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60th session - Decisions

Necropolis with stećak tombstones and four late Antique tombstones at Mramor (Crkvina) in Vrbica, the historic site

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Status of monument -> National monument

Published in the “Official Gazette of BiH”, no. 3/11.

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 on 26 October 2010 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

The historic site of the necropolis with stećak tombstones and four late Antique tombstones at Mramor (Crkvina) in Vrbica, Municipality Foča, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

            The National Monument consists of the necropolis with 207 stećak tombstones, three late Antique tombstones and one altar.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 1040, title deed no. 83, cadastral municipality Borje, Municipality Foča, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The provisions relating to protection measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of Republika Srpska no. 9/04, 70/06 and 64/08) shall apply to the National Monument.

 

II

 

The Government of Republika Srpska 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 area defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:

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

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

-          no works shall be carried out to tidy the necropolis, remove self-sown vegetation or clear lichens and moss from the stećak tombstones, or make good any damage, without a prior repair, restoration and conservation plan, and with the approval of the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

-          the dumping of waste is prohibited;

-          the area is a potential archaeological site, and any investigative works must be carried out in the presence of an archaeologist.

 

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

-          conducting a geodetic survey of the site;

-          drawing up and implementing a plan for the repair, restoration and conservation of the site;

-          drawing up a Management Plan for the site.

 

IV

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

The removal of the movable artefacts referred to in para. 1 above 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 archaeological 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 for its export, treatment while out of the country and return to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

V

 

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

 

VI

 

Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of Republika Srpska, and urban and municipal authorities, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument or jeopardize the preservation thereof.

 

VII

 

The Government of Republika Srpska, the relevant ministry and the heritage protection authority, and the Municipal Authorities in charge of urban planning and land registry affairs, shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II – VI of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.

 

VIII

 

The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.kons.gov.ba).

 

IX

 

Pursuant to Art. V para. 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.

 

X

 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of BiH.

 

This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Martin Cherry, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović, and Ljiljana Ševo.

 

No. 05.2-02.3-71/10-36

26 October 2010

Sarajevo

 

Chair of the Commission

Amra Hadžimuhamedović

 

E l u c i d a t i o n

 

I – INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on 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 20 October 2008 Amila Buturović submitted a proposal/petition to designate the mediaeval necropolis in the village of Vrbica/Zavait, Municipality Foča, 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

Following a field survey in the late 1970s of the upper Drina region, fourteen prehistoric hill forts and tumuli dating from the Neolithic and Late Bronze Age and several dozen mediaeval fortifications and sites of crosses, churches and necropolises were identified, attesting to the continuity of habitation of the entire area. In Vrbica, this continuity is evidenced at Mramor (Crkvina) by the remains of Antique funerary plaques and mediaeval tombstones. Of the total of 211 monuments, 207 are mediaeval slabs, chests and sarcophagus-like tombstones, three are late Antique plaques and one is a Roman altar. Twenty-two (three late Antique plaques and 19 stećak tombstones) are decorated with friezes, small crosses, a stylized cross, an anthropomorphic cross, crescent moons, staffs, swords, daggers, circles, rainwater hollows, hands rosettes, animal figures and human figures in relief.

 

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 copy of land registry entry);

-          Data on 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:

-         Under cover of letter ref. 02.-35-261/08-1 of 20. 10. 2008 a proposal/petition was received to designate the mediaeval necropolis in the village of Vrbica/Zavait, Municipality Foča, as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

-         Letter ref. 05.2.-35.2-23/09-160 of 17. 09. 2009 requesting views and documentation on the designation of the mediaeval necropolis in Vrbica, Foča Municipality, was sent to Foča Municipality (Mayor and the Department of Town Planning and Cadastral Affairs), the Ministry of Regional Planning, Construction and the Environment of Republika Srpska, the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of RS, the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport and the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

