Vitko's stećak, medieval tomb stone, was the most beautiful and most ornately decorated stećak of the Barevište necropolis, located in the vicinity of Široki Brijeg (Mokro). Stećak in the shape of a ridge, with pedestal, bearing the inscription „a se leži vitko na svomь plemenitomь“ (here lies Vitko on his noble), is nowadays located in front of the National Museum of BiH in Sarajevo where it was taken to in the 1960s.
Vitko's stećak in the shape of a ridge, with an ornamental three-leafed vine woven around it, dates to the 14th or 15th century. The stećak bears the inscription written in Bosnian Cyrillic script or Bosančica and three figural ornaments: a male figure, circular dance (kolo) and deer hunt. This is the first mention of a name in the area of Široki Brijeg, and the name Vitko itself testifies to the Slavic naming heritage. The inscription was written in the vernacular with influences of the Church-Slavonic language, and it carries a strong message of the medieval man.
The scene of a deer hunt depicts a hunter on a horse, followed by dogs, killing a deer with his spear. The second scene is a kolo with two men and two women in long robes holding their arms on each-other's shoulders. The male figure on the side panel of the stećak is depicted with the right arm akimbo and the left arm raised.
A replica of Vitko's stećak was placed in the front yard of a school in Mokro in 2020.
(Željka Šaravanja)
