Hidden from every-day looks, the stećci necropolis in Boljuni near Stolac still preserves the traces of life. Unlike Radimlja, the most famous Herzegovinian stećci necropolis, located right next to the road near Stolac, the necropolis in Boljuni is hidden from sight. Nestled on a rolling plateau and surrounded by Mediterranean forest, it has been an inspiration for stories, legends, and scientific research for over 600 years.
Necropolis Hidden from Sights
“Those passionate hunters I caught in invisible threads, I, smith Grubač, and faithfully inscribed, and humbly drew into these great, white stones.”
With these verses, the great poet Mak Dizdar ends his poem “Record on the Hunt,” inspired precisely by the stećak crafted by a medieval master and blacksmith Grubač, the creator of numerous stećci found around the necropolis.
The Boljuni stećci necropolis, located just a few kilometers from the Stolac-Neum road, still attracts researchers, artists, and curious passengers.
“It is interesting that a fascinating dialogue takes place here between Grubač and Semorad, his scribe (dijak). Before that, I would like to say that their graveyards were built like small towns, post-mortem cities, which, as we all know, would later inspire numerous memorial monuments after World War II,” points out Ronald Panza, an art theorist.
Traces of the Vlach Origin
The name Boljuni itself is of Vlach origin. Dubrovnik archives confirm that Vlach settlements were located in this area. The researchers belive that due to rich decoration found here, as well as in Radimlja, many wealthy individual of that time were buried here.
“This tells us that the population of Vlach origin, namely livestock herders, just before the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, was very wealthy and well-off, since they were able to afford burials under such decorated tombstones, which was a true luxury for that era,” said Dženan Hakalović, a history professor.
Neveš Water or the Greek Well
“The ornamentation and funeral technology of that era are essentially common to all. As Bogdanović would say, it is Manichaean,” Panza stated.
Neveš water, also known as the Greek Well, is also located nearby the necropolis.
According to the legend, this well, which served for watering livestock and washing clothes, has never run dry. We recorded that at the end of this extremely dry summer, there is still water inside, Federalna writes.
