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Decoration and Artistic Significance



Vladna’s stećak is distinguished by its rich and complex decoration, which sets it apart from many simpler monuments at the site. Its surfaces are structured with architectural elements, including three arcades supported by twisted columns, framing figurative scenes.
Among the most prominent motifs is a hunting scene, where two mounted figures pursue an animal, most likely a deer, symbolising strength, status, and possibly the passage between worlds. The monument also features anthropomorphic lilies, a characteristic decorative element associated with a specific group of workshops active in the region. A smaller kolo scene is also present, composed of three figures, two of which appear to be female, engaged in a symbolic interaction involving a cross. Together with zig-zag and rope-like borders, these elements form a layered visual program. Due to its stylistic features, the stećak is attributed to the workshop of the master craftsman Jurina, one of the most prominent known stone carvers of the period.






















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From Stone to Monument



As you move across the necropolis, the surrounding landscape helps explain how these monuments were made. The stećci were carved from local limestone, most likely extracted from quarries in the nearby hills. Their proximity to the site was essential, as transporting large stone blocks over long distances would have been extremely difficult. After extraction, the stone was roughly shaped before being brought to the burial ground, where final carving and decoration were often completed. This means that the place where you stand was not only a cemetery, but also a working space where monuments were finished and set in position. The visible variety in size and surface treatment reflects different stages of craftsmanship, skill, and the resources available to those who commissioned them.










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Hunting Scene



On this side of the stećak, a carved hunting scene can still be discerned, although time and weathering have softened many of its details. The composition shows mounted figures pursuing an animal, most likely a deer, a motif commonly found on stećci of the 15th century.
Despite its worn surface, the scene retains its dynamic character, suggesting movement and action. Such hunting motifs are closely associated with skilled workshops active in this region, including that of the master craftsman Jurina. Beyond decoration, they reflect aspects of identity and status, linking the deceased to a world of strength, mobility, and social distinction, while also forming part of a shared visual tradition across the wider landscape.



























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Inscription and Personal Identity



The inscription on Vladna’s stećak provides valuable insight into her identity and social context. It describes her as a “dobra žena” (a good woman), a phrase that reflects both moral character and social recognition. The text further states that she was buried “polag’ svoega suenia,” meaning beside her husband, Jerko Kustražić, confirming their close funerary association. The inscription also records that the monument was erected “z bratiom,” indicating that it was commissioned or set up with the support of her family, likely her brothers or close kin. Such references are significant, as they offer a rare glimpse into familial structures and commemorative practices of the time. Based on stylistic and comparative analysis, Vladna’s stećak is dated to around 1455–1460, slightly later than her husband’s, suggesting that she survived him and was subsequently buried at his side.



















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Movement Through the Landscape



The modern road that crosses the necropolis highlights a much older challenge: moving these massive stones across the landscape. Stećci were transported using wooden rollers, sled-like supports, and the combined effort of people and animals. Even relatively short distances required careful coordination and considerable labour. The slightly uneven terrain you see today would have shaped these movements, guiding the paths along which the stones were dragged or rolled into place. In some cases, traces of this process survive in local memory and even in place names that refer to movement and transport. Standing here, where the site is divided, it becomes easier to imagine the physical effort required to bring each monument from quarry to grave, long before modern infrastructure existed.













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Social and Cultural Context of Stećci



Stećci emerged during the feudal period, reaching their peak in the 14th and 15th centuries, when they were primarily commissioned by wealthier members of society. Their size, craftsmanship, and decoration reflect social status, as only more affluent individuals could afford such monumental stone markers. In contrast, poorer burials were often unmarked or physically separated from these more prominent graves. The term “stećak” itself was introduced only in the 19th century. In the medieval period, these monuments were known by names such as bilig, kamen, kuća, or “eternal home,” reflecting their symbolic role. While often associated with Bosnia and Herzegovina, stećci are part of a broader regional heritage. Earlier theories linking them exclusively to the Bogomils have been largely dismissed, as their distribution does not correspond to known areas of Bogomil presence. Their decoration ranges from simple symbols to more complex relief scenes, with inscriptions appearing only on a limited number of examples.