-         Under cover of letter ref. 07-40-4-3629-1/09 of 25 September 2009 the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport provided details of the current status of the necropolis with stećci at Crkvina in the village of Vrbica, Foča Municipality;

-         In letter ref. 07/1.20/624-755/09 of 12 October 2009 the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska notified the Commission that it had no information concerning the necropolis with stećci at Crkvina in the village of Vrbica, Foča Municipality;

-         Under cover of letter ref. 21. 41-952.1-1-2198/2010 of 12 October 2010 the Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights of Republika Srpska, Foča branch, provided a copy of the cadastral plan for c.p. no. 1040 c.m. Borje and title deed no. 83 c.m. Borje, Foča Municipality;

-         The views of the owner Ostojić (Rada) Dušan had not been received at the time this Decision was adopted;

-         In letter ref. 094-0-Rz-10-000 606 of 18 November 2010 the Municipal Court in Foča notified the Commission that plot no. c.p. 1040 c.m. Borje, Foča Municipality, was not recorded in the Land Register, which was destroyed during World War II; work is in hand to reconstitute the Land Register records.

 

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

 

1. Details of the property

Location

The necropolis with 207 stećak tombstones, three late Antique plaques and one altar at Mramor (Crkvina) is in the hamlet of Vrbica near the village of Čelebići, about 20 km as the crow flies south-east of Foča, at an altitude of 948 m, 43º 23' 24.99"N 18º 56' 34.99"E. The site is located at spot height of 997 on the Vikoč 129-2-2 R-1:25000 topographical map.

            The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 1040, title deed no. 83, cadastral municipality Borje, Municipality Foča, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The plot on which the tombstones are located is in the private ownership of Ostojić Rada Dušan.

Historical background

There are few epigraphic finds from the area south of the Prača gorge on both sides of the Drina to the Pljevlje boundary – finds from Sopotnica, Goražde, Ustikolina, Miljevina, to the south and Vrbica, to the east of Foča. In the scholarly literature on the upper Drina region (Goražde, Ustikolina and Foča), it is regarded as covering the territory of the municipium in Rogatica (col. Ris...). This would mean that the administrative district controlled the whole of the Drina between Mts Romanija, Jahorina and Treskavica to the north-west and the mountain range of Zelegora, Maglić and Lebršnik to the south from Rogatica. Ivo Bojanovski is of the view that the upper Drina constituted a separate civitas in Antiquity, as it did in the Middle Ages, or that it was part of the municipium in Komini near Pljevlje (Municipium S...), with which the Drina valley forms a natural entity. Judging from the meagre sources, in pre-Roman times this area belonged to the Pirust tribal alliance, which Ptolemy includes among the civitates of eastern Dalmatia. Strabo regards them as one of the more powerful Pannonian tribes. They fought the Romans to the end, alongside the Daesitiates, and were finally defeated in Baton’s uprising of 6 to 9 CE.(1) The Drina/upper Drina region in the upper reaches of the eponymous river is mentioned by the Doclean priest in the mid 12th century, since when its exceptional importance both economic and political may be traced whether as part of the Serbian or of the Bosnian state. In 1373 it belonged to Bosnia, when, by agreement with Prince Lazar, Tvrtko I conquered and divided with him the lands of the Serbian grandee župan (lord of the county) Nikola Altomanović. The upper Drina is a densely forested region well suited to the development of stock raising and bee-keeping, while the fertile valleys were exporting grain to Dubrovnik from a very early date. Major roads also intersected in the area, which was therefore of considerable significance for international traffic: the road from Dubrovnik to mediaeval Serbia and on to the Constantinople road, known as the Via Drina or Via Foča, ran through the area, so that the Drina region linked Dubrovnik with Serbia and other regions of the Balkans. A road also led from Foča via Goražde to Srebrenica, Serbia and northwards to Hungary. Foča was a major mediaeval market town in the lands of the Hranić-Kosača family, first referred to in written sources in 1368.(2)  

During the course of archaeological investigations in the 1930s, several sites with the remains of late Antique and mediaeval religious edifices and of their burial grounds were identified in Foča Municipality (the inner geographical area of Borje, Kunovo, Potpeć and Velenići).

