By: Emir Medanhodžić
The team of the Foundation “Heritage Watchdogs – Bassania” visited Podgorani several times, where they heard local tales claiming that a fortress of herceg (Duke) Stjepan Kosača once stood atop Gradina (hillfort). According to legend, herceg Stjepan hid in a cave beneath the hillfort and buried his treasure there. Intrigued, we gathered a larger team – Mirza, Samer, Feđa, Emir, and our guide Halil – and set out to investigate the site in person.
On the way to the Gradina, we discovered a medieval quarry where two medieval tombstones (stećci) are visible – one fully carved in the shape of a chest, and another only roughly outlined. The hillfort itself is overgrown with dense brush and thorny vegetation, making it nearly impossible to pass through or climb the steep slope, despite Halil’s efforts to clear a path ahead. Mirza and Samer, in top shape, managed to reach the summit, while the rest of us had to stop halfway, exhausted.
Upon reaching the top, Mirza and Samer reported finding a large plateau of an Illyrian hillfort with a dry-stone wall, but no remains of mortar-built Roman walls as described by the earlier researcher P. Oreč. We concluded that the tales of a medieval Kosača fortress are likely folk legends, which we naively believed – something that has happened before due to our curiosity and trust in oral tradition.
On our way back, we visited an Illyrian well and the rock formation where, according to local lore, Stjepan Kosača once hid, though the spot is almost inaccessible, especially in rainy weather.
We thank Halil for guiding us to this hillfort and for showing us a previously undocumented necropolis, which we will write about in our next post. Despite the myths being dispelled, we returned home satisfied – because every journey reveals something new about our vast and rich heritage.
