The necropolis is situated near the village of Olovci, along the Olovci -Tuholj road, about 10 km north-west of Kladanj. It is on a site that slopes gently down towards the road and covers an area of 24.5 x 14 meters.

The stećci lie west-east in rows with the exception of one gabled and two chest-shaped tombstones which lie north-south. It consists of 18 stećci: 5 chests, 12 gabled roof tombstones and 1 pillar.

Three gabled roof stećci are decorated, and one bears an epitaph in addition to decorations.

The decorative motifs found in this necropolis include a double spiral, a cable-cord rope, a cross with round endings, two motifs of a staff, a T-cross.

The epitaph is dedicated to a member of the feudal family Jurisalić, whose hereditament was in that area.

There are not many historical data about the settlement of Kladanj. In the early feudalism, at the time of functioning of the entire county system, the Drinjača River basin, which had originally included Kladanj, consisted of a single county named Birač. Judging by the name Kladanj, this is an area which became a landed estate very early due to being relatively isolated from other units.

There are no detailed data about Kladanj in written sources from the late Middle Ages. It is known that Kladanj was a caravan station in the hills and it was at the boundaries (in metis) of Osor. The whole area of the Municipality abounds in stećci. The Kladanj stećci belong to one of four stonemasons’ workshops that were active in eastern Bosnia, which, according to some common characteristics of the stećci, could be located between Kladanj, Olovo and Ilijaš. Judging by decorative motifs, inscriptions and the presence of upright stećci (pillars), they may be roughly dated from the 14th to the 16th century.

The specific feature of Kladanj is an abundance of natural phenomena, especially caves, which were used by the local population to perform religious rites. The best known is so called Djevojačka pećina (Maid’s Cave), where the walls have motifs very similar to the motifs on stećci. There have been no archaeological excavations at the necropolis in Olovci.

Location

The site with stećci is located on a fenced plot which covers an area of 24.5 x 14 meters. The southern, northern and eastern boundaries of the protected area are defined by a macadam road.

State of the location

The condition of the site is not satisfactory. There is no construction in the immediate vicinity. The stećci are in a relatively good condition, with the exception of one gabled roof tombstone decorated with spirals, which has been damaged, and its fragment lies 5 meters away to the east, next to the neighbouring stećak. Although three stećci are leaning and two are slightly sunken, there has been no intensive movement and their present state largely reflects the state of the necropolis at the time of creation. The stećci are, to a greater or lesser extent, covered by plant organisms (moss and lichen), some of which negatively affect the stone structure. In 2011 the entire site underwent geodetic survey supported with photographs of individual stećci thus enabling for implementation of a monitoring process.

FAQ

Facilities for visitors and infrastructure

In all the relevant plans adopted in the region of the Municipality of Kladanj (regulatory plans) and the region as well as in currently developed planning documents and strategic plans, it is recorded as cultural and historic heritage and measures for its protection as such are foreseen. Since the necropolis is not located in a populated area, there is no impact of urbanization. Some 300 meters away from it there is a mountain lodge. In the closer area there are no inhabitants. The site gravitates towards three local communities – Stupari, Tarevo and Tuholj. In the 2012 Budget of the Municipality of Kladanj there are no funds allocated for investment in the site with stećci, and in the next period, given that planning for the next year is currently in the preparatory phase, in case a justified project applied for financial resources earmarked for this purpose, it would be possible to include them in the budget.

Access to the site is possible via road communications from several parts of the Municipality area; these communications are partly tarmac and gravel roads, and partly forest tracks. The access to the site is possible on foot and by motor vehicle. Reconstruction and maintenance of these communications in the wintertime (snow removal –successively as required) would make it possible for organised groups of visitors e.g. excursions (students, hikers, etc.) to be transported to the site by minibuses, since there is a mountain lodge in the vicinity. In the immediate vicinity of the site there is a capped well of fresh water which needs to be regulated and made accessible so that visitors could use it.

The site is marked, but it needs regular maintenance in terms of keeping it accessible for the visitors. Catering, tourist or any other types of offer currently do not exist, though it would be possible to provide those in the form of one-day tours during the period of increased interest of visitors (summer and winter time) organised by interested local residents, associations or catering/tourist and trade businesses. In addition to the existing Study on cultural, historical and natural heritage of the Municipality of Kladanj, prepared by the Municipality of Kladanj, in which the site of the necropolis with stećci was included as medieval tombstone, it would be very useful, in terms of promotion of the site, to make a brochure or a video clip about the site and post it on the web site of the Municipality. The site has no employees. There are no registered organisations dealing exclusively with cultural tourism in the Municipality, except for the tourist agency „Integral“ which is the only one of the kind registered in the Municipality of Kladanj. All registered catering facilities are also tourist ones and as such they either independently or collectively take part in cultural events, sporting events and activities organised in this Municipality, which normally include associations such as the Association of Businessmen or the Association of Caterers and Traders or numerous sport associations and clubs, either individually or within the Sports Association. A part of the job relating to the promotion of culture and tourism is carried out by the Public Institution „Karaula“ d.o.o., public company for tourism, production and services Kladanj and the Public Institution „IKC“ – Information and Culture Centre Kladanj. The promotion of our culture and customs is also performed by registered Civic Associations-CA (Udruge građana –UG): CA „Harmonija“ Kladanj, CA „Sunce na dlanu“ Kladanj, Bosniak Cultural Association (Bošnjačka zajednica kulture) „Preporod“ Kladanj, Cultural Artistic Association (KUD) „Gostelja“ Stupari, Agency for cultural development „Back Stage“ Kladanj, which involve numerous cultural workers, teaching professionals and the youngest residents – elementary and secondary school students. The requested statistical data are not available. The Municipality of Kladanj is one of the less developed municipalities in this canton with a relatively small budget, where resources are allocated to the beneficiaries based on legitimate requests and projects including culture and tourism.