Anžur, Lana Nastja

Gopee, Aqiil

Grahek, Lucija

Jevšnik, Žiga

Čaval, Saša

Central Archive at the University of Reading

EAA Home  »  Publications  »  TEA  »  TEA 74  »  Research  RESEARCH OVERVIEWIN THE LAND OF STEĆCI: THE CHILDREN’S GRAVES OF HATELJI MOUND ANDTHE BURIED CHURCH OF MILAVIĆIAqiil Gopee (Harvard University), Žiga Jevšnik (University of Primorska, Koper,Slovenia), Lana Nastja Anžur (University of Ljubljana), Lucija Grahek (Scientific-research centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts - ZRC SAZU) andSaša Čaval (ZRC SAZU, Stanford University, University of Reading)IntroductionWhen travelling in the Western Balkans, one comes across groups of stone blocksthat look like flocks of sheep from afar. See Figure 2. Whether one drives in Serbia,Croatia, or Montenegro, these monuments, called stećci, are a constant in thelandscape but are especially frequent in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The imagesof stećci still stimulate the same questions that Arthur Evans asked of them ahundred and fifty years ago: What are these stones? Who built them?Figure 2. A group of stećci at Milavići. Photo from Dežela stečkov Archive.Today we know for certain that they are grave markers (Bešlagić 1982; Bujak 2018).Evans wrote about stećci tombstones (1876) and spread a controversial andincorrect theory that the monuments were Bogomil tombstones. Even today, somescholars and lay writers adhere to this same theory although it was rejected decadesago by local and international scholars (Bešlagić 1982, 2004; Lovrenović 2009). Thesame curiosity that pushed Evans is still present in the 21st century; however, thenaivety has been somewhat lifted. We now know that stećci are the mediaevaltombstones that were in use between the 12th and 16th centuries in the territoriesof the modern Western Balkans countries. Interest in these extraordinary and veryvocal monuments has driven a team, led by Dr Čaval, to perform systematicarchaeological research in the Herzegovina part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.The outstanding universal value of stećci was recognized in 2016 when UNESCOaccepted the multinational nomination, and stećci became a part of the worldheritage list. Since the monuments are located in four countries, their legalprotection was ensured on an international level. Coordination of this recognitiontook place through the International Coordination Committee in Sarajevo, BiH, whichhelps implement strategies, principles and standards.Figure 3. Trench 1 (T1) at Hatelji during excavation by our hard-working team. Photoby A. Gopee.Our research and the sitesOur case study is focused on the medieval region of župa Dabar. As a historicalreference for this territory, we used a monograph (Pekić 2005) based on archivaldocuments from the National Archive of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Non-destructive pre-excavation research included archaeological reconnaissance and a geophysicalsurvey of the area. We initially surveyed all of the 47 sites with stećci tombstones inžupa Dabar. For the geophysical survey, we focused on seven sites and finallydecided to systematically excavate two entirely different sites. The two sites we setupon are Hatelji and Milavići.The multiperiod Hatelji site (Figure 3) is a prehistoric earth mound that retained itssymbolic significance for the local community and was reused to bury the dead upuntil the Middle Ages. This mound is one of just a few near the village of Hatelji, withonly two having been used for burials during the medieval period. The thirteen stećciat the site reflect this later chapter. Time has left its mark on them. The changingclimate has damaged many of the stones. However, they retained their prominentposition in the landscape.Figure 4. Two excavated graves at Hatelji. Adult graves 12 (in front) and 11 (in theback), excavated during the 2022 field season. To the left of grave 11 is a child'sgrave 5 excavated during our 2019 work. The close proximity of the adult and childpresumably indicates a family connection, to be confirmed through molecularanalysis. Photo by Ž. Jevšnik.Why people of the past chose prehistoric mounds for their burials is an intriguingquestion. Stećci cemeteries in Hum were frequently located on earlier buriallocations. The pan-European custom of reusing prehistoric mounds for medievalburials is indeed echoed in the stećci phenomenon (Figure 4), particularly inmedieval Herzegovina (comp. Williams 1997, Mitkoski et al. 2016). The research onthis specific feature of stećci is too limited to provide any solid chronologicalframework; however, the commencement of the stećci phenomenon, supported by afew multiperiod sites that have been excavated, displays the earliest medievaloccupation of a prehistoric mound from the late 12th century onwards (Bešlagić2004; Miletić 1959; Jašarević, Antić 2017), which is between two and four centuriesafter it can be observed in the rest of Europe (Greece: Curta 2016; Hungary: Türk2014; the W Europe: Van de Noort 1993; Bradley, Williams 2013). Does this reflectthe geographic isolation of this territory, or does it testify to the lack of exploration ofthis important and information-rich heritage?In contrast to Hatelji, Milavići cemetery is a modern community burial ground. SeeFigure 5. It officially houses 352 stećci tombstones. However, our researchdocumented over 390 monuments, with the exact number still unknown due to thecover of dense vegetation growing around some clusters of monuments. Ourresearch also showed the existence of a medieval church that lived only in the oralhistory of the Dabar valley. The Milavići cemetery holds a toponym ‘Crkvina’, whichrefers to a church that was supposed to stand in this location. At the initial survey ofthe site, we approached local farmers for any information about the