Dimitrije Sergejevski identified a mediaeval burial ground on a hillock in the village of Vrbica (spot height 997), known to local residents as Crkvina, but did not record any ruins of the church. He recorded the mediaeval tombstones and five Antique funerary plaques, which he analyzed in detail.(3)  

 

2. Description of the property

The necropolis is at Mramor (Crkvina), on a tree-clad hillock, at an altitude of 948 m, 43º 23' 24.99"N 18º 56' 34.99"E. It contains 211 monuments of which three are late Antique plaques, one a Roman altar, and 207 are mediaeval stećci: two slabs, 129 chest-shaped, two gabled (sarcophagus-like), and 74 of indeterminate shape. The necropolis is overgrown and has not been fully cleared, so that it has not been possible to identify the exact number, shapes and decorations of the tombstones.

Twenty-two of the 211 tombstones catalogued (three late Antique slabs and 19 stećci) are decorated with friezes, small crosses, a stylized cross, an anthropomorphic cross, crescent moons, staffs, swords, daggers, circles, rainwater hollows, hands rosettes, animal figures and human figures. Most of the decorations are in relief, but the rainwater hollows are cut into the stone. One Roman altar has been re-used as a stećak.

Condition of the stećci

Stećak no. 1 – chest, measuring 177x80x36 cm;

Stećak no. 2 – slab, measuring 174x75x8(visible) cm;

Stećak no. 3 – chest decorated (decoration: a cross) measuring 174x84x12 cm. The top bears the motif of a small cross in relief;

Stećak no. 4 – chest, measuring 170x65x28 cm;

Stećak no. 5 – chest with plinth, plinth sunken, height of plinth 11 cm; measuring 179x72x25 cm; decorated (decoration: a cross and crescent moon). The top bears the motif of a small cross and crescent moon in relief;

Stećak no. 6 – chest, measuring 180x77x42 cm; decorated (decoration: two crosses). The top bears the motif of two small crosses in relief;

Stećak no. 7 – chest, measuring 167x112x48 cm;

Stećak no. 8 – slab, (decoration: a cross), measuring 142x65x20 cm. The top bears the motif of a cross, in relief;

Stećak no. 9 – chest, decorated (decoration: a stylized cross), measuring 190x100x42 cm. The top bears the motif of a cross of which all four arms terminate in crosses. The motif is in relief;

Stećak no. 10 – chest decorated (decoration: a cross), measuring 160x80x18 cm. The top bears the motif of a small cross in relief;

Stećak no. 11 – chest, overturned onto its side, measuring 142x75x48 cm;

Stećak no. 12 – chest, overturned onto its side, measuring 142x50x27 cm, sunken;

Stećak no. 13 – chest, overturned onto its side, measuring 170x58x30 cm;

Stećak no. 14 – chest, partly sunken into the ground, measuring 124x62x18 cm;

Stećak no. 15 – chest, wholly sunken into the ground, measuring 130x65x7 cm;

Stećak no. 16 – chest, decorated (a cross with plinth), measuring 170x70x25 cm. The top bears the motif of a sizeable anthropomorphic cross in relief;

Stećak no. 17 – chest partly sunken into the ground, measuring 158x55x18 cm;

Stećak no. 18 – chest wholly sunken into the ground, measuring 140x58x5 cm;

Stećak no. 19 – chest, decorated (decoration: a crescent moon) measuring 142x50x33 cm. The top bears the motif of a crescent moon in relief;

Stećak no. 20 – chest, partly sunken into the ground, measuring 136x63x22 cm;

Stećak no. 21 – gabled, sunken into the ground, measuring 160x55x25 cm;

Stećak no. 22 – chest, sunken into the ground, measuring 158x58x13 cm;

