Archaeological Site Grčko groblje in Hrta, Municipality Prijepolje
Stećci – Medieval Tombstones Graveyards, UNESCO World Heritage List
By Archeological Sites of Serbia
Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Serbia
Archaeological Site Grčko groblje in Hrta (14th–15th century) by Republic Institute for the Protection of the Monuments of Culture – Belgrade and Maja DjordjevicArcheological Sites of Serbia
The archeological site of the Greek cemetery in the village of Hrta consists of two medieval cemeteries. Gornje is located on a lofty natural headland whose toponym is Gubice. At the foot of the hill, 100 m southwest, is the lower cemetery, which was formed on a smaller, prehistoric tumulus.
Archaeological Site Grčko groblje in Hrta (14th–15th century) by Republic Institute for the Protection of the Monuments of Culture – Belgrade and Maja DjordjevicArcheological Sites of Serbia
The whole area is surrounded by birch forest. At the foot of the hill are a stream and rural roads that lead to the hamlets of Tomašević, Bašović and Dizdarević. There are 81 monuments in the Greek cemetery, 37 on the upper stretch, of which 17 are decorated, and in the lower cemetery there are a total of 44 monuments, of which only one plaque is decorated.
Archaeological Site Grčko groblje in Hrta (14th–15th century) by Republic Institute for the Protection of the Monuments of Culture – Belgrade and Maja DjordjevicArcheological Sites of Serbia
The monuments are oriented east-west. The surface of the monument has been carefully carved, and in several cases it has been smoothed. The most common shape is a slab that sometimes resembles a lower chest due to its monumentality. The ornamental motifs are carved, and the chests on the pedestal of the arcade are embossed and plastically modeled.
There are various decoration motifs on the stećak tombstones in the upper cemetery. On the sides of the larger chests, the arcades have the shape of a shallow niche and at the top they are shaped in a semicircle or as a broken arch with interspaces between the pillars. Six or four niches on the wider sides are carved on the three chests, or only two niches on the narrow sides that form the arcades.
Another form of decoration is embossed ornamental motifs depicted individually, such as a sword motif or shield. On one plate there is a representation of a cross with equally wide arms, the cross is very slightly emphasized on the surface so that it is difficult to see, above the cross are three correctly arranged small circles with an inscribed cross. The most common motif is a small circle with an inscribed cross or a large circle with an inscribed cross whose arms end in concentric circles. The panels stand out, the upper surface of which is marked as a rope-shaped frame, and on one inside the frame there is a continuous embossed spiral, with stylized four-leaf rosettes. In a simpler frame, a deer is carved, very reduced with accentuated horns and body contour, in a position of jumping or moving.
Archaeological Site Grčko groblje in Hrta (14th–15th century) by Republic Institute for the Protection of the Monuments of Culture – Belgrade and Maja DjordjevicArcheological Sites of Serbia
In the lower cemetery, most of the tombstones are in the shape of an amorphous monument carved to the approximate shape of a slab, and only a few specimens can be identified in the shape of a real slab. Several low amorphous implants were found on the east side of the slab, while a smaller number were found in the area between the monuments, as isolated grave markers.
Archaeological Site Grčko groblje in Hrta (14th–15th century) by Republic Institute for the Protection of the Monuments of Culture – Belgrade and Maja DjordjevicArcheological Sites of Serbia
The surface of the monument is roughly carved or completely untreated, left in the natural shape of a rock with minimal interventions to the shape of a slab. A circle with an inscribed cross is carved on the western half of one plate, the ends of which end in the form of concentric circles.
Archaeological Site Grčko groblje in Hrta (14th–15th century) by Republic Institute for the Protection of the Monuments of Culture – Belgrade and Maja DjordjevicArcheological Sites of Serbia
The stećci – medieval tombstone graveyards were inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2016. This serial cultural property consists of 28 sites, 20 of which are in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2 in Croatia and 3 each in Montenegro and Serbia. The stećci are a unique phenomenon in the medieval European artistic and archaeological heritage.
Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Serbia
Republic Institute for the Protection of the Monuments of Culture – Belgrade
The Institute for Cultural Heritage Preservation Kraljevo
The narration was provided by: the Institute for Cultural Heritage Preservation Kraljevo.
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