Dear readers,

This is a special issue of e-ZBORNIK - Electronic collection of papers of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, containing selected papers from the 4th Symposium "Herzegovina - the Country of Stone". The symposium was held in May 2023 at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy, University of Mostar, as part of the celebration of 45 years of existence of the faculty.

This issue, like the previous ones, is published in Croatian and English. e-ZBORNIK can be found in the journal databases EBSCO, Hrčak (https://hrcak.srce.hr/e-zbornik), DOI (CrossRef) and DOAJ (The Directory of Open Access Journals), and activities for its inclusion in other databases are in progress. Publishing rights, as well as those related to independent storage of texts, apply as described on the network of the Sherpa organization (RoMEO service), which is maintained at the University of Nottingham.

In bibliographic terms, the journal is identified by the following data: ISSN 2232-9080 (online edition) and DOI: 10.47960/2232-9080.

As the editor, I would like to thank members of the editorial board, authors and reviewers for the successful cooperation during the realization of this special issue of e-ZBORNIK and I hope that the cooperation will continue in the future.

This issue brings out scientific and professional papers dealing with topics from different areas related to: analysis of the stone industry through history, in the present, as well as perspectives of the stone industry in the future; legal regulations in the field of stone studies; stone research; cultural and historical heritage in stone, as well as the environmental impact of stone (quarries).

Yours faithfully,

Mirna Raič, Editor-in-Chief of e-ZBORNIK