periods (for instance, later burials dating from Roman times, or even entire mediaeval necropolises on prehistoric tumuli)(3).

Most of the hill forts in the Jablanica area date from the late Bronze Age (late 2nd and early 1st century BCE), with a few of later, Iron Age date. Soil erosion and plant growth have combined to obliterate most of them almost entirely. There are very few vestiges of the culture of Antiquity (1st to 4th century CE) in the Jablanica area. Thus far, Roman sites have been discovered in Donji Paprasak and near Žuglići, and Roman monuments have been found on Falanovo hill, Hudutski and Ankula in Grac.

Of particular note from late Antiquity (late 3rd to early 6th century CE) is the fort known as Grad on a hill between Ostošac and Ribići.

In mediaeval times much of the area of present-day Jablanica Municipality consisted of the mediaeval župa (county) of Neretva, the county town of which was Konjic, with part of the counties of Rama and Planina (the Risovac, Tovarnica and Čvrsnica area).

The earliest reference to the Neretva župa is in the Chronicles of the Doclean priest, written in the mid 12th century. It lay between the župas of Rama and Kom. According to the Chronicles, the Podgorje district also belonged to it. By the mid 11th century the župa had presumably been incorporated into the Bosnian state. From then on until ban (governor) Tvrtko came to power in 1353, it enjoyed special status within the Bosnian state(4). The economic and political activities of the Bosnian rulers in Neretva county can be traced from the mid 14th century. In the early 15th century the boundaries were drawn between the later Crown lands and the feudal holdings of the Kosača family. Between 1404 and 1463, the Bosnian part of Neretva county belongs to the Crown lands, while the Hum part of the Neretva and Kom belonged to the Kosača feudal lands, later known as Herzegovina. The River Neretva formed the boundary between these two districts, from the boundaries of Kom county to those of Rama county. The area on the left bank of the Neretva belonged to the Kosačas and that on the right bank to the Crown lands. In the summer of 1463, an auxiliary Ottoman army led by Mahmut pasha Anđelović conquered both Neretva and Kom. Hum Neretva, the fort of Borovac and the western part of Bosnian Neretva were liberated in a counter-action by herceg Stjepan between July and September that year, but the region was finally conquered in mid 1465 during a campaign by Isa-bey Ishaković, sanjak-bey of Bosnia, into the herceg’s lands(5).

The earliest official record of the name and toponym Jablanica in Ottoman sources is in the summary defter or tax census of the Bosnian sanjak for 1458, which lists Jablanica as belonging to the Neretva nahija [minor administrative entity] and as a timar [feudal holding with military obligations] of ćehaja [deputy] Musa. In 1488/89, Jablanica was registered as a timar of Sinan bey, son of Islam Kovač.

The village of Sovići is in the western part of Jablanica Municipality on the Jablanica–Doljani–Blidinje–Duvno road. In the mid 19th century it became part of the Prozor kadiluk [area under the administration of a kadi or judge]; at that time it was second only to Rumbok as the wealthiest village with the largest population in the entire kadiluk(6).

2. Description of the property

Jablanica Municipality is mainly mountainous, but also includes part of the river Neretva valley and its tributaries and the Jablanica lake. The south-eastern boundary of the municipality consists of the mountain peaks of Veliki Prenj, Stajski gvod and Aleksin han in the Neretva valley, from where it rises to the south and west to Mts Plasa and Čvrsnica and the Blidinje high plateau and on via Mt Vran and Keđara to Snježnica. The northern boundary consists of the slopes of Baćina and Oklanica towards Slatina and Bokševica, descending from above Mrakovi down to the Jablanica lake. The eastern boundary starts at Ribički bridge and rises to Štrbini, Rečici and Borje as far as Crnoglav on Mt Prenj. Thus far a few prehistoric grave mounds, a number of Roman sites and the old Roman road from the Duvno plain via Blidinje to Rama have been identified, along with two mediaeval forts(7).