Stećak no. 23 – chest, overgrown with vegetation and sunken into the ground, measuring 180x57x18 cm;

Stećak no. 24 – chest, measuring 142x60x8(visible) cm;

Stećak no. 25 – chest, sunken, measuring 164 cm long and 87 cm wide;

Stećak no. 26 – chest, measuring 192x65x18 cm;

Stećak no. 27 – chest, measuring 170x75x27 cm;

Stećak no. 28 – chest, measuring 225x84x36 cm;

Stećak no. 29 – chest, measuring 178x70x30 cm;

Stećak no. 30 – chest, measuring 184x75x45 cm;

Stećak no. 31 – chest, measuring 170x80x7(visible) cm;

Stećak no. 32 – chest, decoration (a cross), measuring 112x44x27 cm. The top bears the motif of a small cross in relief;

Stećak no. 33 – chest, measuring 125x50x25 cm;

Stećak no. 34 – chest wholly sunken, measuring 160x18x10 cm;

Stećak no. 35 – chest decorated (decoration: a sword), measuring 150x64x13 cm. The top bears the motif of a sword in relief;

Stećak no. 36 – chest, sunken, measuring 154x56x20 cm;

Stećak no. 37 – chest sunken into the ground, measuring 156x74x14 cm;

Stećak no. 38 – chest with plinth, decorated (decoration: a sword), measuring 155x35x10 cm; plinth measuring 185x57x15 cm. The top bears the motif of a sword in relief;

Stećak no. 39 – chest, sunken into the ground, measuring 160x40x15 cm;

Stećak no. 40 – chest, sunken into the ground, measuring 165x60x20 cm;

Stećak no. 41 – chest, measuring 150x70x35 cm;

Stećak no. 42 – chest, decorated (decoration; a sword), measuring 170x70x57 cm. The top bears the motif of a sword in relief;

Stećak no. 43 – chest, measuring 162x62x25 cm;

Stećak no. 44 – chest, measuring 170x65x25 cm;

Stećak no. 45 – chest sunken into the ground, measuring 147 cm long and 20 cm high;

Stećak no. 46 – chest, measuring 162x69x12 cm;

Stećak no. 47 – chest, measuring 178x69x30 cm;

Stećak no. 48 – chest, measuring 175x74x25 cm;

Stećak no. 49 – chest, measuring 184x60x45 cm;

Stećak no. 50 – chest, measuring 194x78x20 cm;

Stećak no. 51 – chest, covered with humus, measuring 140x45x15 cm;

Stećak no. 52 – chest, measuring 175x60x25 cm;

Stećak no. 53 – chest, measuring 134x62x12 cm;

Stećak no. 54 – chest, measuring 148x50x6 cm,

Stećak no. 55 – chest, measuring 174x64x30 cm;

Stećak no. 56 – chest sunken into the ground, measuring 158x82x30 cm,

Late Antique tombstone no. 57 – decorated, measuring 185x90x50 cm. The tombstone bears two barely recognizable heads below which is a blank space with no signs of any ornament;

Stećak no. 58 – sunken;

Stećak no. 59 – sunken, only its outlines visible;

Late Antique tombstone no. 60 – decorated, measuring 138x95x13 cm. The tombstone bears a semicircular recess within which are the remains of a head in relief; the lower half of the plaque bears an oblong recessed panel;

Stećak no. 61 – sunken stećak, measuring 20 cm in height;

Stećak no. 62 – chest, measuring 172x69x30 cm;

Stećak no. 63 – sunken;

Stećak no. 64 – sunken;

Stećak no. 65 – sunken;

Stećak no. 66 – chest, overgrown with vegetation, measuring 187x76x23 cm;

Stećak no. 67 – sunken;

Stećak no. 68 – sunken;

Stećak no. 69 – sunken;

Stećak no. 70 – chest, partly sunken, measuring 160x76x22 cm;

