MEDIEVAL NECROPOLIS OF POTKUK

This site (Nekropola sa Stećcima Potkuk/Некропола са Стећцима Поткук) is among the twenty-two medieval necropolises in the country listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2016. It is located in the Bosnian Serb Republic, in the municipality of Berkovići (about 2,000 inhabitants, 92% Bosnian-Serbs), which was part of the municipality of Stolac before the last war. The necropolis itself comprises four different cemeteries housing 243 stećci. Two hundred of these are located immediately beside the road, near a recent Orthodox chapel. Among these are 45 gravestones decorated with bas-reliefs or engravings depicting deer and hunting scenes. One of them is particularly neat with seven birds inscribed in medallions, a woman holding four figures on a leash, a large man carrying a sword, a multitude of small female figures, a deer hunting scene or, again, a frieze made of lozenges. Note that the white limestone used by the master sculptors for most of the stećci in the area comes from the surrounding mountains. To reach the necropolis, follow the R427 in the direction of Berkovići and Bileća. At the entrance to the village of Berkovići, turn left just before the gas station to take the small road going northwest towards the hamlet of Ljuti Do/Љути До. The necropolis is on the side of the road on the right.