There is a lot of beautiful tombstones ( Stelas ), indeed artworks, in Šiprag's graveyard in the village Polje, near the town of Derventa – Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some of them are destroyed, thanks to the influence of time and weather. Human contribution in the destruction of these can’t be ignored as well. That’s why I've decided to record and publish these graveyard tombstones on this CD, so that public and experts in history, archeology, anthropology, conservationist and restorators, could get an insight in this specific traditional treasure. This CD contains photographs of 172 tombstones (Stelas), as they are now, and we must note that many of these tombstones are exploited for building some of charnel houses in this graveyard.
This CD also contains photographs of St. Peter and Paul church, graveyard ambience, and photos of some of the oldest tombstones there.
Although I've seen tombstones (Stelas) like this all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, these have a specific look and feel. Every one of them, with its usually cross-like symbols, is distinctly unique. They are all different.
Since a long time ago, there was an Orthodox church in village Polje, built out of wood, and the actual church was built in 1936. There is no way of knowing when that wooden church was built, nor when was the first burial here, in this graveyard. But we know that the name of the man was Šiprag. That is how this graveyard got it’s name - Šiprag's graveyard.
We think that the tombstones pictured on this CD have a huge historical, archeological, anthropological and cultural importance.
