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Harem and two (shahids’) nišan tombstones in Slapovići, the sepulchral ensemble

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Status of monument -> National monument

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 in Sarajevo from 26 to 28 March 2012 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

The sepulchral ensemble of the harem and two (shahids’) nišan gravestones in Slapovići, Municipality Srebrenica is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument). 

The National Monument consists of the harem with nišan tombstones and two (shahids’) nišans.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 51, title deed no. 39, Land Register entry no. 61, and c.p.no. 1/5 (part of holding 1/1), title deed no. 39/2, Land Register entry no. 61, cadastral municipality Bučje, c.m. Bučje, Municipality Srebrenica, 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. 9/02, 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 measures are hereby prescribed:

-       all works are prohibited other than conservation-restoration works, routine maintenance works, and works designed for the presentation of the monument, with the approval of the ministry of Republika Srpska responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska;

-       the original use of the protected site shall not be altered;

-       the nišan tombstones shall be documented and a geodetic survey shall be conducted;

-       the epigraphic material of the harem shall be documented and extant graves shall be identified;

-       damaged nišan tombstones shall be conserved and presented;

-       the harem shall be landscaped and damaged nišans shall be repaired;

-       the harem shall be surrounded by a fence or wall;

-       the displacement or removal of the nišan tombstones is prohibited.

 

IV

 

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.

 

V

 

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.

 

VI

 

The Government of Republika Srpska, the ministry of Republika Srpska responsible for regional planning and the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska, 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 – V of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.

 

VII

 

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

 

VIII

 

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

 

IX

 

This Decision shall enter into force on the 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.06.3-2.3-73/12-9

27 March 2012

Sarajevo

 

Chair of the Commission

Amra Hadžimuhamedović

 

E l u c i d a t i o n

 

I – INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of Republika Srpska nos. 9/02, 70/06 and 64/08), 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 11 February 2010 Hamdija Hasanović and Dr. Sabit Begić submitted a petition/proposal to the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to designate the necropolis with stećak tombstones and Turkish burial ground in Slapovići, Srebrenica Municipality as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Pursuant to the proposal, 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 harem with nišan tombstones in Slapovići has a high degree of authenticity and is of powerful symbolic value. The harem contains some thirty nišans, one of which, judging from its shape, undoubtedly dates from the late 17th century (the nišans have no epitaphs); the others date from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The two shahids’ nišans located about 500 metres from the harem are decorated with hemispheres (“half apples”), and may date from the 16th century.

 

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:

-       data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description, architectural survey and photographs

-       an inspection of the condition of the property

-       a copy of the cadastral plan

-       the Land Register entry

-       historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision

 

Pursuant to Article V para. 2 of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 37 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, before rendering a final decision designating a property as a national monument, the Commission will provide the owner of the proposed monument, the person submitting the petition, the institutions responsible for heritage, professional and academic institutions, experts and scholars, as well as other interested parties, to express their views. Accordingly, the Commission sent a letters ref. 05.2-35.2-8/11-126 of 20 September 2011, 06.3-36.1-7/11-206 of 16 December 2011 and 06.3-36.1-7/11-218 of 28 December 2011requesting documentation and views on the designation of the Turkish burial ground in Slapovići, Srebrenica Municipality, as a national monument to Srebrenica Municipality, the Ministry of Regional Planning, Construction and the Environment of Republika Srpska, the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska and the Institute for the Protection of Monuments under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport.

In response, the Commission received the following documentation:

-       Letter ref. 21.42/052-55-2/11 of 23 September 2011 from the Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights of Republika Srpska of Banja Luka, Srebrenica Branch, notifying the Commission that an inspection of the cadastral records had revealed that the property is not recorded in the existing cadastral plans;

-       Letter ref. 07/1.20/624-647/2011 of 28 September 2011 from the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska, notifying the Commission to Preserve National Monuments that it has no information on the property in question in its documentation;

-       Letter ref. 01-014-449/11 of 30 September 2011 from Srebrenica Municipality notifying the Commission to Preserve National Monuments that it will work with the Srebrenica Tourist Association to provide the documentation at their disposal;