Stećak no. 71 – chest, partly sunken, measuring 186x57x13 cm;

Stećak no. 72 – chest, measuring 172x60x24 cm;

Stećak no. 73 – chest, sunken, measuring 60 cm wide and 12 cm high;

Stećak no. 74 – chest, measuring 80x42x7 cm;

Stećak no. 75 – chest, measuring 160x50x20 cm;

Stećak no. 76 – chest, partly sunken, measuring 157x68x10 cm;

Stećak no. 77 – chest, partly sunken, measuring 180x78x8 cm;

Stećak no. 78 – chest, sunken, measuring 40 cm wide and 12 cm high;

Stećak no. 79 – chest. sunken, measuring 140 cm long and 10 cm high;

Stećak no. 80 – chest, measuring 152x45x20 cm;

Stećak no. 81 – chest, measuring 170x60x12 cm;

Stećak no. 82 – chest, measuring 180x70x35 cm;

Stećak no. 83 – chest, measuring 180x70x22 cm;

Stećak no. 84 – chest, measuring 105x47x15 cm;

Stećak no. 85 – chest, measuring 184x70x40 cm;

Stećak no. 86 – decorated chest (decoration: a cross), measuring 180x70x24 cm. The top bears the motif of a small cross in relief;

Stećak no. 87 – chest, wholly sunken, measuring 165x76x5 cm;

Stećak no. 88 – chest, sunken, measuring 50 cm wide and 13 cm high;

Stećak no. 89 – chest, measuring 190x40x30 cm;

Stećak no. 90 – chest, measuring 165x66x24 cm;

Stećak no. 91 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 92 – decorated chest (decoration: a staff), measuring 175x62x45 cm. The top bears the motif of a staff with the handle curved inwards slightly. 10 cm below the handle is a dot or join on the staff. The decoration is in relief;

Stećak no. 93 – chest, measuring 185x65x20 cm;

Stećak no. 94 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 95 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 96 – chest partly sunken into the ground, measuring 186 cm long and 20 cm high;

Stećak no. 97 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 98 – chest, measuring 206x70x47 cm;

Stećak no. 99 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 100 – chest measuring 115x50x25 cm,

Stećak no. 101 – sunken stećak, measuring 20 cm in height;

Stećak no. 102 – chest, decorated (decoration: two swords), measuring 196x112x35 cm. The top bears the motifs of two swords side by side, of slightly different lengths, both in relief;

Stećak no. 103 – chest, decorated (decoration: two crosses and a circle), measuring 160x80x30 cm. The top bears the motif of two small crosses and a circle, all three in relief;

Stećak no. 104 – chest, overgrown with vegetation, measuring 143x78x25 cm;

Stećak no. 105 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 106 – chest, measuring 110x45x24 cm;

Stećak no. 107 – chest, measuring 150x45x10 cm,

Stećak no. 108 – chest, measuring 190x70x25 cm;

Stećak no. 109 – chest, measuring 170x55x20 cm;

Stećak no. 110 – chest, measuring 176x68x44 cm;

Stećak no. 111 – chest, measuring 157x70x12 cm;

Stećak no. 112 – chest, measuring 184x55x25 cm;

Stećak no. 113 – chest, measuring 197x67x35 cm;

Stećak no. 114 – chest, measuring 150x77x25 cm;

Stećak no. 115 – chest, sunken, measuring 115 cm long and 12 cm high;

Stećak no. 116 – chest, measuring 180x65x25 cm;

Stećak no. 117 – chest, measuring 120x40x30 cm;

Stećak no. 118 – chest, sunken, measuring 68 cm wide and 10 cm high;

Stećak no. 119 – chest, sunken, measuring 120 cm long and 21 cm high;

Stećci nos. 120-126 – sunken tombstones.