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Stećci: Form, Distribution, and Meaning



Stećci are monumental stone tombstones produced during the Middle Ages, from the second half of the 12th century, reaching their peak in the 14th and 15th centuries, and gradually disappearing by the 16th century with the Ottoman expansion. Today, more than 70,000 stećci are known, though their total number continues to grow with ongoing research. They are distributed across southeastern Europe, primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and western Serbia. These monuments were used by members of different Christian communities, including Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and followers of the Bosnian Church. Stećci appear in various forms, such as slabs, chests, saddle-roofed types, pillars, and crosses. They are typically arranged in groups, sometimes numbering over a hundred, often located near historic routes, churches, or older burial sites. A single stećak may mark the burial of multiple individuals, reflecting their role within a shared funerary landscape.




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Symbolic Scenes -Community and the Individual



The iconography of stećci often combines scenes of collective life and individual action, as seen in the motifs of dance and hunting. The kolo, a circular chain dance, represents community, continuity, and shared identity. Figures are typically shown linked together, sometimes holding symbolic objects such as flowers or crosses, suggesting both social cohesion and spiritual meaning, including the idea of eternal life. In contrast, hunting scenes introduce movement, hierarchy, and worldly experience. Mounted hunters pursuing animals—often deer—symbolise strength, status, and skill, but may also carry deeper meanings related to the journey of the soul or the struggle between life and death. Together, these motifs create a balanced visual language: the kolo expresses unity and transcendence, while the hunt reflects action and individual presence, forming a complex representation of medieval belief and identity.

























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The Monument of Vladna and Its Context



This stećak marks the burial of Vladna Kustražić, a woman from the 15th century whose grave forms part of the medieval necropolis at Crljivica near Cista Velika. Carved as a saddle-roofed stone monument from a single block of limestone, it belongs to a developed phase of stećak production in the Dalmatian hinterland. Measuring approximately 132 × 74 × 110 cm, it stands among the more prominent examples at the site. Unlike many stećci that remain anonymous, this monument preserves a partially legible inscription, making it one of the relatively rare examples where the identity of the deceased is known. The stećak was originally positioned beside that of Vladna’s husband, Jerko Kustražić; his monument was later removed and is now displayed in front of the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split.This spatial relationship reflects the importance of family and shared burial practices in the medieval community that used this cemetery.
















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Cista Velika
Split, Croatia


The Crljivica site, declared by UNESCO as the largest and most important group of stećci in Croatia, represents a complex archaeological site with traces of life from prehistoric times to the late Middle Ages. It is located near the town of Cista Provo, not far from Split.


The site consists of three main units: Mala gomila (Mala Crljivica), Velika gomila (Velika Crljivica), and a sinkhole with wells. The most significant part is the medieval cemetery with stećci from the 14th and 15th centuries, located on Velika and Mala gomila.


To date, about ninety stećci of various types have been preserved, including slabs, chests, and ridge-shaped tombstones, among which 16 sarcophagi stand out. The stećci are decorated with typical ornaments, such as crosses, lilies, scenes of hunting and dancing, plant motifs, crescents, and stars. Two stećci have partially preserved inscriptions in Bosnian Cyrillic with the names Jerko and Vladna Kustražić, one of which is now kept in the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split.


The site is located along a modern main road that follows the route of the ancient Tilurium-Narona road. Velika Crljivica represents the largest group of stećci in Dalmatia, while Mala Crljivica has a smaller number of decorated ridge-shaped tombstones and chests. Although they are about 300 meters apart, these two mounds form a unique late medieval cemetery.


Throughout history, the site has suffered damage, especially during road widening, when stećci were moved from their original locations. However, the biggest problem is the exposure of stećci to atmospheric influences.


South of Velika Crljivica, there is a sinkhole with seven medieval wells, which were used as sources of drinking water until the second half of the 20th century. The entire Crljivica complex developed along water sources and an important road, the former Roman road Salona (Solin) – Tilurium (Trilj) – Narona (Vid).


The wells in the sinkhole were renovated in 1990, and stećci with decorations and an inscription from 1779 were built into their walls. It is assumed that the wells existed in Roman times, and the natural puddle probably served prehistoric inhabitants as well.


The Crljivica site, located in the Split-Dalmatia County, has a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters. Summer temperatures exceed 30°C, and winter temperatures often drop below 0°C. Most precipitation occurs in winter, while summers are dry. The alternation of dry and wet periods, as well as winds, affect the condition of the stećci. Erosion and temperature changes can damage the stone, and exposure to atmospheric influences is the main problem.
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