Thus far 42 sites in Jablanica have been recorded, with 683 stećci, not one of which, uniquely, bears an epitaph. The necropolises at Dugo polje and Risovac have the most stećci and are richest in decoration. Stećci have also been recorded in Sovići, Doljani, Žuglići, Šabančići, Mrakovo, Rodići, Donja Slatina, Dobrigošće, Krstac, Čehari, Donja Jablanica, Djevoro, Glogošnica and Ravna. When considered in the light of living conditions and climate, the number and diversity of these monuments provide clear evidence of the area’s population density(8). The stećci in this area date from the 14th to the 16th century(9).

Ten sites have been identified in the village of Sovići with two prehistoric grave mounds and a total of 85 stećci, in the Upper, Middle and Lower mahalas.

Gornja mahala

Three sites in Upper mahala have been recorded, with one prehistoric tumulus and seven stećci.

Stublenica

158 x 70 cm, h = 110 cm, gabled with plinth, damaged, undecorated, lying west – east, located on a plot designated as c.p. no.844.

Zec

Five graves with stećci have been recorded here, partly buried, covered with lichen and overgrown with grass, undecorated. They are located on a plot designated as c.p. no. 830.

1. 165 x 110 cm, h = 54 cm, chest,

2. 174 x 120 cm, h = 37 cm, slab,

3. 164 x 110 cm, h = 45 cm, slab,

4. 120 x 87 cm, h = 110 cm, gabled,

5. 187 x 117 cm, h = 28 cm, slab.

Batuša

138 x 100 cm, h = 75 cm, isolated chest-shaped stećak, undecorated, on a small prehistoric tumulus, has been moved from its original position, located on a plot designated as c.p. no.832.

Srednja mahala

Another three sites have been recorded in Middle mahala, with one prehistoric tumulus and 21 stećci.

Hrbine, also known as Srednja mahala 1

This site, on part of plot c.p. 349, consists of a prehistoric tumulus on which are two graves with chest-shaped stećci.

1. 160 x 80 cm, h = 65 cm, chest,

2. 150 x 95 cm, h = 97 cm, chest.

Srednja mahala 2

Two graves with stećci have been recorded in a Catholic cemetery still in active use on plot c.p. 916. These could not be examined since they are completely buried.

Ranica necropolis – Svatovsko groblje

The necropolis is on the right bank of the river Doljanka, and is one of the most endangered necropolises in Jablanica Municipality. It is located on a small elevation above the river, into which about half of the stećci have already fallen. At the entrance to the necropolis there are now two stećci set in concrete and a large cross where the local Catholics perform religious worship. A striking feature of this necropolis is stećak no. 12, with a scene of a women’s round dance, a star, a crescent moon and a sword. Almost all the stećci are covered with moss and lichens. In the 1970s there were 35 stećci in this necropolis, only 18 of which can now be identified, and not all of these could be examined since they are completely buried, with only their outlines visible. They are on plots designated as c.p. nos. 466, 467, 468, 469.

1. 145 x 72 cm, h = 38 cm, slab,

2. 15 x 15 cm, h = 38 cm, slab,

3. 137 x 60 cm, h = 35 cm, slab,

12. 180 x 93 cm, h = 100 cm, tall decorated chest,

13. 155 x 58 cm, h = 66 cm, gabled,

14. 168 x 73 cm, h = 65, chest,

15. 230 x 130 cm, h = 60 cm, broken into two pieces,

16. 176 x 148 cm, h = 44 cm, chest,

17. 160 x 73 cm, h = 66 cm, chest,

18. 230 x 148 cm, h = 64 cm, chest.

Donja mahala

Four sites have been recorded in Lower mahala, with 57 stećci.

Donja mahala 1

This site contains 21 graves with stećci (20 chest-shaped and one gabled), and graves with old nišan tombstones. The stećci are on plot c.p. 1158, with the exception of stećak no. 21, which is on plot 1152, where the old nišan tombstones are also located. The stećci are partly or wholly buried, and covered with lichens, moss and vegetation. There is also a field latrine in the necropolis, and the concrete foundations of a small building.

