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 from 6 to 8 November 2012 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The historic site of the necropolis with stećak tombstones at Dub in the village of Bulatovići, Municipality Konjic, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument). 

The National Monument consists of the necropolis with 55 stećak tombstones.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 2936, Land Register entry no. 260, cadastral municipality Bulatovići, Municipality Konjic, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The provisions relating to protection measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH nos. 2/02, 27/02, 6/04 and 51/07) shall apply to the National Monument.

II

The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Government of the Federation) shall be responsible for providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary for the protection, conservation and presentation of the National Monument.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and erecting notice boards with basic details of the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.

III

To ensure the on-going protection of the National Monument on the site defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:

-       all works are prohibited other than investigative and conservation-restoration works, including those designed for the presentation of the monument, with the approval of the federal ministry responsible for regional planning (hereinafter: the relevant ministry) and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the heritage protection authority);

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

-       infrastructure works may be carried out with the approval of the relevant ministry and the expert opinion of the heritage protection authority;

-       the refurbishment of the necropolis and repairs to any damage are permitted solely subject to first drawing up a plan for repairs, restoration and conservation and to the approval of the relevant ministry, and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

-       the removal of the tombstones from the graves to any other location is prohibited;

-       the removal of lichen and moss from the stećaks is prohibited;

-       by way of exception to the above provision, the stećaks may be cleaned if required to examine the epigraphic or decorative features of a stećak, subject to first compiling a report and obtaining the approval of the entity ministry responsible for regional planning. The report should be based on such biological, chemical, physical and other analyses as a conservator considers necessary, and should include appropriate conservation measures and an assessment of the impact of cleaning methods on the stone;

-       the area is an archaeological site, and investigative works must therefore be carried out in the presence of an archaeologist;

-       the dumping of waste is prohibited.

The Government of the Federation shall be responsible in particular for ensuring that the following protection measures are implemented:

-       conducting a geodetic survey of the current state of the site;

-       drawing up a plan for the repair, restoration, conservation and presentation of the National Monument.

The plan for the repair, restoration, conservation and presentation of the National monument shall cover:

-       archaeological investigations of the site of the National Monument;

-       tidying the necropolis and removing self-sown vegetation;

-       the routine maintenance of the monument.

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 processed.

Upon completion of the archaeological works the archaeologist leading 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 7 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 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 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 relevant ministry, 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 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.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: 05.1-2.3-73/12-27

6 November 2012

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 17 June 2011 the Department of Administrative and Social Affairs and Inspection of Konjic Municipality submitted a petition/proposal from the to designate the necropolis of stećak tombstones at Dub in the village of Bulatovići, Konjic Municipality, 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 mediaeval tombstones known as stećaks are unique to Bosnia and Herzegovina and its neighbours. They provide impressive evidence of the growing economic power of Bosnian feudal society in the 14th century, the opening of mines, increasing urbanization, and the wish of individuals to display their status and power through the appearance of their tombstones. They are thus of outstanding historical and considerable cultural value.       

In all 55 stećaks were recorded at Dub, most of them chest-shaped or slabs. No decorations were observed, on account of the state of the necropolis. Most of the tombstones lie northwest-southeast, with a few lying slightly off north-south.

No reference to this necropolis has been found in the literature available as of 2012.

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 occupier 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, details of war damage, details of restoration or other works on the property, etc.,

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

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 is required to 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 the following requests:

-       letter ref. 05.2-35.2-8 /11-121 dated 20 September 2011 to the Department of Administrative and Social Affairs and Inspection of Konjic Municipality, the Federal Ministry of Regional Planning and the Institute for the Protection of Monuments under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport requesting documentation and views on the designation as a national monument;

-       letter ref. 05.1-35.2-19/12-26 of 11 July 2012 to the Department of Administrative and Social Affairs and Inspection of Konjic Municipality requesting the views of the owner by means of a public announcement.

In response the Commission has received the following documentation:

-       letter ref: 03-23-2-1345/11 dated 27 September 2011 from the Federal Ministry of Regional Planning, notifying the Commission that it has no information or documentation on the property;

-       letter ref. 07-40-4-4073-1/11 dated 12 October 2011 from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport notifying the Commission that the property was not protected by the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of BiH;

-       the views of the owners (private individuals) had not been received as of the date of adoption of this decision.

