When heading from the center of Berkovići along the macadam road toward Nevesinje, after about 5 km you turn left, and after another 2 km the road leads to the village of Donja Trusina. In a grove alongside the road, near the village, at the Kosa site belonging to the hamlet of Košuta, lies a large necropolis containing 176 medieval tombstones: 66 slabs and 110 chests.
The medieval tombstones are oriented in a northwest–southeast direction. Many have sunken into the ground or slipped from their original position, while the necropolis itself is intersected by a road and almost completely overgrown with vegetation due to a lack of maintenance. Several tall, ancient oak trees grow within the necropolis. The monuments are generally finely carved, though currently partially damaged, and several specimens have slid down toward the road.
Twelve chests are decorated. Decorative motifs present include the crescent moon, cross, rosetta, semicircular shield with a sword, bow and arrow, border of oblique parallel lines, twisted concentric wreath, and a simple incised line.
One chest features a severely damaged inscription that could not be reconstructed.
In the northwestern portion of the necropolis, three chests stand somewhat apart, while another chest lies in the eastern section. Five medieval tombstones have been built into the small bridge over the stream in the immediate vicinity of the necropolis.
The Pićevićs – A Medieval Noble Family
The Pićevićs were a 14th and 15th-century noble family from Dabar whose ancestral territory was Dabar, holding hereditary estates (baštine) in Ljuti Do, Potkom, Klečak, and Trusina.
Donja Trusina is of particular importance, where a hamlet named Pićevići still exists today, likely named after this medieval lineage. Historical sources confirm that Trusina was under their rule.
Their primary seat was likely situated in the vicinity of Ljuti Do, though it has not been established with certainty whether they possessed a single large fortified town of the Pićevićs. Nevertheless, based on our field experience and observations, there is a possibility that their fortified seat was located right in this area.
This remains one of the questions we will attempt to investigate during our next visit to this remarkably interesting region filled with rich cultural heritage.