The measurements of the stećci are:

1. 155 x 113 cm, h = 71 cm chest,

2. 190 x 105 cm, h = 30 cm chest,

3. 150 x 95 cm, h = 50 cm chest,

4. 154 x 100 cm, h = 40 cm chest

5. 195 x 100 cm, h = 40 cm chest,

6. 120 x 70 cm, h = 65 cm chest,

7. 175 x 114 cm, h = 50 cm chest,

8. 198 x 70 cm, h = 65 cm chest,

9. 185 x 90 cm, h = 57 cm gabled,

10. 200 x 92 cm, h = 30 cm chest,

11. 140 x 62 cm, h = 36 cm chest,

12. 160 cm buried h = 52 cm chest,

13. 66 cm buried h = 52 cm broken chest,

14. 130 x 80 cm, h = 46 cm indeterminate shape,

15. 137 x 66 cm, h = 70 cm chest,

16. 160 x 76 cm, h = 40 cm chest,

17. 113 x 75 cm, h = 82 cm chest,

18. 160 x 100 cm, h = 40 cm chest,

19. 158 x 86 cm, h = 47 cm chest,

20. 170 x 66 cm, h = 82 cm chest,

21. 168 x 80 cm, h = 45cm, chest.

Necropolis with nišan tombstones

The burial ground in the village of Sovići, which is still in active use, contains not only tombstones of recent date but also about thirty old nišan tombstones, all visibly damaged by exposure to the elements and as a result of the type of stone used. They have no epitaphs, but judging from their appearance and the extent of damage they date from the 18th or 19th century.

Description of the nišan tombstones:

1. Woman’s nišan, covered in moss, rectangular in section 22 x 10 cm with a height of 55 cm.

2. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, partly buried, octagonal in section with sides of 14 and 8 cm. The height of the nišan visible above ground is 53 cm.

3. Nišan with woman’s cap, octagonal in section with sides of 10 and 12 cm and a height of 52 cm.

4. Man’s nišan with aga’s turban, square in section 17 x 17 cm with a height of 45 cm.

5. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, octagonal in section with sides of 7 and 13 cm and a height of 40 cm.

6. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, measuring 17 x 14 x 45 cm, partly buried, without epitaph.

7. Man’s nišan with aga’s turban, octagonal in section, circumference 80 cm with a height of 60 cm.

8. Man’s nišan with turban, rectangular in section 20 x 17 cm with a height of 74 cm. A four-fingered hand is carved on the nišan, extending down from the top, a motif found on stećci and seen here on a nišan for the first time.

9. Nišan in the form of a stele measuring 27 x 16 x 60 cm, without epitaph.

10. Nišan with pleated turban rectangular in section 35 x 29 cm with a height of 102 cm.

11. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, covered in moss, octagonal in section with sides of 23 and 10 cm and a height of 70 cm.

12. Small-sized man’s nišan with turban, buried with only the top of the turban visible above ground.

13. Woman’s nišan on its side, rectangular in section 17 x 9 cm with a height of 48 cm.

14. Man’s nišan on its side, with turban, square in section 12 x 12 cm with a height of 65 cm.

15. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, octagonal in section, circumference 70 cm with a height of 45 cm,

