WP3

Establishing the epigraphy and epiconography of stećci: Only around 6000 stećci have engraved decorations, and barely 384 (∼0.5%) from over 72,000 tombstones bear carved inscriptions in either extinct Bosnian Cyrillic or Glagolitic writings. Although epitaphs on stećci have been analysed for their palaeographic elements and orthography , a systematic epigraphic study of these inscriptions does not exist. The minimal advancement on the subject since Vego’s work includes attempts by historians to identify individuals in the archival documents. However, this material offers more than a confirmation of an individuals’ existence. They are a valuable illustration of people's social and economic standing and political and religious positions, especially when paired with scientific and molecular data from the interment. Simultaneously, the carved inscriptions display the relationship to the land, environment, level of literacy, craftsmanship, and, although the Balkans are now considered a marginal part of Europe, stećci do exhibit the region’s material, ideological and religious belonging to the European medieval cultural environment. Regional variations in the ornamentation, quality of craftsmanship and epigraphic analyses can expose the longevity of traditions and reveal local economic and political connections.

The formation of a new discipline, the medieval, non-Latin epigraphy of the W Balkans, will base on inscriptions from 180-200 stećci from Hum. After documenting the inscriptions, they will be analysed per their technical elements (style, graphemes, position) and content, and the lettering systematically standardised as per different scripts. STONE will investigate the relationship between the engraved text and the features that convey its meaning: is the text written in a spoken word, recitation, or code? Is it a copy of some other text? The linguistic analyses will clarify the chronology of the various forms of scripts. With the fundamental epigraphic elements established, we will focus on the relationship between the writings and decorations. Epiconography considers text as a part of an image and vice-versa because inscriptions convey meaning not just by their contents but also by other means, like a choice of script, location, scale, spatial organisation, letterform, legibility, and clarity. This conceptually quite different approach to inscriptions and decorations separate images and words, and materials and techniques. Literacy is vital to the relationship between the reader and the text. The less one can read, the greater the shift from reading to viewing, and the more the writing becomes a visual symbol rather than a means of verbal communication. Throughout medieval times, inscriptions became disguised as an ornament, and the ornament was viewed as an inscription. STONE will examine the techniques and materials employed, the placement of engravings relative to light sources, access to the monument, the style and design of the text and images, who the intended audience was, and how it may have been perceived in its own time.