At the request and warning of several of our members, a Foundation team consisting of Nedžad, Emir, and Feđa visited the necropolises in the Vogošća villages of Gora and Kamenica.
The situation is catastrophic. We are deeply disappointed by the treatment of our cultural heritage. There is almost no necropolis that has not been desecrated in some way—whether through the moving, destroying, burying, or overturning of medieval tombstones.
The Crkvina necropolis (Gora village), along with an adjacent medieval Bosnian church, is located on a plateau next to an old Muslim graveyard. The site was devastated even before the last war; today, only one open grave can be seen by the road, where bones were visible until recently when someone “filled the hole.” We could not even locate the remains of the medieval Bosnian church mentioned by Đoko Mazalić.
At the Podlipa–Oplaza necropolis (Gora village), Bešlagić originally recorded and counted six medieval tombstones. Today, only two remain. The owner of a nearby house openly told us that his late father removed the tombstones because “they were in the way,” adding that they still bother him today and he would like the remaining ones removed. One of the tombstones is even covered with soil and waste.
In the Vinište necropolis, the Archaeological Lexicon of BiH lists 15 medieval tombstones, yet today there are barely ten. They have been moved from their original positions in all directions because they also “obstructed” residents during the construction of houses and auxiliary buildings. Currently, they are scattered across five locations in the vicinity, which speaks volumes about the local population’s lack of awareness regarding the value and significance of medieval tombstones, as well as the negligence of protective institutions.
We appeal to the competent services in the Municipality of Vogošća and the Sarajevo Cantonal Institute for the Protection of Cultural-Historical and Natural Heritage to take appropriate measures to protect these necropolises.