Stećak no. 127 – chest, sunken, measuring 207 cm long and 30 cm high;

Stećak no. 128 – chest, decorated (decoration: two small circles, a dagger and a cross), measuring 205x123x30 cm. The top bears the motifs of two small circles between which is a dagger, and a small cross towards the west end of the tombstone. All four are in relief;

Stećak no. 129 – chest, measuring 150x86x40 cm;

Stećak no. 130 – chest, measuring 155x50x40 cm;

Stećak no. 131 – chest, measuring 150x60x30 cm;

Stećak no. 132 – chest, measuring 170x74x25 cm;

Stećak no. 133 – chest, measuring 180x74x15 cm;

Stećak no. 134 – sunken chest, measuring 140 cm long and 25 cm high;

Stećak no. 135 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 136 – sunken stećak, measuring 57 cm in width;

Stećak no. 137 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 138 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 139 – chest, measuring 180x70x25 cm;

Stećak no. 140 – chest, measuring 208x66x43 cm;

Stećak no. 141 – chest, measuring 213x74x30 cm;

Stećak no. 142 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 143 – chest, measuring 175x70x30 cm;

Stećak no. 144 – chest, sunken, measuring 193 cm long and 40 cm high;

Stećak no. 145 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 146 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 147 – chest, sunken, measuring 160 cm long and 45 cm wide;

Stećak no. 148 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 149 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 150 – chest, measuring 196x93x30 cm;

Stećak no. 151 – chest, sunken, measuring 80 cm wide and 30 cm; high

Stećak no. 152 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 153 – chest, measuring 173x68x16 cm;

Stećak no. 154 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 155 – chest, sunken, measuring 210 cm long and 45 cm wide;

Stećak no. 156 – chest, measuring 126x67x30 cm;

Stećak no. 157 – chest, measuring 150x50x13 cm;

Stećak no. 158 – gabled, overturned onto its west side, measuring 115x40x75 cm;

Stećak no. 159 – chest, measuring 170x50x20 cm;

Stećak no. 160 – chest sunken, measuring 110 cm long and 13 cm high;

Late Antique tombstone no. 161 – measuring 168x73x24 cm. Two busts can be seen in a semicircular recess. To the east is the lady of the house, indicated by the key she is holding in her right hand(4). To the west is another figure in relief. The tombstone bears two circles in the corners. Below the busts is a frieze of tendrils without leaves, below which again is a panel for the epitaph, in a moulded frame. The epitaph is no longer extant, the surface of the stone having been destroyed by spalling;

Stećak no. 162 – chest, decorated, (decoration: an arm, an animal and a rosette), measuring 170x74x27 cm. The top of the stećak is decorated in relief with an arm bent at the elbow, fingers spread, below it a rosette, and in front of the rosette an animal curled into a circle;

Roman altar no. 163 – measuring 170 cm long and varying in width from bottom to top: 38-43-67 cm, with a height of 40 cm;

Stećak no. 164 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 165 – chest, decorated (decoration: rainwater hollow), measuring 155x82x15 cm. The top of the tombstone bears an engraved design of a circular garland forming a “vodenica”;

Stećak no. 166 – sunken, measuring 54 cm in width;

Stećak no. 167 – chest, broken in half, measuring 158x60x14 cm;

Stećak no. 168 – chest, measuring 127x85x30 cm;

Stećak no. 169 – chest measuring 130x54x10 cm;

Stećak no. 170 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 171 – sunken, measuring 180 cm long and 60 cm wide;

Stećak no. 172 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 173 – sunken stećak, measuring 110 cm long and 25 cm wide;

Stećak no. 174 – measuring 110 cm long and 20 cm high;

Stećak no. 175 – measuring 94x68x17 cm;

Stećak no. 176 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 177 – chest, measuring 143x54x27 cm;

Stećak no. 178 – chest, measuring 150x40x13 cm;

Stećak no. 179 – chest, measuring 125x50x14 cm;

Stećak no. 180 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 181 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 182 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 183 – chest, measuring 140x44x20 cm;

