Stećak

Stećak ([stetɕak]; plural: Stećci [stetɕtsi]) is the name for monumental medieval tombstones that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the border parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, although almost exclusively following the borders of the medieval Bosnian Kingdom. An estimated 60,000 are found within the borders of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest of 10,000 are found in what are today Croatia (5,000), Serbia (2,000), and Montenegro (3,000). Appearing in the 11th century, the tombstones reached their peak in the 14th and 15th century, before disappearing during the Ottoman occupation. They were a common tradition amongst Bosnian Church, Catholic and Orthodox followers. The epitaphs on them are written in Bosnian Cyrillic alphabet (""Bosančica"" [bosaŋtʃitsa]) and the alphabets belonging to the Bosnian church and medieval Kingdom of Bosnia. The largest collection of these tombstones is named Radimlja, after a local river, and is located 3 km west of Stolac in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Stećci have been nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List as Joint Cultural Heritage by the four countries in 2009.