At the Stupic site in Gracanica, Bugojno municipality, during excavations in the yard of a private house, several tombs were found that are believed to date from the Middle Ages. And this valuable archaeological discovery showed all the shortcomings of the system, which is not able to adequately protect cultural heritage.
During the construction works in the yard of the family house, the owners were surprised by the unusually hard surface. Excavating further, they came across tombs with lids shaped in the shape of a human body, which they immediately assumed to be a significant archaeological discovery, and alerted the authorities.
”We wanted to dig a probe for a lightning rod, but we came across a skull. When we started digging further we came across some huge rock, it surprised us,” Armin Velic says.
”These are medieval burials in the form of stone sarcophagi and in the form of graves whose sides are consisted of gable roofs, imitating the roof of the house, that is, the eternal home of the deceased. These are most likely children’s graves,” explains Ajla Sejfuli, an archaeologist at the Public Institution Travnik Homeland Museum.
Sarcophagi dating to the 14th and 15th centuries are particularly characteristic of central Bosnia. This is an exceptional discovery, as the profession claims, because the medieval town of Susid is located nearby.
The municipality of Bugojno is also rich in the necropolises of stecak tombstones. So far, more than 200 have been found in the area. But it is not the first time that the sites in this canton have remained uncared for years. The problem is the lack of intervention funds for these purposes, say the authorities. They sometimes wait for years for international projects, through which they usually provide funds.
”My family’s wish is to move it, for the profession to do it in the way it should be taken care of, to be taken away, to be cleaned up,” says the owner of the plot, Nihad Velic.
“When it comes to such cases, when something is discovered, when it is necessary to react very quickly, all institutions are handcuffed, because there are no such funds. This is not envisaged in the municipalities, museums, or cantons. The site is open until any funds are found,” Sejfuli points out.
After visiting the site, the information was forwarded to the competent Cantonal Institute for its protection. In agreement with them and the Municipality of Bugojno, the Museum hopes to find the necessary funds to adequately investigate and protect this discovery and present it to the public, Federalna writes.
E.Dz.