-       Letter ref. 07-40-4-4070-1/11 of 17 October 2011 from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport stating that the said property (the Turkish burial ground in Slapovići) was neither listed nor subject to statutory protection;

-       Letter ref. 3-32-325-55/11 of 31 October 2011 from the Tourist Association supplying documentation (two drawings and three records of an on-site inspection conducted by a surveyor with a view to identifying the cadastral details);

-       Cadastral details supplied on 26 December 2011 by the Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights of Republika Srpska, Srebrenica Branch;

-       Letter of 25 January 2012 from the Land Registry office of the court of first instance in Srebrenica supplying a copy of the Land Register entry;

-       Letter ref. 31.42-952.1-INTERNO-24/2012 of 10 August 2012 from the Srebrenica branch of the Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights of Republika Srpska, supplying cadastral details.

 

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 harem and two (shahids’) nišans are in the village of Slapovići(1), Srebrenica Municipality, which is about 15 km south-west of Srebrenica(2).

The harem is about 200 m from the mosque. The two (shahids’) nišans are about 500 m from the harem, along a macadam path.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 51, title deed no. 39, Land Register entry no. 61, c.m. Bučje, and c.p.no. 1/5 (part of holding 1/1), title deed no. 39/2, Land Register entry no. 61, cadastral municipality Bučje, c.m. Bučje, Municipality Srebrenica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Historical background

Srebrenica, a town in north-east Bosnia, has been known by several different names over the centuries: Domavia, Argentarija, Argentum and Bosnia Argentaria.

The Srebrenica area was already famous for its silver in Antiquity. The ruins of the Antique and Late Antique municipium of Domavia, which was also the centre of the mining authorities for the provinces of Pannonia and Dalmatia, were found nearby, at Gradina in Sase.(3)

From the 9th to the 15th century the Srebrenica region was part of the mediaeval župas of Vratar, Birač, Osat and Trebotić. The earliest reference to Srebrenica in historical sources dates from 1352.

The earliest reference to Srebrenica is in the mid 14th century, 1352 to be precise, in Dubrovnik sources.(4) Ragusan merchants leased mines and customs posts from the rulers of Bosnia, and had their own colony in Srebrenica. There was a mint in Bosnia where Bosnian coins were minted, as were Ottoman coins later.(5) The Ottoman Empire took Srebrenica for the first time in 1439 to 1440, but the permanent Ottoman presence in Zvornik and Srebrenica began in 1462, when Srebrenica belonged to the Smederevo sanjak, along with Zvornik, Kušlat and Šurbin on the left bank of the Drina. This is clear from the first census of the Smederevo sanjak, compiled in 1476-1478.(6)  

In 1461 the Ottomans founded the kadiluk of Srebrenica, and the town remained the seat of the kadiluk until Ottoman rule came to an end in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the latter half of the 17th century (1660), Evliya Çelebi stayed in Srebrenica while on his travels through the Balkan lands.(7) He relates that Srebrenica had a military fort with a dizdar (fortress commander) and fifty soldiers. The town had six mahalas with eight hundred houses, and each mahala had one mosque.

During the Ottoman period, the village of Slapovići was a busy place on the road linking the larger settlements of eastern Bosnia with Sarajevo. The road from Slapovići and Srebrenica to Sarajevo was a branch of one of the main roads, which ran from Sarajevo to Nova Varoš in Serbia, passing through Hreša, Podromanija, Rogatica and Višegrad. Known as the Stamboul road, this road joined the Dubrovnik road at Novi Varoš.

Even before this, during the time of the independent Bosnian state, there was a road linking Dubrovnik and Vrhbosna, which was joined by another road running from the mouth of the Neretva.(8) A branch of this road forked off beyond Rogatica, running via Žepa to Slapovići and on to Srebrenica.

The Jadar han (caravanserai) was located near Slapovići, and there were also a number of other caravanserais in the wider Srebrenica region.(9)   

 

2. Description of the property

The village of Slapovići has a burial ground with about thirty nišans, none of which bears an epitaph, making it difficult to date them. 