The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the site are as follows:

1. Details of the property

Location

The necropolis with 55 stećaks is located at Dub in the village of Bulatovići, which is about 30 km from Konjic, in the upland region of the municipality, at an altitude of about 800 m. The necropolis is in woodland, on a slight elevation on the opposite bank of the River Kraljuščica from the village. 

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 2936, Land Register entry no. 260, cadastral municipality Bulatovići, Municipality Konjic, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Historical background(1)

Since prehistoric times, the roads linking central Bosnia with the Adriatic coast have along the Neretva valley and its outer margins. With some alterations and adaptations to the route, major roads ran here in antiquity, mediaeval times and the Ottoman period, until the road was laid through the Neretva gorge from Jablanica to the south in the 1880s. The central Bosnian ore-rich mining area, the fertile soils of the Neretva valley, and the rich mountain pastures, all led to the formation of many settlements throughout history, in line with the conditions and demands of their respective times, on the great bend in the Neretva between the mountain massifs of Bitovnja, Bjelašnica and Visočica to the north, and Prenj and Čvrsnica to the south.

In the early mediaeval period, the wider Konjic region consisted of the Neretva župa (county), part of the Zagorja župa (the area around Bjelimići) and part of the Kom župa (the area around Glavatičevo). The earliest reference to Neretva county is in the Chronicles of the Doclean priest, written in the mid 12th century, where it is said to have been part of the Podgorje district which, along with Hum land, Trebinje and Zeta, formed a tetrarchy or federation of four districts each of which was a semi-independent country or state. The Podgorje district included not only Neretva county but also the counties Onogošt, Morača, Komarnica, Piva, Gacko, Nevesinje, Viševa, Kom and Rama. By the mid 11th century the county had presumably been incorporated, by political agreement, into the Bosnian state. From then on until ban (governor) Tvrtko came to power in 1353, it enjoyed special status within the Bosnian state. From then on, heightened economic and political activities on the part of Bosnia's rulers can be traced in the Neretva župa.  In the early 15th century the borders were redrawn between the later “Crown lands” and the feudal lands of the Kosača family. From 1404 to 1463, the Bosnian part of the Neretva župa belonged to the Crown lands and the Hum Neretva and Kom belonged to the feudal lands of the Kosača – later Herzegovina. The border between these two districts was the river Neretva, from the boundary of the Kom župa to that of the Rama župa. The area along 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 commanded by Mahmut pasha Anđelović conquered both the Neretva districts and Kom. The area known as Hum Neretva, apart from the Borovac fort, and the western part of the Bosnian Neretva, were liberated in a counter-action between July and September that same year by Herceg (Duke) Stjepan. The region was finally conquered in mid 1465 in a campaign by the Bosnian sanjakbey Isa-bey Ishaković in the Herceg's lands(2).

2. Description of the property

According to Š. Bešlagić’s statistics, Konjic municipality – with 3,018 recorded stećci – is one of those with the greatest number of stećak tombstones in Bosnia and Herzegovina(3). In terms of shape, chest-shaped stećaks are the most numerous, with gabled and slab-shaped tombstones represented in almost equal numbers. The way in which the stećaks are grouped makes it possible to trace and to document on the ground important historical features, processes and relations. 

The siting of large necropolises is a reliable indication of the centres of former religious and political communities. That of medium-sized necropolises also enables one to follow the process of development of clan-based villages, while smaller groups reflect intensive feudalization and social differentiation, when individual clans no longer bury their dead alongside their neighbours, but form their own family necropolises. The Sanković necropolis in Biskup is a striking example of the way in which stećak tombstones were employed throughout the 14th century by the most powerful landowning family in the entire Hum land, and the Bogopanci – Draživojevići – Sankovići were undoubtedly of Slav origin and culture, not Vlach. 

The decoration of stećaks became increasingly common in the late 15th or early 16th century. The shape of these tombstones was undoubtedly influenced by the composition of the rocks from which the stone was quarried to carve them. Major differences can be observed in the quality of workmanship between the stećaks of the Neretvica valley, where the stone is not ideal, and the karst regions around Glavatičevo and Bjelimići. However, it seems this is not the only reason for the differing quality, as there is good stone in the Jablanica area, but the form and decoration of the stećaks there are not well developed(4). 

Description of the stećaks

The necropolis is in woodland, at a place known as Dub. Three groups of tombstones can be seen there – a group to the south, where the tombstones are lying north-east/south-west, a middle group where the tombstones are lying in two directions – north-east/south-west and slightly off true north-south, and a third group in the northern part of the necropolis, where most of the stećaks lie north-east/south-west, with three lying slightly off true north-south.

