Where have Stećci “gone”?

Abstract

Stećci, monolithic tombstones, are the bearers of the unique sepulchral culture of the Bosnian and Hum Middle Ages. Considering the fact they are located in natural surroundings, and regarding their total number, artistic and design characteristics, stećci represent the cultural phenomenon of medieval Europe. Due to the previous reflections on the stećak as a phenomenon of the Bosnian Middle Ages, the following issues were not debated: Where did the stećak tombstones “disappear”? Did stećci just stop being made or did they continued to “live” in certain modified forms of the tombstones? There are also later tombstones, both Muslim and Christian, which, through the evolution of form, depict specific situations of coexistence of members of different religions.