16. Man’s nišan with aga’s turban, measuring 20 x 20 x 53 cm.

17. Man’s nišan, fallen, with čatal (bifurcate) turban measuring 10.5 x 10.5 x 70 cm.

18. Man’s nišan with pleated turban rectangular in section 16 x 14 cm with a height of 33 cm.

19. Nišan on its side, with turban, octagonal in section with sides of 14 and 12 cm and a height of 80 cm.

20. Nišan with pleated turban measuring 12 x 7 x 52 cm.

21. Man’s nišan, damaged, with pleated turban, octagonal in section with sides of 13 and 10 cm and a height of 53 cm.

22. Man’s nišan with pleated turban circular in section, diameter 83 cm with a height of 60 cm.

23. Woman’s nišan rectangular in section 33 x 13 cm with a height of 58 cm.

24. Woman’s nišan rectangular in section 28 x 15 cm with a height of 48 cm.

25. Woman’s nišan rectangular in section 29 x 16 cm with a height of 64 cm.

26. Woman’s nišan rectangular in section 23 x 13 cm with a height of 42 cm.

27. Woman’s nišan rectangular in section 26 x 14 cm with a height of 48 cm.

Donja mahala 2 – Mijić house

Two groups of stećci have been recorded here. One is by the road, where the stećci were moved about 10 m to the west when the road through the village of Sovići was laid. Originally they lay west-east.

The necropolis contains 8 stećci (three tall chests, two chests and three slabs). While logging the tombstones here, five were found (three chests and two slabs), along with one cruciform tombstone of more recent date. The stećci are located on a plot designated as c.p. no. 1509. One stećak is decorated with a large Greek cross.

1. 110 x 108 cm, h = 30 cm, slab,

2. 178 x 128 cm, h = 77, chest,

3. 162 x 91 cm, h = 98 cm, decorated chest,

4. 180 x 150 cm, h = 30 cm, slab,

5. 153 x 80 cm, h = 58 cm, chest,

6. 97 x 67 cm, cruciform.

The other group of stećci is between the houses in the village. They are of indeterminate shape, and undecorated. Local residents have laid concrete beneath some of the stećci to prevent the bones from coming away from the graves. The stećci are on plot c.p. 549.

The stećci measure:

1. 166 x 65 x 110 cm,

2. 220 x 90 x 64 cm,

3. 115 x 65 x 35 cm,

4. 165 x 92 x 64 cm,

5. 132 x 120 x 68 cm,

6. 110 x 65 cm, stećak completely buried.

Vrtla (Gunjača)

Here A. Zelenika recorded 23 stećci (5 chests, one tall chest and 17 slabs). While cataloguing here, 17 graves with stećci were identified (6 chests, 5 slabs and a number that are buried so that their shape could not be determined), lying west – east. Three (nos. 2, 3 and 4) are decorated. The north side of stećak no. 2 is decorated with a combat scene between a cavalryman and an infantryman, and the south side with three figures in a circle holding birds. At the west end is a crescent moon and a damaged rosette.

Stećak no. 3 is decorated with the standing figure of a warrior holding a lance and a sword, his body stabbed by a sword, and with two small crosses beside him.

Stećak no. 4 has a relief circle at the west end.

The stećci are located on a plot designated as c.p. no. 564, 565 and 573. The other stećci are almost entirely buried, covered with lichen and overgrown with grass.

1. 176 x 90 cm, h = 26 cm, slab,

2. 178 x 105 cm, h = 78 cm, tall decorated chest,

3. 175 x 102 cm, h = 47 cm, decorated slab,

4. 157 x 76 cm, h = 54 cm, chest,

5. 138 x 86 cm, h = 64 cm, chest,

6. 146 x 86 cm, h = 44 cm, chest,

7. 180 x 90 cm, h = 26 cm, slab,

8. 160 x 76 cm, buried, slab,

9. 170 x 95 cm, h = 30, slab,

10. 165 x 76 cm, buried,

11. 135 cm, completely buried,

12. 150 x 93 cm, h = 40 cm, chest,

13. Completely buried,

14. 164 x 84 cm, h = 48, chest,

15. 190 x 64 cm, h = 21 cm, half buried, slab,

16. 150 x 80 cm, buried,

17. 178 x 94 cm, h = 48, half buried.

Plavi Greb

Six graves with stećci were recorded on the left bank of the river Doljanka, at Plavi Greb. The stećci, which are slab shaped and chest shaped, have not previously been recorded. They are of crude workmanship, damaged and overturned, and are at risk of falling into the river. They are located on plot c.p. 1619.

1. 223 x 216 cm, h = 33 cm, slab,

2. 170 x 63 cm, h = 96 cm, chest,

3. 180 x 103 cm, h = 35 cm, slab,

4. 210 x 140 cm, buried slab,

5. 208 x 96 cm, h = 56 cm, chest,

6. 175 x 132 cm, h = 86, chest.