Stećak no. 184 – chest, sunken, measuring 150 cm in length;

Stećak no. 185 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 186 – chest, measuring 160x70x35 cm;

Stećci nos. 187-193 – sunken tombstones;

Stećak no. 194 – chest, measuring 180x60x16 cm;

Stećak no. 195 – chest, measuring 135x54x20 cm;

Stećak no. 196 – chest, measuring 180x66x20 cm;

Stećak no. 197 – chest, measuring 150x66x15 cm;

Stećak no. 198 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 199 – sunken stećak;

Stećak no. 200 – chest, measuring 147x55x22 cm;

Stećak nos. 201-211 – sunken tombstones.

 

3. Legal status to date

The records relating to the protection of the property were inspected during the drafting of this decision, and the findings are as follows:

-          The Regional Plan for BiH to 2000 lists 34 sites of necropolises with stećci (1458 stećci in all) in Foča Municipality as Category III monuments, with identifying them in detail.(5)  

-          A letter from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture ref. 07-40-4-3629-1/09 of 25 September 2009 states that the property is listed under the heading: Necropolis of stećci at Mramor (Crkvina), Vrbica, Foča Municipality. About 120 surviving stećci and Roman monuments (altar and tombstones). Late mediaeval and Roman period 3rd to 4th century.

-          The property was 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 assembling data on the monuments in Foča Municipality, have been carried out by:

-          Dimitrije Sergejevski(6),

-          Šefik Bešlagić(7),

-          Vlajko Palavestra(8),

-          Zdravko Kajmaković(9),

-          Desanka Kovačević-Kojić(10).

Details of the sites in Foča were published in 1988.

No conservation-restoration works have been carried out.

 

5. Current condition of the property

            The findings of on-site inspections conducted on 17 September and 14 October 2010 are as follows:

-          the plots were identified and the area of the protected zone was determined;

-          the tombstones are in woodland on a slight elevation known as (Mramor) Crkvina;

-          some of the stećci are chipped, damaged, overturned, or partly or wholly sunken into the ground;

-          plant organisms (lichen and moss) are present on the stećci to a greater or lesser extent;

-          the whole of the necropolis is overgrown with trees, and some of the stećci are overgrown with low-growing vegetation, making it difficult to examine them in detail;

-          in October 2010 Foča Municipality arranged for part of the site to be cleared and humus to be removed from some but not all of the stećci, so that the number of stećci covered by this Decision is not definitive.

 

6. Specific risks

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

-          adverse effects of the elements,

-          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.iii.      proportions

C.v.       value of details

D.         Clarity

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

E.         Symbolic value

E.i.       ontological value

E.ii.      religious value

E.ii.      traditional value

G.         Authenticity

G.i.       form and design

G.ii.      material and content

G.iii.     use and function

G.iv.      traditions and techniques

G.v.      location and setting

G.vi.      spirit and feeling

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:

-         title deed, transcript no. 83, and copy of cadastral plan for c.p. no. 1040, c.m. Borje, Municipality Foča. Scale 1:2500; issued by the Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights of Republika Srpska, Foča branch (letter ref. 21.41-952.1-1-2198/2010 of 12.10.2010;

-         letter ref. 094-0-Rz-10-000 606 of 18.11.2010 from the Municipal Court in Foča stating that plot no. c.p. 1040 c.m. Borje, Foča Municipality, is not in the Land Register;

-          Documentation on previous protection of the property:

-         letter ref. 07-40-4-3629-1/09 of 25 September 2009 from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture;

-          Photodocumentation:

-         photographs taken on 17 September and 14 and 21 October 2010 by historian Zijad Halilović using Canon EOS 450D digital camera;

-          Technical documentation:

-         Technical drawings of the property (plan of the necropolis and drawings of the stećak tombstones), measured and recorded on 14 October 2009 by historian Zijad Halilović and architect Arijana Pašić, and on 21 October 2010 by historian Zijad Halilović and architect Nermina Katkić.