Fifty-five stećaks were recorded in the necropolis, most of them chest-shaped or slabs(5).   They are in poor condition, largely covered with plant organisms (tall and low-growing plants, moss and lichen); as a result, no decorations were observed, if indeed they exist. Some of the stećaks have sunk into the ground. Most lie northwest-southeast, with a few slightly off true north-south.

Stećak 1, chest, measuring 140x70x57 cm;

Stećak 2, measuring 460x80x8 cm;

Stećak 3, measuring 195x86x28 cm;

Stećak 4, chest, measuring 150x12x/22 cm;

Stećak 5, measuring 167x74x10 cm;

Stećak 6, chest, measuring 190x90x36 cm;

Stećak 7, measuring 220x90x27 cm;

Stećak 8, measuring 184x110x13 cm;

Stećak 9, chest, measuring 182x84x40 cm;

Stećak 10, measuring 168x90x27 cm;

Stećak 11, measuring 142x65x14 cm;

Stećak 12, measuring 80x178x5 cm;

Stećak 13, length 62 cm;

Stećak14, 15, 16 and 17, sunken;

Stećak 18, measuring 200x88x22 cm;

Stećak 19, measuring 212x90x27 cm;

Stećak 20, sunken;

Stećak 21, chest, measuring 70x105x43 cm;

Stećak 22, chest, measuring 200x84x30 cm;

Stećak 23, measuring 172x100x17 cm;

Stećak 24, measuring 120x26x17 cm;

Stećak 25, measuring 169x83x16 cm;

Stećak 26, measuring 170x82x20 cm;

Stećak 27, measuring 185x84x26 cm;

Stećak 28, chest, measuring 100x90x30 cm;

Stećak 29, measuring 190x106x15 cm;

Stećak 30, measuring 190x80x20 cm;

Stećak 31, measuring 190x86x10 cm;

Stećak 32, measuring 170x75x21 cm;

Stećak 33, sunken;

Stećak 34, chest, measuring 180x106x37 cm;

Stećak 35, measuring 190x82x18 cm;

Stećak 36, chest, measuring 149x74x39 cm;

Stećak 37, chest, measuring 180x104x32 cm;

Stećak 38, measuring 190x74x9 cm;

Stećak 39, measuring 165x80x18 cm;

Stećak 40, chest, measuring 150x80x30 cm;

Stećak 41, measuring 150x30x23 cm;

Stećak 42, chest, measuring 180x90x33 cm;

Stećak 43, measuring 152x87x17 cm;

Stećak 44, chest, measuring 180x98x50 cm;

Stećak 45, chest, measuring 177x102x37 cm;

Stećak 46, measuring 190x103x22 cm;

Stećak 47, measuring 154x73x25 cm;

Stećak 48, measuring 190x92x17 cm;

Stećak 49, measuring 153x80x10 cm;

Stećak 50, measuring 162x86x20 cm;

Stećak 51, chest, measuring 190x108x32 cm;

Stećak 52, chest, measuring 110x90x30 cm;

Stećak 53, chest, measuring 180x86x40 cm;

Stećak 54, chest, measuring 110x80x60 cm;

Stećak 55, sunken.

3. Legal status to date

The Regional Plan for BiH to 2000 lists 69 sites of necropolises with stećci (3,018 tombstones) as Category III monuments in Konjic Municipality, without precise identification (various authors, 1980, 52)(6).

The necropolis with stećaks at Dub in the village of Bulatovići, Konjic Municipality, is neither listed nor on the Register of cultural monuments of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport.

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

The National Museum in Sarajevo began a systematic study of the necropolises with stećaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1950s.

No reference to this necropolis has been found in the literature available as of 2012.

5. Current condition of the property

The findings of an on-site inspection conducted on 27 June 2012 are as follows:

-       55 stećaks were catalogued, standing on slightly rising ground in woodland (only those that could be seen were recorded, and it is possible there are more)

-       the stećaks are in poor condition, largely covered with plant organisms (tall low-growing plants, moss and lichen

-       some of the stećaks are tilted off true

-       some of the stećaks have sunk into the ground

-       some of the stećaks have been so eroded by plant organisms that their shape is hard to determine

-       some of the stećaks are damaged (one broken into two unequal halves, others with shallow or deep surface cracks)

-       these conditions made it impossible to determine if there were any decorations on the stećaks

6. Specific risks

There are no specific risks associated with the necropolis with stećaks at Dub in the village of Bulatovići.