3. Legal status to date

The Regional Plan for BiH to 2000 lists 13 sites of necropolises with stećci (216 stećci) as category II monuments, without specific identification(10).

A letter from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport dated 25 August 2008 lists the properties as follows:

1. Upper mahala, Sovići, Municipality Jablanica,

- Baruša, prehistoric tumulus and mediaeval stećak, Bronze or Iron Age and late mediaeval period.

- Stublenica, mediaeval monuments – one stećak, late mediaeval period

- Zec, mediaeval necropolis, 5 surviving stećci, late mediaeval period

2. Middle mahala, Sovići , Municipality Jablanica

- Middle mahala 1, prehistoric tumulus and mediaeval monuments (2 stećci), Bronze or Iron Age and late mediaeval period

- Middle mahala 2, mediaeval monuments (2 surviving stećci in a Catholic cemetery), late mediaeval period,

- Svatovsko groblje (Ranica), mediaeval necropolis, 35 surviving stećci, late mediaeval period.

3. Lower mahala, Sovići, Municipality Jablanica

- Lower mahala 1, mediaeval necropolis by Muslim burial ground, 23 surviving stećci, late mediaeval period,

- Lower mahala 2, mediaeval necropolis, 8 surviving stećci, late mediaeval period,

- Vrtla, Sovići – Donja mahala, mediaeval necropolis, 23 surviving stećci, late mediaeval period.

These properties were not on the Register of Cultural Monuments of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

4. Research and conservation-restoration works

Research works, consisting of recording and gathering information on the stećci, were carried out by Anđelko Zelenika and published in 1985 in Hercegovina, periodical for the cultural and historical heritage, issue IV.

No conservation or restoration works have been carried out.

5. Current condition of the property

The findings of on-site inspections conducted on 16 May and 18 August 2008 were as follows:

- the tombstones are at risk of rapid deterioration as a result of neglect

- some of the stećci are chipped, damaged, overturned, partly or wholly buried, or have fallen into the river Doljanka

- the tombstones are covered to a greater or lesser extent by plant organisms (lichens and moss), which are breaking down the structure of the stone.

6. Specific risks

- deterioration of the necropolis as a result of long-term neglect,

- adverse weather conditions,

- self-sown vegetation,

- displacement of the stećci from the graves by natural slippage or by building and infrastructure works,

- removal of the stećci from the graves without investigative works and documentation

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.iii. proportions

C.v. value of details

D. Clarity

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

E. Symbolic value

E.ii. religious 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.iii. use and function

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

- Ownership documentation

- Copy of cadastral plans for c.p. 466 and 469, title deed no. 405, c.p. 467, title deed no. 246, c.p. 468, title deed no. 248, c.m. Sovići, Municipality Jablanica (letter from Jablanica Municipality: petition submitted on 5 August 2009),

- Copy of cadastral plans for c.p. 349, title deed no. 130, c.p. 549, title deed no. 200, c.p. 564, 565, title deed no. 153, c.p. 573, title deed no. 22, title deed no. 12, c.p. 844, title deed no. 19, c.p. 916, 1152, title deed no. 316, c.p. 1158, title deed no. 157, c.p. 1509, title deed no. 197, c.p. 1619, title deed no. 60, c.m. Sovići, Municipality Jablanica (obtained in person on 18 August 2009 from Jablanica Municipality),

- Letter from the Municipal Court in Konjic, Land Registry office, NAR and RZ ref. 4921/09 of 18 November 2009 enclosing Land Register entries no. 9, 12, 19, 22, 60, 99, 130, 153, 157, 197, 200, 246, 248, 316, 386, c.m. Sovići, Municipality Jablanica.

- Documentation on previous protection of the property

- Letter from Jablanica Municipality: petition submitted on 5 August 2009, enclosing Programme for the protection and survey of stećci in the Jablanica area, drawn up by the Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and nature, Mostar, 1984,

- Letter from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport ref. 07-40-4-3198-1/09 of 25 August 2009.

