The Mramorje necropolis in the village of Međurječje, municipality Čajniče, once one of the most significant medieval burial sites in the region, has been completely destroyed.
Once home to 100 medieval tombstones (stećci) – 98 chest-shaped (sanduci) and two gabled (sljemenjaci) – the necropolis was an important part of the cultural and historical heritage of medieval Bosnia, located within the former parish of Međurječje and close to the fortified town of Samobor, built by Sandalj Hranić.
During the last war, a military dirt road was cut directly through the necropolis. As a result, the tombstones were shattered and displaced, graves desecrated, and human remains scattered across the site. What was once a sacred and protected place of memory has been reduced to a field of ruin.
Despite being declared a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2007, the site has never been restored. The Commission to Preserve National Monuments emphasized the need for urgent conservation, yet almost twenty years later, no visible action has been taken.
The Mramorje necropolis now stands as a tragic reminder of the neglect, destruction, and indifference toward Bosnia and Herzegovina’s medieval heritage – a monument not only to the dead beneath it, but also to the failure to protect the legacy they left behind.