Judging from the type or form of the nišans, the oldest (no. 12) could date from the late 17th century. Most of the nišans are of local stone, which has become greenish with age and is flaking away.

The following nišans have been recorded in the harem:

1. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, top broken, measuring 12x13x77 cm. The nišan has no epitaph. The remains of a stone santrač surround can be seen around the grave.

2. Damaged man’s nišan with pleated turban measuring 13x13x48 cm.

3. Nišan with woman’s cap square in section 10x10 cm with a height of 43 cm.

4. Man’s nišan with mushroom-shaped pleated turban, measuring 13x12x66 cm.

5. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, top broken, measuring 12x12x65 cm.

6. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, top broken, measuring 12x11x50 cm.

7. Nišan with woman’s cap, sunken into the ground, measuring 11x11x32 cm.

8. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, top broken, measuring 11x11x65 cm.

9. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, top broken, measuring 15x10x63 cm.

10. Nišan in the form of a stele measuring 19.5x6.5x31.5 cm, without epitaph.

11. Nišan with turban, so badly affected by the passage of time that it has become almost formless, measuring 20x15x47 cm.

12. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, the oldest and largest nišan in the harem, measuring 20x20x90 cm, without epitaph. Its exact date cannot be determined. It stands out among the other nišans in the burial ground in its form and the type of stone from which it was made.(10)

13. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, top broken, measuring 13x14x73 cm. This nišan shares a stone santrač measuring 186x326 cm with nišan no. 12

14. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, measuring 19x15x66 cm.

15. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, measuring 14x10x58 cm.

16. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, top broken, measuring 11x12x56 cm.

17. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, top broken, sunken into the ground, measuring 11x11x39 cm.

18. Nišan with woman’s cap, measuring 10x10x42 cm, without epitaph.

19. Nišan with woman’s cap, sunken into the ground, measuring 11x11x43 cm, without epitaph.

20. Man’s nišan with pleated turban, top broken, measuring 13x9,5x47 cm.

21 and 22. About half a kilometre from this burial ground along the old macadam road leading to Srebrenica are two shahids’ nišans, which are almost identical in size, square in section with sides of 28 cm and a height of 115 cm. They bear hemispherical protuberances or “apples” on all four sides, and are topped by pleated turbans. The nišans are surrounded by a dilapidated wooden fence. Basing his views on their appearance and workmanship, orientalist Hazim Numanagić dates these nišans to the 16th century.(11)

 

3. Legal status to date

The property has not been subject to statutory protection.

 

4. Research and conservation-restoration works

Nothing is known of any conservation-restoration works.

 

5. Current condition of the property

The findings of an on-site visit on 20 October 2011 are that the harem is in good condition and well-maintained.

Most of the nišans are made of a local stone that has turned greenish with age and is flaking away.

The harem is not fenced.

The two nišans near the harem are surrounded by a dilapidated wooden fence. They are in good condition.

 

6. Specific risks

-       the removal of old nišans.

 

III – CONCLUSION

Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.

The Decision was based on the following criteria:

A.         Time frame

B.         Historical value

C.         Artistic and aesthetic value

C.i.       quality of workmanship

C.v.      value of details

D.         Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)

D.v.      evidence of a typical way of life at a specific period

E.         Symbolic value

E.i.       ontological value

E.ii.      religious value

E.iii.      traditional value

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

G.         Authenticity

G.i.       form and design

G.iv.     traditions and techniques

G.v.      location and setting

G.vi.     spirit and feeling

 

            The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-       Copy of cadastral plan

-       Copy of Land Register entry

-       Photodocumentation (photographs of the harem and two shahids' nišans in Slapovići taken on 20 October 2011)

 

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the harem and two shahids' nišans in Slapovići as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted: 

 

1954.    Vego, Marko. Naselja bosanske srednjovjekovne države (Settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1954.

