Byllis and the end of the Roman Empire
When I think of spring, one of the first images that comes to mind in the depth of winter is the carpet of flowers at Byllis, high above the Vjosa valley. This is, in all but name, arcadia. No crowds.…
Albania
A Byzantine coin-balance
At first glance, it looks like an ornate coffee spoon… What is it? This curious object, which looks at first glance like a large, ornate, cruciform coffee spoon, is in fact rather an elegant counterpoised coin balance. Suspended on a…
Saving Saranda
Strictly speaking Saranda cannot be saved. When I first came here in September 1993, a year after Albania became a democracy, it was a blissful Ionian seaport. Many of its citizens had left for Greece, so it felt empty, yet…
In the footsteps of N G L Hammond
On a cold March day in 1995, fortune blessed me. I had written to the ancient historian N G L Hammond to see if he might meet me. He was 87, so it was a long shot. Not only did…
Seeing beneath the surface: Unravelling prehistoric submerged settlements in the Balkans
For two centuries, European scholars have explored prehistoric settlements preserved in Alpine lakes and bogs. The discovery of ancient pile-dwelling sites in the Mediterranean region of southern Europe makes it evident that this phenomenon did not stop at the Alps. Albert Hafner reveals the intriguing findings emerging from ongoing investigations in Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia.
Being ‘a Greek spy’ back at Butrint
I was in Greece, rolling off a ferry at Kyllini, about to visit its mighty castle, when I received the text message accusing me of being a Greek spy. Almost at once, I got an avalanche of emails from angry…
Ancient stilt village in Albania
Archaeologists have found what may be Europe’s oldest pile-dwelling site, dating to almost 8,000 years ago, preserved by the waters of Lake Ohrid, which straddles the border between Albania and North Macedonia. The discovery comes as part of the EXPLO…
Grama Bay: where the Ionian blue begins
Richard Hodges has been following in the wake of generations of mariners by investigating the extraordinary concentration of inscriptions carved into the rock of Grama Bay, Albania.
Corpus of the Mosaics of Albania Volume 1: Butrint intramuros
Review by Oliver J Gilkes Everybody likes mosaic pavements; they are ancient artefacts that entrance and beguile the visitor at Greek and Roman sites. No matter that floor mosaics (the majority of survivals) were little more than rugs and mats,…
This week: Butrint
With sea levels predicted to rise by as much as +2.0m by 2100, a recent UN study found many of the Mediterranean's greatest archaeological sites to be at serious risk of damage or loss. This week on The Past, we look in detail at how one site – the magical Graeco-Roman city of Butrint in Albania – is planning to confront the challenges posed by our fast-changing environment.
Confronting Climate Change at Butrint
A new report spells out the risks that rising sea levels pose to some of the world’s greatest archaeological sites. Richard Hodges and David Prince consider the situation at Butrint.
Butrint’s slave manumissions: shedding new light on the UNESCO World Heritage city
During 2020, 'squeezes' – copies – made in the 1930s of Butrint’s exceptional inscriptions from the Sanctuary of Asclepius were rediscovered by chance. Enrico Giorgi shares the story of these texts and their facsimiles.
Albania: the visit of the World Bank President
Let me go back over a quarter-century to Albania on a blissful autumn day in 1995 when, like a Martian, the President of the World Bank descended upon us.
Albania and the Death of Pan
Devil or pastoral sprite and mischief-maker, Pan’s presence in the form of the lost sanctuary on Mount Mile lends a new dimension to the god’s story
A sense of place
Using the unlikely site of Butrint in Albania as a prime example, Richard Hodges explains how the work of archaeologists defines them as placemakers
Antigonea: exploring an Illyrian city in Albania
Sarah Lindsell journeys across the Albanian hills to the 3rd-century BC Greek city of King Pyrrhus.
Butrint: finding a timeless oasis
Shortly after the end of the Cold War, exactly a decade before CWA was launched, Richard Hodges walked through the ruins at Butrint. Here, he looks back over 20 years of discovery and excavation at this ancient city that sits on the idyllic shores of the Ionian Sea.
Butrint from the air: an aerial perspective of a Classical and late antique Mediterranean city
Joint excavations between the British Butrint Foundation and the Albanian Institute of Archaeology are revealing the complex history of the ancient Adriatic port of Butrint. With funding from the Packard Humanities Institute, a well-preserved archaeological sequence, and a team of…