The village of Milavići is located in Dabarsko Polje, approximately 22 km east of Stolac as the crow flies. In a grove about 300 meters east of the settlement, at the Crkvina site, lies the second largest necropolis of medieval tombstones in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second only to the Krekovi/Kalufi necropolis in Nevesinje.
A total of 352 medieval tombstones were originally recorded at the necropolis (89 slabs, 262 chests, and one gabled roof) according to the inventory by Šefik Bešlagić. Newer research conducted in 2019 documented 390 medieval tombstones, with estimates suggesting the total number could reach up to 400, as many monuments have sunken into the ground and are partially buried.
More than half of the medieval tombstones are finely dressed, while many specimens are only roughly dressed or even amorphous in shape. A significant number of the monuments are chipped, cracked, sunken, or covered in moss. Today, a modern Orthodox cemetery is also situated at the site, which has led to certain medieval tombstones being moved and damaged, making it difficult to establish their original orientation with complete certainty. The monuments alongside the wall are aligned in rows and primarily oriented in a northwest–southeast direction, whereas those in the central part of the Orthodox cemetery are oriented east–west.
According to Bešlagić’s inventory, 23 medieval tombstones are decorated: three slabs, 19 chests, and one gabled roof. Among the decorative motifs, friezes and borders of winding vines with trefoils are most prominent, alongside twisted ribbons. Cross motifs are also frequent, dominated by stylized as well as amorphous depictions. Other motifs appear in smaller numbers: arcades, crescent moons, shields with swords, swords, borders of oblique parallel lines, circular wreaths, spirals, and depictions of the traditional circle dance (kolo), hunting scenes, and two human figures.
One medieval tombstone bears an inscription dedicated to Blagdan Hateljević, a loyal servant of Duke Radić Stanković, dating back to the 14th century.
Geophysical survey and archaeological excavations uncovered a multi-phase Early Christian complex measuring approximately 14 × 10.7 meters, complete with an apse, a sacristy, and a baptistery with a cross-shaped basin. The earliest phase of the complex dates to the Late Roman period.
More than 40 graves were uncovered within the ruins of the church, radiocarbon-dated to the period between the 10th and 17th centuries. Grave 43 stands out in particular, in which the deceased was laid prone (face down) beneath a large decorated medieval tombstone.
Fragments of prehistoric pottery were also recovered at the site, associated with a prehistoric tumulus (humka). The excavations thus confirm a multi-millennial, long-term continuity of human presence and use at this site—from prehistory, through the Late Roman and Early Christian periods, to the medieval necropolis and subsequent burials. Burial continuity at this location spans at least 1,000 years.
