U odnosu na period od XIII do XVI vijeka u koji se mogu datovati stećci u groblju Crkve Sv. Petra i Pavla, ovo kulturno dobro nesumnjivo ispunjava kriterijum starosti i kao takvo kulturno je dobro od nacionalnog značaja jer se radi o ostatku jedne od najvećih nekropola stećaka na prostoru Crne Gore.
Akropole stećaka povezane su sa razvojem bogumilstva kao vjerskog pokreta. Pojam stećak prvobitno je bio vezan za kamene uspravne spomenike, a kasnije su tako nazvani i nadgrobni stari spomenici u obliku velikih kamenih ploča. U narodu se ovi spomenici najčešće zovu stećci ili mramorovi. Različitog su oblika, a najčešće su u obliku ploče, sanduka, kuće na dvije vode, stuba i krsta. Najbrojniji oblik su ploče.
Na osnovu podataka D. Sergejevskog u šestoj deceniji XX vijeka nekropola stećaka u porti Crkve Sv. Petra i Pavla imala je 396 stećaka. Kasnije Šefik Bešlagić u sedmoj deceniji XX vijeka, navodi da se u okviru groblja Crkve Sv. Petra i Pavla nalazi 125 stećaka. Nakon tog perioda premješteni su izvan ograde ovog groblja. Tom prilikom smješteni su oko Zavičajnog muzeja Nikšić, tj. dvorca Kralja Nikole i podno Saborne crkve Sv. Vasilija Ostroškog.
Stećci koji su bili na prostoru oko dvorca Kralja Nikole i ispod zidova Saborne crkve Sv.Vasilija Ostroškog su 2014. izmješteni u novoizgrađeni lapidarijum u blizini dvorca.
Prema nekim ranijim istraživanjima, na teritoriji opštine Nikšić nalazi se više od 1.300 stećaka, a najljepši primjerci su kod Crkve Sv. Petra i Pavla, na Moštanici, prostoru prema Grahovu, Šipačnom, Velimlju i u Župi.
Medieval tombstones - Lapidarium
Medieval tombstones (stećci), located at the Church of St. Peter and Paul, as well as those displaced in the lapidarium behind the Heritage Museum, are a valuable source of data on the medieval Onogost and the ethnic communities in this area, which gives this cultural property archaeological, artistic, historical, ethnological and sociological characteristics.
In relation to the period from the 13th to the 16th century, to which tombstones in the cemetery of the Church of St. Peter and Paul can be dated, this cultural property undoubtedly meets the criteria of the age and as such it is of national importance because it is the remnant of one of the largest necropolis in the Montenegro.
Acropolises of the tombstones are associated with the development of Bogumilism as a religious movement. The term stećak was originally related to erect stone monuments and later to old tumbstones in the form of large stone slabs, as well. These monuments are usually called stećci or memorials by the people. They have different shapes and are usually in the form of a slab, a box, a gabled roof house, a column and of a cross. The most frequent shape is that of a slab.
Based on the data of D Sergejevski, in the sixth decade of the 20th century, tombstone necropolis in the churchyard of St. Peter and Paul contained 396 tombstones. Later, Sefik Beslagic says that, in the seventh decade of the 20th century, there were 125 tombstones in the church graveyard. After this period the tombstones were dislocated nearby, outside the fences of the cemetery. On that occasion, the tombstones were located around the Homeland Museum of Niksic, actually the Palace of King Nikola, and at the foot of the Cathedral Church of St. Basil of Ostrog.
Tombstones in the area around the Palace of King Nikola and below the walls of the Cathedral Church of St. Basil were relocated in 2014 in the newly built lapidarium by the Palace.
According to some previous studies, there are more than 1,300 tombstones in Niksic municipality with the best specimens near the Church of St. Peter and Paul, and in the area of Grahovo, Sipacno, Velimlje and Zupa.
