Today, in the large amphitheater of ANUBiH, the promotion of the monograph “Me, a Native Son” about Vejsil Ćurčić — a pioneer of archaeology in Bosnia and Herzegovina — was held. The monograph was written by the esteemed Prof. Dr. Adnan Kaljanac, professor of archaeology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo.
The book was published by ANUBiH, and the entire event — including the promotion, exhibition, and opening of the Vejsil Ćurčić Memorial Room — is jointly organized by ANUBiH, the Faculty of Philosophy, and the Museum of Sarajevo.
At the Museum of Sarajevo, Brusa Bezistan, on Friday, April 3, 2026, at 2 p.m., the opening of the exhibition and the Memorial Room dedicated to this great figure of our history will take place.
THE FORGOTTEN PIONEER OF BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: Vejsil Ćurčić returns to the focus of the scientific public
“Vejsil Ćurčić is the first Sarajevan, Bosnian, and Herzegovinian to have completed studies in archaeology in Vienna and obtained the title of archaeologist. In addition, he was the first to introduce photographic documentation into archaeological science in our country, thereby laying the foundations of modern research methodology, and he was also the first to write a monograph on stećci. Unfortunately, he was unjustly overshadowed by other, less significant researchers for decades,” emphasized the author, Prof. Dr. Adnan Kaljanac, at today’s promotion of the monograph “Me, a Native Son – Vejsil Ćurčić, the First Bosnian-Herzegovinian Archaeologist.”
The promotion of the monograph was organized by the Center for Balkanological Studies of ANUBiH, the University of Sarajevo – Faculty of Philosophy, and the Museum of Sarajevo, with the presence of a large number of pupils, students, and distinguished representatives of the academic and scientific community.
The promotion was opened by academician Muris Čičić, President of ANUBiH, who stated that “the monograph represents the third and final book of the trilogy by author Adnan Kaljanac, and this work is unique in the history of our science in terms of its scope and documentation.”
The moderator of the promotion, corresponding member of the Academy Blagoje Govedarica, Director of the Center for Balkanological Studies of ANUBiH, pointed out that “this work not only contributes to our academic community but also pushes the boundaries in understanding the origins and development of archaeological science in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
Despite all the mentioned contributions, Ćurčić’s name has remained marginalized in scientific literature, as emphasized several times by the promoters of the monograph, Prof. Dr. Amra Šačić Beća and Prof. Dr. Adnan Busuladžić.
The promotion was also attended by Vejsil Ćurčić’s grandson, Danimir Darko Ćurčić, who recalled that, as a boy, he used to walk with his grandfather through the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also noted that he first shared the story about his grandfather with journalist Edina Kamenica, thanks to whom the wider public became acquainted with his grandfather’s significance and work. He also recalled the title of that article, which read: “Always Second, Never First.”