 

1977.    Mujezinović, Mehmed. Islamska epigrafika BiH II (Islamic epigraphics of BiH). Sarajevo: 1977.

 

1978.    Bešlagić, Šefik. Nišani XV i XVI vijeka u Bosni i Hercegovini (15th and 16th century nišans in BiH). Sarajevo: Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine/Academy of Sciences and Arts of B-H, 1978.

 

1982.    Šabanović, Hazim. Bosanski pašaluk (the Bosnian pashaluk). Sarajevo: 1982.

 

1991.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija. Izabrana djela III, Hanovi i karavansaraji u Bosni i Hercegovini (Selected works III, hans and caravanserias in BiH). Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1991.

 

1996.    Çelebi, Evliya. Putopis, odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama (Travelogue, passages on Yugoslav lands). Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, 1996.

 

http://www.turizam-bosna.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=464 accessed 15.12.2011.


(1) Slapovići is on the River Zeleni Jadar, which is fed by Duboko Brook, on the north bank of which stands the mosque.

(2) Srebrenica is in the mountainous region of north-east Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the River Krljevica valley, at an altitude of 448 m, surrounded by the hills of Mt. Sušica. Part of the municipality marches with Bajina Bašta in Serbia. The town is about 160 km from Sarajevo and 120 km from Tuzla.

http://www.turizam-bosna.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=464

accessed on 15.12.2011.

(3) See decision designating the historic site of the lower fort in Srebrenica as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, adopted at a session of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments at a session held from 7 to 9 November 2006 (Official Gazette of BiH no. 1/10).

(4) Marko Vego, Naselja bosanske srednjovjekovne države, Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1954, 108

(5) Hamdija Kreševljaković, Izabrana djela II – Esnafi i obrti u Bosni i Hercegovini (1463-1878), Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1991, 239

(6) Hazim Šabanović, Bosanski pašaluk, Sarajevo: 1982, 51

(7) Evliya Çelebi, Putopis, odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama, Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, 1996

(8) Hamdija Kreševljaković, Izabrana djela, III dio, Hanovi i karavansaraji u Bosni i Hercegovini, Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1991, 313.

(9) The following caravanserais are also stated to be in the wider Srebrenica area: Gođević han, Han Nesmotar, Han Polom, Mavrakin han and Milošev han, but it is said that not all the caravanserais built in Bosnia during the Ottoman period could be recorded. Hamdija Kreševljaković, op.cit., 1991, 306.

(10) Orientalist Hazim Numanagić says that for this reason a possible conclusion is that the nišan dated from the time when the mosque was built.

(11) The most common non-figural motifs on nišans of the 15th and 16th centuries are circles, rosettes and crescent moons. Circles are also known as protuberances, knobs or, most commonly, half-apples, and are of various sizes. Many authorities have written about this motif, including Vejsil Čurčić (Ms on stećaks in the National Museum in Sarajevo). Šefik Bešlagić (Nišani XV i XVI vijeka u Bosni i Hercegovini, Sarajevo: Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine, 1978, 59) is of the view that these motifs belong to military figures, and that they denote a cannoneer. Seid M. Traljić says that they represent blood or gore, and that in folklore they signify the war-wounds from which heroes died.(Šefik Bešlagić, Nišani XV i XVI vijeka u Bosni i Hercegovini, Sarajevo: Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine, 1978, 59-61).  According to Šefik Bešlagić, the motif suggests the sun or stars. Similar nišans are located in the Turkish burial ground near Knežine, which Mujezinović dates to the 16th century (M. Mujezinović, Islamska epigrafika BiH II, 108). There are few dated nišans of this period. One such, similar to these in the appearance of the turban and the way the neck of the nišan is placed on the shaft, which is cut level at the top, is the nišan of Mustafa, son of Husrev pasha in Šetići near Foča (M. Mujezinović, Islamska epigrafika BiH II, 104).

 



Harem in SlapovićiView from the harem at the mosque in Slapovići Nišan tombstone no. 1Nišan tombstone no. 2
HaremNišan tombstone no. 3Nišan tombstone no. 8Nišan tombstone no. 10
Nišan tombstones no. 12 and 13Nišan tombstone no. 13Sshahids’ nišan tombstonesShahids’ nišan tombstones


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