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

D.         Clarity

D.ii.      evidence of historical change

D.iv.     evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner

E.         Symbolic value

E.i.       ontological value

E.ii.      religious value

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

            The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-       Ownership documentation

-         copy of cadastral plan for c.p. no. 2936, Land Register entry no. 260, c.m. Bulatovići, Konjic Municipality, plan no. 12, scale 1:2500, issued on 25 April 2011 by the Department of Geodetics, Proprietary Rights and Cadastre, Konjic Municipality, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

-         Land Register entry for plot no. 2936, Land Register entry no. 260, c.m., NAR.and RZ no. 1920/11, issued on 26 April 2011 by the Land Registry office, Konjic, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

-       Photodocumentation

-         Photographs taken on site on 27 June 2012

Bibliography

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

1961.    Radojčić, Svetozar. “Reljefi bosanskih i hercegovačkih stećaka” (Reliefs on Bosnian and Herzegovinian stećaks), LMS, vol. 387/1. Novi Sad: 1961.

1963.    Benac, Alojz. Stećci. Belgrade: Prosveta, 1963.

1963.    Vego, Marko. “Patarenstvo u Hercegovini u svjetlu arheoloških spomenika” (Patarenism in Herzegovina in the light of archaeological monuments), GZM, NS (A), XVIII. Sarajevo: 1963.

1966.    Anđelić, Pavao. “Doba srednjovjekovne bosanske države” (The age of the mediaeval Bosnian state), in Kulturna istorija Bosne i Hercegovine od najstarijih vremena do početka turske vladavine (Cultural history of BiH from ancient times to the start of Ottoman rule). Sarajevo: 1966.

1971.    Bešlagić, Šefik. Stećci, kataloško-topografski pregled (Stećci, a catalogue and topographical survey). Sarajevo: 1971.

1975.    Anđelić, Pavao. Historijski spomenici Konjica i okoline (Historic Monuments of Konjic and its Environs), I. Konjic: 1975.

1980.    Redžić, Husref (ed.) Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina; Stage B - valorization of natural, cultural and historical monuments. Sarajevo: Institute for architecture, town planning and regional planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo, 1980, 51.

1982.    Bešlagić, Šefik. Stećci-kultura i umjetnost (Stećaks: culture and art). Sarajevo: 1982.

1985.    Bobaš, Mirko. “Stećak Mihovila Grahovčića” (The stećak of Mihovil Grahovčić), Jukić, 15. Sarajevo: 1985.

1990.    Basler, Đuro, Kršćanska arheologija (Christian archaeology), 2nd ed. Mostar: Crkva na kamenu, 1990.

1990.    Südland, L. V. (Ivo Pilar). Južnoslavensko pitanje. Prikaz cjelokupnog pitanja. Varaždin (The Yugoslav Question. Full account of the issue, Varaždin). Title of original: L. v. SÜDLAND, Die Südslawische Frage und der Weltkrieg. Übersichtliche Darstellung des Gesamt-Problems. Wien, 1990.

1997.    Daniell, Christopher. Death and burial in medieval England 1066-1550. London and New York: Routledge, 1997.

2004.    Bešlagić, Šefik. Leksikon stećaka (Lexicon of stećaks). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 2004.

(1) For more see the Commission’s Decision designating the historic site of the necropolis with stećaks at Gajine in Glavatičevo, Konjic Municipality, as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, no. 02-02-264/08-5 of 5 November 2008 (Official Gazette of BiH no. 12/09)

(2) From the decision designating the archaeological monuments in the Park at Varda below the Social Centre in Konjic as a national monument. Further details on the history and development of stećak are provided in the said decision (see bibliography, below).

(3) The number of registered monuments in Konjic Municipality is clearly greater, since the graves with stećaks forming the subject of protection prescribed by this decision are not recorded in Bešlagić’s works.

(4) Anđelić, Pavao, Historijski spomenici Konjica i okoline, I, Konjic: 1975, 223,224,225

(5) The criteria for the classification of stećaks have been taken from Bešlagić's typology (slabs have a maximum height of 30 cm). Šefik Bešlagić, Stećci: kultura i umjetnost, Sarajevo: 1982, 81.

(6) Note: during site visits and cataloguing stećaks in Konjic Municipality, Commission staff have found that the number of stećaks certainly exceeds 3018