IN THE LAND OF THE BOIIA. 200 



pillars of the Moslem. Another red herring 

 drawn across the scene of the inquirer is the 

 answer the peasant always gives to inquiries about 

 these graves. They are " Greko greblje" (Greek 

 graves).* Yet, as will be seen, no answer could 

 be more erroneous. The strange part of the 

 matter is that their history does not fall in so 

 remote a period as their oblivion would suggest. 

 Besides, some of their customs, e.g. the dance of 

 death, so often represented on their tombs, are 

 cited in the popular ballads, as I have said, the 

 only history of the Herzegovina. In at least one 

 instance they are superimposed on tumuli, as if 

 still further to confound the issue. This, however, 

 is quite accidental, the tumulus in all probability 

 being of the Bronze Age. Some of the Herzego- 

 vinian tumuli are of later date, having been found 

 to contain glass objects, but all are far anterior to 

 the tombs of which I am writing. 



That there are plenty of them to study must 

 be conceded, their number having been calculated 

 at 140,000, while thousands more have been 

 destroyed for road-making and other works in 

 the last twenty years. Of these large numbers, 

 however, the greater quantity are found collected 

 in extensive cemeteries, on or near the old caravan 

 route from the Adriatic to Nis and Constantinople. 



* In one district the answer is that they aro LutheransJce 

 greblje, which conies a good deal nearer the mark. 



P 



