Standing tombstones, the dinaric area heritage

Standing tombstones, medieval monolith tombstones represent a unique cultural heritage on the entire Dinaric area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, north-western Montenegro, south-western Serbia and south-east Croatia. They are popularly known by various names (mramori, mramorje (denoting marble stones), kami, biljezi, belezi, bilizi (denoting stone marks), mašeti (denoting both standing tombstones and tombstone slabs)). Due to lost memories and traditions about the origin of these old stone marks, they were usually considered to be foreign and unknown graveyards. Hence they were called Greek, Roman, wedding and giaour graveyards. The term established in science is stećak (standing tombstone), coming from the word stojećak, to denote something big, stout.

Based on available resources, it is believed that the standing tombstones occur in the second half of the XII century, and that their production ceases in the XVI century. Many quarries, discovered in close vicinity of many necropolises, tell about intense stonemasonry across the standing tombstones territory, about creativity that reached its full swing and maximum range between end of the XIV century and end of the XV when these are actively carved and decorated.

Standing tombstones are mostly concentrated in necropolises, usually with several dozens or hundreds of examples, or just a few of them. They are located in elevations, by the rivers and mountain lakes, in roadless regions, along old roads, in peaceful coves, on pastures, in forests, on private estates, in settlements, along contemporary traffic roads. Religious buildings were also objects along which the standing tombstones were placed often and everywhere, so, they still exist today as a part of active graveyards. The number of individual, solitary examples impressive, too. Members of three medieval Christian communities – Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Bosnian – were buried below the standing tombstones.

Nature did not allow that the decorations displayed on the standing tombstones remain permanently preserved in stone. Climate conditions have been etching the ornamentation of the shallow relieve on the stone surface for centuries. On many of the standing tombstones, it is hardly even legible and it loses its plasticity in time. Numerous necropolises are in bad state, overgrown with vegetation, with overturned standing tombstones covered in moss and lichen. Many of them are destroyed or damaged with the construction of roads and churches, or by expansion of graveyards they are a part of.

The data suggest that about 70,000 standing tombstones are scattered over the hilly and mountain areas of the Dinaric mountains. According to the published resources, in the previous researches on about 3,300 localities, there were registered about 60,000 standing tombstones in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 4,400 in Croatia, about 4,100 in Serbia and about 3,500 of them in Montenegro. The most of necropolises with most representative examples of the standing tombstones, decorated with abundance of figural and decorative motifs, are located in the areas of Hum (Herzegovina). The most beautiful among them is Radimlja near Stolac.

According to their shape, there can be distinguished two types of standing tombstones, laid and standing monoliths. The first group includes slabs, chests and ridges (sarcophagi) with a pedestal or without it. Ridges are in the form of a house with a two- or four-pitched roof, somewhat narrower to the bottom. Among the vertical, standing monuments, one can distinguish columns (obelisks), vertical slabs (stelas), crosses and Muslim headstones. There is a number of standing tombstones whose shapes are amorphous. The dimensions of all these forms are various. The most common shapes are chests, then slabs, and the least frequent are ridges.

The most valuable and most original artistic features of the standing tombstones are their decorations and inscriptions (epitaphs), performed in shallow or deeper relieve. Decorative details can usually be found on slabs, and, on other shapes, decorative scenic motifs, usually done under Romanesque and Gothic influence and, in some areas, upon Byzantine models. The most decorated ones are the ridges.

The artistic characteristics represented are: borders, arcades, rosettes, stylised crosses, astral, geometrical, vegetal and floral motifs, symbols of weapons, individual human figures of people, animals and fantastic creatures, scenes with figural and zoomorphic representations.

Ornamental zigzag bands, twisted rope-shaped bands, spiral coils, tendrils with trefoils, friezes of rosettes in wreaths are decorative border details on standing tombstones, which appear alone or in combination with other motifs.

The simplest architectural motif with semi-circular Romanesque arcades and columns ovewhelmed the standing tombstones throughout the Dinaric region. The appearance of Gothic pointed arcades is limited to a modest number of monuments (Dalmatia, Neretva valley, Popovo polje).

In the decorative processing of standing tombstones, numerous symbolic motifs of the circle, sun, crescent, and star are present. The cross is a common symbol in various variants – Latin, Greek, Egyptian, swastika. Weapons include a shield, sword, arrow, bow, and spear. Occupations are symbolised by: anvil, hammer, plumb line, divider, sickle, hoe, book; plant motifs by: tree, wreath, rosette, lily, vine; representations of animals by: dog, horse, wolf, lion, bear, deer, snake, bird; fantastic creatures by: winged horses and dragons.

Scenic motifs with figural and zoomorphic representations are presented with various scenes of deer hunting, round dances, duels, equestrian tournaments.

The number of standing tombstones on which epitaphs and grave inscriptions are carved by the hands of local masters (blacksmiths) is much rarer. Presented in the vernacular, the inscriptions reveal the names of the deceased and stonemasons, tell about a historical event or convey some folk wisdom and philosophical thought.

Decades of systematic regional research on standing tombstones, numerous publications and exhibitions have included these unique objects of cultural heritage in various types of protection and presentation programs, which contributed to the higher awareness on their relevance and preservation of their authenticity and integrity.

Due to the variety of types, number, richness of decorative motifs, the appearance of inscriptions with different content, standing tombstones represent a unique phenomenon in the medieval artistic and archaeological heritage.

As a common property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, under the name Stećak, medieval tombstones (Stećci, srednjevjekovni nadgrobni spomenici), with 28 necropolises, the standing tombstones were listed in the world cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2016.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 20 necropolises were declared world heritage (Radimlja in Stolac; Biskup in Konjic; Kalufi in Nevesinje; Borak in Rogatica; Maculje in Novi Travnik; Dugo Polje in Jablanica; Gvozno in Kalinovik; Grebice-Bunćići in Radmilovića Dubrava in Bileća; Bijača in Ljubuško; Olovci in Kladanj; Mramor in Musići in Olovo; Kućarin-Donje Polje in Žilići in Goražde; Boljuni in Stolac; Umoljani in Trnovo; Luburića Polje in Sokolac; Bečani u Šekovići; Crkvina in Foča; Čengića Bare in Kalinovik and Ravanjska Vrata in Kupres).

In Croatia, 2 necropolises were declared world heritage (Velika and Mala Crljivica in Cista Provo and Sveta Barbara in Dubravka in Konavli).

In Serbia, 3 necropolises were declared world heritage (Mramorje in Rastište in Bajina Bašta; Mramorje in Perućac in Bajina Bašta and Grčko Groblje in Hrta in Prijepolje).

In Montenegro, 3 necropolises were declared world heritage (Grčko Groblje in Novakovići in Žabljak; Žugića Bare in Novakovići in Žabljak and Grčko Groblje in Šćepan Polje in Plužine).

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