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Markeli was a key medieval fortress on the Byzantine-Bulgarian frontier, located near modern-day Karnobat in southeastern Bulgaria. Built in Late Antiquity, likely during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, it became strategically important in the 7th century as Bulgaria expanded south of the Balkan Mountains.
Markeli frequently changed hands, serving as a launch point for military campaigns. Major battles occurred here in 756 and 792, with the latter ending in a decisive Bulgarian victory. In 811, Emperor Nikephoros I began his fatal campaign from Markeli, and by 1089 it was still in use during conflicts with the Pechenegs and Cumans. The fortress, manned until the 12th century, featured massive stone-and-brick walls, a basilica, water tower, ancient bridge, and underground passage. Archaeological finds also show the area was inhabited since prehistoric times.
References:Radimlja is a stećak (monumental medieval tombstones, that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina) necropolis located near Stolac. The necropolis is one of the most valuable monuments of the mediaeval period in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The majority of its stećak tombstones date from the 1480s through the 16th century, as evidenced by the epitaph on one of the tombstones. This was the period when the family Miloradović-Stjepanović from genus Hrabren lived in the settlement located on near hill Ošanići. At the time the location was known as Batnoge, and the creation of the necropolis coincides with the rise of this noble family.
The necropolis includes 133 stećci. When the Čapljina-Stolac road was built during the Austro-Hungarian period in 1882, it ran through the necropolis and destroyed at least 15-20 tombstones.