site and itsrecent history, as viewed through the eyes of the population that lived with thisplace. Apart from the childhood stories of jumping games consisting of leaping fromone stećak (singular of stécci) to the next, stories always returned to the long-lostchurch that once stood somewhere in this location.Figure 5. Milavići: (left) A row of stećci, excavated in 2019 and catalogued in 2022;(right) a decoration detail of a tombstone in the central area of the cemetery. Photofrom Dežela stečkov Archive.The excavations & findsThe two seasons (2019, 2022) of stratigraphic excavations in the Dabar valleycomplicated the stećci narrative even further. The Late Mediaeval period is often notrich with archaeological artefacts, but fortunately, modern archaeological scientificresearch offers so much more than just collecting material culture. As such, finds arenot necessarily physical objects; in this sense, the finds from our two seasons havebeen quite substantial.Seeking not to destroy the impressive prehistoric mound and to understand theorganisation of the burials in the restricted space, we chose to excavate between therows of stećci tombstones at Hatelji. We excavated two perpendicular trenches (T 1& 2) running from the centre of the mound to the north and east, respectively. Wewere surprised to find that in this ‘middle space’, only the graves of very youngchildren were discovered - the oldest being just between 1½ to 2 years old. Althoughchild-sized stećci tombstones exist, the children buried in this cemetery did not havethem. However, T2 presented us with another exciting situation: the grave of a childnext to a stećak, which marked the grave of an adult. Our initial findings hinted at apossible relationship between these two individuals, but we must await the finalmolecular analyses to be certain of any actual link. However, the depth of the gravesallows for some more hypotheses. The age of all three excavated skeletal burials isdifferent, and so is the depth of the graves. All of the children were buried about 50-70 cm deep. The two adults were buried at different depths, with the eldestindividual buried the deepest. Although our current sample size is only one, thiscould speak of the rites of passage marked by the depth of burial and the presenceof a tombstone (Van Gennep 2019; Turner 1969: 95).Figure 6. Overview of the Milavići site showing the central part of the cemetery withmodern and medieval tombstones, and our excavation area in the top left corner.Photo from Dežela stečkov Archive.Excavating through the medieval layers of the prehistoric mound, we also reached aprehistoric skeletal burial at the bottom of the mound. A small bronze pendant wasthe only object accompanying the burial. While we are eager to know more, nothingelse can be said about this site until the analyses are completed.In Milavići, we encountered a completely different situation. Besides modern graves,there are also approx. 390 stećci, aligned in rows running south-north, with gravesoriented west-east. Thus, here the stećci cemetery matches the traditional Europeanmedieval trend of cemeteries delimited by rows. Initially, the excavations wereperformed in two areas: the southwestern corner of the cemetery and the highestspot with the sparsest accumulation of stećci. The 2019 season revealed that thespace between the tombstones contains no burials and that a single individual wasburied under every stećak. However, the central area displayed a more complicatedstory. Here, two well-structured graves contained three individuals. Both of thegraves had been built adjacent to solid medieval walls, and each had disturbed apotential floor. So, during the 2022 season, we focused on cataloguing the stećcitombstones within the site and excavating only in the upper, central area, with theintention of exposing and documenting the church walls.Epigraphist Dr Anja Roglič (ZRC SAZU) made a list of all visible stećci at the burialsite and created an inventory with their details and features. Many of the tombstonesare decorated with reliefs depicting crosses, architectural elements or swords, andfigural motifs of dancers and various animals.Figure 7. Stećci during excavation at Milavići. The image carved onto the stećak inthe center depicts a ritual dance. Photo from Dežela stečkov Archive.At the main excavation area, 15 new skeletal graves joined the two previouslydiscovered. The graves can be divided according to the typology of the gravestructures into two groups: the first with impressive and solid stone-slab graveconstruction, and the other with less enduring grave structures that were dug intothe church floor. From the 2019 season, we know that the first group of burials datesto the second half of the 14th and 15th centuries. It is our hope that Carbon datingwill provide better scientific clarification of the ambiguous chronological framework ofthe region.The discovery of architectural remains was a welcome result of this year’sendeavours. Part of the building’s floor layout was preserved with larger stones.Although these were fragmentary, the plaster above them was still present. In thelast days of excavation, we discovered a part of a wall, with an attached sittingbench that ran along the side walls of the building, well preserved and still adheredto by plaster. This wall section will be the starting point for the next season ofexcavations, during which we seek to confirm whether the discovered building wasindeed a church.As in the previous season of excavations at Milavići, one curious constant was thatsherds of prehistoric pottery were sporadically found. These probably came from thelayers of what was most likely the initial prehistoric mound, which were displacedwhen the mound was reused for burials in the mediaeval period and whichsubsequently extended beyond the mound’s borders.Conclusion - Finished to begin again…The diversity in artistic expression of stećci tombstones reflects the diversity of theregion’s cultural expressions. Influences of prehistoric traditions can be seen invarious forms, and their vast numbers speak of their importance for the pastcommunities.The Hatelji site displays direct relation to prehistory not only in its use of the existingmound. Fragments of prehistoric pottery were found during the excavation of themediaeval graves, and this year we reached the actual prehistoric levels. Thepreservation of the human remains from the prehistoric context was quite poorcompared to the medieval layers, but the small Bronze pendant additionallyconfirmed the chronological fit into the prehistory of the region. To fully understandthe complex dynamics of the Hatelji mound, the micromorphological analyses willprovide more information about its formation and activities at the site in its earlierphases.With this year's campaign, the excavations in Hatelji have been completed (Figure8). At Milavići, we are already planning the 2023 season. Our next season will see alarger excavation area as we will concentrate on following the wall and unearthingthe whole structure. Perhaps skeletal burials found within the structure maycomplement the narrative of the site, emphasising its societal facet for the medievalcommunity and of the potential church. We look forward to drawing many furtherinsights from the archaeology of this intriguing and multi-faceted site!Figure 8. Trench 1 at Hatelji fully excavated. Photo from Dežela stečkov Archive.Collaboration and FundingThe international excavation team on both sites included over 50 people from allaround the world. The excavations in Hatelji were led by Dr Lucija Grahek, Scientific-research centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU),Ljubljana, Slovenia and Dr Monika Milosavljević, University of Belgrade, Serbia. Thedifferent areas within the Milavići cemetery were overseen by Dr AlessandraCianciosi, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands and Dr Krish Seetah, StanfordUniversity, USA. The students who joined us on this adventure came from Universityof Reading, UK; University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia, University of Sarajevo, BiH;University of Belgrade, Serbia; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and from StanfordUniversity and Harvard University in the USA.The project team is in continual discussion with the archaeologist from the NationalInstitution for the Protection of Historical, Cultural and Natural Heritage from BanjaLuka. The BiH collaboration partner is Dr Edin Bujak from the University of Sarajevo.Our current research is the continuation of an EU-funded project under the MarieSkłodowska-Curie Programme, ‘Social Landscapes as Multicultural spaces: Stećci inBosnia and Herzegovina’ (Grant No. 797881), awarded in 2018 and running untilMarch 2021. The intriguing topic and the dynamics of the research required anexpansion. The Slovenian Research Agency currently funds the ‘The Land of Stećci’(Grant No. J6-3145), through their Aleš Debeljak program. Both projects are beingled by Dr Saša Čaval, ZRC SAZU.BibliographyBešlagić, Š. 1982. Stećci: kultura i umjetnost, Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša.Bešlagić Š., 2004. Leksikon stećaka. Sarajevo: Svjetlost.Bradley, R. & Williams, H. eds. 2013. The Past in the Past: the Re-use ofAncient Monuments. World Archaeology 30. Routledge.Bujak, E., 2018. Stećkopedija: kameno blago stare bosanske države. Sarajevo:Mladinska knjiga.Curta, F. 2016. Burials in prehistoric mounds: reconnecting with the past inearly medieval Greece. Revue des études Byzantines, 74: pp. 269-285.Evans, A. 1876. Through Bosnia and Herzegóvina on foot during theinsurrection, August and September 1875. London: Longmans, Greens & Co.Jašarević, A., & Antić, S. 2017. Ecclesiam de Glasinac-arheološka istraživanja naCrkvini u Bjelosavljevićima. Godišnjak Centra za Balkanološka ispitivanja, 46:225-256.Lovrenović D., 2009. Stećci: bosansko mramorje srednjeg vijeka, Sarajevo.Miletić N., 1959. Srednjovjekovni grobovi u tumulu na Crkvini. GlasnikZemaljskog muzeja 14: 217-219.Mitkoski A., Bulatović A. & Mikić I., 2016. Necropolis under a tumulus atVeprčani: Representative case of using sacred places during several periods inthe past. Starinar 66: 27-57.Pekić, R. 2005. Srednjevekovna župa Dabar. Bileća.Van Gennep, A., 2019. Rites of passage. Second edition. Chicago: University ofChicago Press.Türk, A. 2014. Towards a classification of grave types and burial rites in the10th-11th Century Carpathian Basin. In: L. Doncheva-Petkova, C. Balogh, & A.Türk, eds. Avars, Bulgars and Magyars on the Middle and Lower Danube. Sofia,National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, pp. 137-156.Turner, V., 1969, The Ritual Process. Structure and Anti-Structure. New York:Routledge.Van de Noort, R. 1993. The context of Early Medieval barrows in westernEurope. Antiquity, 67: 66-73.Williams, H. 1997. Ancient Landscapes and the Dead: The Reuse of Prehistoricand Roman Monuments as Early Anglo-Saxon Burial Sites. MedievalArchaeology, 41/1: 1-32.Go back to top CONNECT WITH USEUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS, C/O INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY CAS, LETENSKA 4, 11801 PRAHA 1, CZECHREPUBLIC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.PLEASE UPGRADE YOUR BROWSER IF YOU EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS WITH THIS SITE.CONTACT USWEBMAIL SIGN IN

In the land of stećci: the children's graves of Hatelji mound and the buried church of Milavići

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In the land of stećci: the children's graves of Hatelji mound and the buried church of Milavići

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