Position of stećak tombstones before intervention |
Stećak no. 1 before extraction |
Stećak no. 2 before extraction |
Stećak no. 3 before extraction |
Sarajevo, 27 August 2010
PRESS STATEMENT
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina has successfully completed the rescue of three mediaeval stećak tombstones found at the Perućac reservoir of the Bajina Bašta hydro power plant.
Despite extremely difficult weather and other conditions, the tombstones were extracted from the silt and mud in a coordinated action by the Commission involving the Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Višegrad local authorities and local residents, and moved to a new site a few dozen metres from their original location, very close to the existing EKO camp.
The site to which the tombstones have been moved complies fully with the international standards set out in Article 11 of the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Preservation of Cultural Property Endangered by Public or Private works, which reads as follows: “Important structures and other monuments which have been transferred in order to save them from destruction by public or private works should be placed on a site or in a setting which resembles their former position and natural, historic or artistic associations.” These valuable cultural monuments can now be presented as part of the tourist attractions of Višegrad.
The action conducted by the Commission is a good example of the satisfactory results that can be achieved when various national institutions and other bodies work together to rescue and preserve endangered cultural monuments.
The Commission wishes to take this opportunity to express particular thanks to the helicopter crew of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, without whom this action would have been much more difficult.
Site with dislocated stećak tombstones
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