- Photodocumentation

- Photographs of the property taken on 16 May and 18 August 2009 by historian Zijad Halilović using Canon EOS 450D digital camera.

- Technical documentation

- Technical drawings of the property (plan of the necropolis, drawings of the stećak and nišan tombstones), measured and surveyed on 16 May and 18 August 2009 by historian Zijad Halilović, architect and trainee Arijana Pašić, and calligrapher Hazim Numanagić (freelance associate).

Bibliography

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

1980. Various authors. Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina; Stage B – valorization of natural, cultural and historical monuments. Sarajevo: Institute for architecture, urbanism and spatial planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo and Sarajevo Planning Institute for Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1980, 52.

1982. Anđelić, Pavao. “Teritorijalnopolitička organizacija srednjovjekovne župe Neretve i njezino mjesto u širim političkom okvirima” (Territorial political organization of the mediaeval Neretva county and its place in the wider political context) in Studije o teritorijalnopolitičkoj organizaciji srednjovjekovne Bosne (Studies on the territorial political organization of mediaeval Bosnia). Sarajevo: 1982, 108-110.

1985. Zelenika, Anđelko. “Stećci jablaničkog područja” (Stećci of the Jablanica Region), Hercegovina IV, 1985, 51-71.

1988. Arheološki leksikon Bosne i Hercegovine (Archaeological Lexicon of BiH), Vol. I. Sarajevo: 1988, 190.

2003. Karić, Omer. “Jablanica kroz stoljeća,” in Jablanica 100 godina školstva (1903-2003) (Jablanica through the centuries: 100 years of education in Jablanica [1903-2003]). Jablanica: 2003, 13-36.

(1) Omer Karić, “Jablanica kroz stoljeća” in Jablanica 100 godina školstva (1903-2003), Jablanica 2003, 14.

(2) Zaspa is a local term for a particular form of prehistoric tumulus in western Bosnia, increasingly now being replaced by words such as humka, unjka, crkvina, glavica etc., but preserving the tradition that they are buried churches. They are ordinary tumuli covered with earth or a mixture of earth and sand, sometimes with stone too, and are large in size, even as much as 10 m in height. They were first recorded by F. Fiala in 1896. The best known are the zaspa in Benkovac near Bosanska Krupa, Crkvina in Johovica near Bosanski Novi, Glavica (Hunjka) in Rejzović near Ključ, and Hunka in Kljevi near Sanski Most. They date roughly to the Bronze and Iron Ages (18th-3rd centuries BCE) (Arheološki leksikon Bosne i Hercegovine, Vol. I, Sarajevo 1988, 190).

(3) For more on prehistoric tumuli, see the decision of the Commission designating the group of monuments of six prehistoric grave mounds (tumuli) in Gomiljani, Trebinje Municipality, as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Decision no. 02-2-38/2008-7, 29 March 2008, and the Commission’s web site, www.aneks8komisija.com.ba

(4) Anđelić, Dr. Pavao, „Teritorijalnopolitička organizacija srednjovjekovne župe Neretve i njezino mjesto u širim političkim okvirima“ in Studije o teritorijalnopolitičkoj organizaciji srednjovjekovne Bosne, Sarajevo 1982, 108-110

(5) Anđelić, Dr. Pavao, op.cit., 110, 115-156

(6) Omer Karić, op.cit., Jablanica, 2003, 13-36

(7) Zelenika, Anđelko, “Stećci jablaničkog područja,” Herzegovina IV, Mostar 1985, 52

(8) Omer Karić, op.cit., Jablanica, 2003, 15

(9) Zelenika, Anđelko, Hercegovina IV, Mostar, 1985, 63

(10) Various authors, Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Phase b – valorization of natural, cultural and historical monuments, Sarajevo: Institute for Architecture, Urbanism and Spatial Planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo and the Sarajevo Planning Institute for Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1980, 52.

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