Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.33254/aia.21.1.10
Cemetery with stećci in Gornji Polog (Mostar Municipality): results of trial archaeological excavations
Tino Tomas
orcid.org/0000-0003-3372-9415
; Faculty of Humanities, University of Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
*
Samra Terzić
; International Commission on Missing Persons – Western Balkans Program Office, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ante Vujović
; Tumulus d.o.o., Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper presents the results of archaeological excavations and a partial analysis of bioarchaeological material from the site of a medieval cemetery with stećci in Gornji Polog (City of Mostar). The research was conducted as part of the site’s development and presentation project, during which a total of three trial trenches were opened. Although the site was previously known in professional literature, no archaeological excavations had been conducted there until now. The main objectives of the research were to determine the relationship between the stećci and the graves, establish the stratigraphic and depositional characteristics of the location, collect bioarchaeological material and samples for further analysis, and create an updated site plan. Radiocarbon analysis of a grave from Trench 2 yielded two absolute dates: 1217 and 1261. Additionally, anthropological analysis identified two male individuals of different ages, exhibiting a series of pathological changes and indicators of metabolic and biomechanical stress. Furthermore, archaeological excavation and site arrangement activities revealed 16 new stećci, increasing the total number to 91. Finally, the research results lay the foundations for future studies and contribute to the understanding of funerary practices and the everyday life of the late medieval community, it terms of both the observed area and the wider cultural region.
Keywords
stećci; cemetery; Gornji Polog; archaeological research; bioarchaeological (anthropological) analysis; radiocarbon dating; City of Mostar; Bosnia and Herzegovina
Hrčak ID:
342674
URI
Publication date:
30.12.2025.
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