The “Heritage Guardians – Bassania” Foundation team, consisting of Tomo, Feđa, and Emir, visited two necropolises in Breza to inspect their condition, following reports that they had been moved, damaged, and desecrated.
The Kaurina necropolis is situated on a dominant hill between Župča and Izbod (possibly an Illyrian hillfort site). There are four medieval tombstones here: two in the shape of slabs, one chest, and one beautifully decorated gabled roof tombstone, which was unfortunately damaged by shrapnel during the war. On its front side, it bears spiral and rosette motifs, while its edges are accentuated with a twisted rope design. On the western lateral side, several letters are visible, most likely indicating the year the monument was erected. This is the only medieval tombstone with an inscription in the Breza municipality.
The Vijesolići-Lopate necropolis is located in the Gornja Breza area, at an elevation of approximately 674 meters. It has been divided into three sections by road construction: the majority of the tombstones are in a meadow, two are at a crossroads, and two are within an Orthodox cemetery. It contains a total of 13 medieval tombstones: one slab, seven chests, and five gabled roof tombstones. Most of them have pedestals. The monuments are overgrown with vegetation, moss, and lichens, and some have been damaged or moved. They were carved from a lower-quality stone known locally as “muljika.” One gabled roof tombstone is decorated, but due to damage, the motif cannot be reliably identified. The necropolis was declared a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015.
