By: Emir Medanhodžić
Do you know which necropolis of medieval tombstones was once the largest in Bosnia and Herzegovina? It was the Mramorje necropolis in Bosansko Grahovo, which held around 1,000 medieval tombstones!
MRAMORJE (Mramor Cemetery) is located in the village of Ugarci, Bosansko Grahovo, about 1 km from the town center toward Livno. According to a census by S. M. Babić from 1892, there were approximately 1,000 medieval tombstones at this location. An Illyrian hillfort, fragments of capitals, remnants of a Roman settlement, and ancient coins—including pieces from the reigns of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) and Titus (79–81 AD)—were also discovered here, testifying to a long historical continuity of life in this area.
According to Bešlagić’s census from 1971, only about 100 medieval tombstones (20 chests, 79 slabs, and 1 gabled roof) were still preserved, as a modern road had cut through the necropolis in the meantime, and the Serbian Orthodox Church had built a modern cemetery over a section of it.
The remaining monuments were damaged, displaced, and sunken into the ground.
Currently (in 2026), only about thirty medieval tombstones remain at the site, representing one of the most severe devastations of a necropolis of medieval tombstones in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Shame on us all, and especially on the institutions and organizations tasked with protecting cultural heritage!
My thanks go to my friend Rešad from Bihać, who, at my request, visited and photographed this necropolis.