 

Bibliography

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

 

1934.    Sergejevski, Dimitrije. Rimska groblja na Drini (neizdati spomenici - sa 9 tabli i 14 slika u tekstu) Roman burial grounds in the Drina area (unpublished monuments – with 9 tables and 14 figures in the text). Sarajevo: GZM XLVI (history and ethnography), 1934, 11-34

 

1971.    Bešlagić, Šefik. Stećci, kataloško-topografski pregled (Stećak tombstones, a catalogue and topographical survey). Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1971, 275

 

1980.    Various authors. Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, phase B – valorization of natural, cultural and historical assets. Sarajevo: Institute for Architecture and Town and Country Planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo and the Planning Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, 1980

 

1981.    Kovačević-Kojić, Desanka. “Arhivsko-istorijska istraživanja Gornjeg Podrinja.” (Archival and historical research into the upper Drina region). Sarajevo: Naše starine XIV-XV, 1981, 109 -125

 

1988.    Arheološki leksikon Bosne i Hercegovine (Archaeological lexicon of BiH), Vol. 3. Sarajevo: National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1988, 119-132

 

1988.    Bojanovski, Ivo. “Gornje Podrinje (Municipium S . . .?)” in Bosna i Hercegovina u antičko doba (The upper Drina [Municipium S...?] in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Antiquity). Sarajevo: ANUBiH vol.LXVI, CBI vol. 6. 1988, 204, 205


(1) Bojanovski, Ivo, “Gornje Podrinje (Municipium S . . .?)” in Bosna i Hercegovina u antičko doba, Sarajevo: ANUBiH vol.LXVI, CBI vol. 6. 1988, 204, 205

(2) Kovačević-Kojić, Desanka, “Arhivsko-istorijska istraživanja Gornjeg Podrinja,” Sarajevo: Naše starine XIV-XV, 1981, 109,110

(3) Sergejevski, Dimitrije, “Rimska groblja na Drini (neizdati spomenici). (Sa 9 tabli i 14 slika u tekstu),” Sarajevo: GZM XLVI (sveska za historiju i etnografiju), 1934, 11-35

(4) Sergejevski, Dimitrije, Ibidem. (Illus 9), Sarajevo: GZM XLVI (sveska za historiju i etnografiju), 1934, 25, 26

(5) Various authors, Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, phase B – valorization of natural, cultural and historical assets, Sarajevo: Institute for Architecture and Town and Country Planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo and the Planning Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, 1980, 51

(6) Sergejevski, Dimitrije, “Rimska groblja na Drini (neizdati spomenici). (Sa 9 tabli i 14 slika u tekstu),” Sarajevo: GZM XLVI (sveska za historiju i etnografiju), 1934, 11-35

(7) Bešlagić, Šefik, Stećci, kataloško-topografski pregled, Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1971, 275

(8) Palavestra, Vlajko, “Bilješke o historijskim predanjima i toponomastici u Gornjem Podrinju,” Sarajevo: Naše starine XIV-XV, 1981, 127-139

(9) Kajmaković, Zdravko, “Drina u doba Kosača,” Sarajevo: Naše starine XIV-XV, 1981, 141-177

(10) Kovačević-Kojić, Desanka, “Arhivsko-istorijska istraživanja Gornjeg Podrinja,” Sarajevo: Naše starine XIV-XV, 1981, 109-125



MramorCentral part of the site  Late antique tombstone plaque no. 161 Plaque no. 161
Plaque no. 161; Sergejevski, \'Rimska groblja na Drini\'Late antique tombstone plaque no. 60Roman ara no. 163 Stećak tombstone no. 1
Stećak tombstone no. 3Stećak tombstone no. 9Stećak tombstone no. 10Stećak tombstone no. 19
Stećak tombstone no. 35Stećak tombstone no. 38Stećak tombstone no. 60Stećak tombstone no. 86
Stećak tombstone no. 128   


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