The team of the Foundation “Heritage Watchdogs – Bassania,” consisting of Emir Medanhodžić, Feđa Kulina, and Ibro Šabanović, visited the Sokolac municipality last weekend to inspect several historical sites. Among them was the medieval tombstone necropolis in the village of Košutica, locally known as Ploče, which now faces the risk of further devastation.
After the last war, a local road was cut through this necropolis. The original road ran above the necropolis and was very steep, so the late village representatives Vojin Drljić and Mujo Demirović decided to reroute it to reduce the slope. In the process, a new road was constructed through the necropolis itself, significantly damaging it and dividing it into two sections.
The extent of the necropolis’ destruction is evident: when Šefik Bešlagić cataloged the tombstones in the 1960s, there were 103 tombstones at this site; today, only 42 remain.
The necropolis now faces a new threat as authorities plan to asphalt the road. According to our sources, the project is being led and financed by the Federal Ministry for Displaced Persons and Refugees in cooperation with the Municipality of Sokolac.
The Ploče necropolis is located near the main road, next to the Lehava stream, and was once the necropolis with the largest number of tombstones in Košutica. Above it, on Vjetrenik Hill, lies an Illyrian fort, and at the hill’s base is a medieval quarry that was historically used to produce tombstones.
Nearby are also the Bare I and Bare II necropolises in Luburića Polje, listed as UNESCO sites, accessible via the Ploče necropolis in Košutica.
We hereby call on the authorities, especially the Federal Ministry for Displaced Persons and Refugees, to intervene and prevent further destruction of this valuable cultural heritage site. As a solution, the Foundation proposes rerouting the road along its previously planned path through the fields.