Students of the Conservation and restoration study program conduct field research on stećci in Žabljak




Univerzitet Crne Gore
Univerzitet Crne Gore
Univerzitet Crne Gore
Univerzitet Crne Gore
Univerzitet Crne Gore

As part of a broader international project focused on the preservation of stećci (medieval tombstones) in the era of climate change, titled Stone Monument Ensembles and the Climate Change Impact – STECCI, final-year undergraduate and first-year masters students of the Conservation and Restoration Study Program at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cetinje, participated in field research on April 24, 2025. This activity was carried out within the course Methodology of Research and Conservation Treatment of Metal, Stone, Ceramics, and Glass, under the mentorship of guest professors from the Academy of Arts in Split, Assistant Professor Miona Miliša and Assistant Professor Siniša Bizjak.

The field activities, aimed at assessing the condition and analyzing protective measures for stećci at the site of Žugića Bare near Žabljak in Montenegro—where a necropolis of more than 300 stećci from the 14th and 15th centuries is located at an altitude of 1,416 meters—were conducted by a project team of researchers from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna (UAA), Austria – Katharina Fuchs, Marija Milchin, and Farkas Pinter; the Academy of Arts at the University of Split – Siniša Bizjak, Miona Miliša, and Josip Grgić; Migueli Chedrewih from the Institut Mines-Telecom (IMT), France; and Abdelrhman Fahmy from the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK), Berlin.

During the research, standardized methods were applied, including detailed visual assessments of surface damage, moisture levels in stone, comprehensive mapping of degradation samples, color and gloss measurements (Colour Gloss Management), Karsten tube and contact sponge tests for water absorption, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) testing for crack detection, brush-off tests, and photography using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI). These methods aimed to establish comparative indicators of the deterioration of stećci under varying climatic conditions.

It is important to note that this field research was part of a multi-day expedition within the framework of the comprehensive multidisciplinary project STECCI, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe program. The project brings together an interdisciplinary consortium of institutions led by the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Sarajevo, in cooperation with partners: Heritage Malta (Malta), University of Donja Gorica, Podgorica (Montenegro), University of Applied Arts Vienna (Austria), Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (Germany), Centre for Social Innovation GmbH Vienna (Austria), University of Split – Academy of Arts (Croatia), Faculty of Sciences at the University of Novi Sad (Serbia), and Institut Mines-Telecom (France).

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