three years of albanian-polish excavations in shkodra

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ALBANIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES

Centre for Albanian StudiesInstitute of Archaeology

Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS

OF ALBANIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES

65th Anniversary of Albanian Archaeology (21-22 November, Tirana 2013)

Botimet Albanologjike

Tiranë 2014

Copyright © 2014 by Centre for Albanian Studies and Institute of Archaeology.

All rights reserved. No parts of this volume may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the

Albanian Institute of Archaeology.

ISBN: 978-9928-141-28-6

editorial board:

english translation and editing: Nevila Molla

Art design: Gjergji Islami and Ana Pekmezi

Proceedings of the internAtionAl congress of AlbAniAn ArchAeologicAl studies

65th Anniversary of Albanian Archaeology (21-22 November, Tirana 2013)

Professor Luan Përzhita (Director of Institute of Archaeology),

Professor Ilir GjiPali (Head of Department of Prehistory),

Professor Gëzim hoxha

(Department of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages),

Associate Professor Belisa Muka (Head of Department of Antiquity)

contents

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Opening Speech

Obligation to Archaeology is Obligation to our Civilisation

Ardian Marashi, Director of Centre for Albanian Studies

Lindita Nikolla, Minister of Education and Sports

Opening SpeechZef Çuni, Deputy Minister of Culture

Muzafer Korkuti, President of the Academy of Sciences

Sandro De Maria, Professor, University of Bologna, Italy

Jean-Luc Lamboley, Professor, University of Lyon II, France

Jürgen Richter, University of Cologne, Germany

Luan Përzhita, Director of the Institute of Archaeology

Gëzim Hoxha, Scientific Member of the ILIRIA Journal Editorial Board

Greeting Speech

Discorso Inaugurale

Discour Inaugural

Greeting Speech

Archaeological Research in the New Millennium

Iliria Journal – A reflection of Albanian Archaeological Thought

Ilir Gjipali, Head of Department of PrehistoryRecent Archaeological Discoveries in One Publication (1998-2013)

Prehistory

Antiquity

Stone Age investigations in Albania (1998-2013)

The Early Prehistory of Albania: first results of the “German-Albanian Palaeolithic” (GAP) Programme

Les recherches franco-albanaises dans la région de Korçë : nouvelles données sur la chronologie absolue de la préhistoire albanaise

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11.

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Ilir Gjipali

Jürgen Richter, Ilir Gjipali, Thomas Hauck, Rudenc Ruka, Oliver Vogels and Elvana Metalla

Cécile Oberweiler, Gilles Touchais, Petrika Lera

Rudenc Ruka, Ilir Gjipali, Michael L. Galaty and Novruz Bajramaj

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141

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Lithics at one end of Circum-Adriatic: case studies from the southermost Albanian coastal lowland

New Light on the Early Neolithic in Albania: the Southern Albania Neolithic Archaeological Project (SANAP) 2006-2013Susan Allen and Ilir Gjipali

Adem Bunguri

Muhamet Bela

Some aspects of the Early Bronze Age in Albania and Kosovo

Setlements and finds of the Iron Age in the region of Drin Rivers Confluence

Recent research on the Archaeological Map of KosovoKemajl Luci

The Greek-Albanian archaeological expedition at Prespa: 2009 – 2013. The most recent resultsPetrika Lera, Stavros Oikonomidis, Aris Papayiannis, Akis Tsonos, Artemios Oikonomou and Angelos Gkotsinas

Apollonia. Bilan des operations 2009-2012Jean-Luc Lamboley, Faik Drini,

L'agorà di Phoinike e le ricerche recenti nella città anticaSandro De Maria, Shpresa Gjongecaj

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14.

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Dimal: new results of the Albanian-German research project

Nouvelles données archéologiques du site d’Orikos. Le projet Albano-Suisse

Belisa Muka and Michael Heinzelmann

Bashkim Lahi

Amphorologie, ein Neues Archäologisches Forschungsgebiet in Albanien: Bilanz und Perspektive

Saimir Shpuza, Jean-Paul Descoeudres

Excavations in the ancient city of Antigonea Dhimitër Çondi

Aspekte der Städtebaulichen Entwicklung Apollonias. Die Deutsch-Albanischen Forschungen 2006-2013 Manuel Fiedler

Restoration of the slope in the theatre of Apollonia (Albania) Gregor Döhner

D’Aphrodite à Artémis. Le sanctuaire de la colline de Daute à Épidamne-Dyrrhachion: recherches 2003-20012Belisa Muka, Arthur Muller, Fatos Tartari, Marion Dufeu-Muller, Shpresa Gjongecaj, Stéphanie Huysecom-Haxhi, Eduard Shehi, Anne Tichit, Ilia Toçi

The formation of Butrint: new insights from excavations in the Roman Forum David Hernandez and Dhimitër Çondi

Bilan de la recherche en épigraphie grecque en Albanie Pierre Cabanes, Faik Drini

Peuples Illyriens, cités grecques, les monnaies et la guerre Olivier Picard

Albana Meta

Vasil Bereti

Altin Skënderaj

La production et la circulation monétaire en Illyrie Méridionale à partir des années 230 av. J.-C. jusqu’au milieu du Ier siècle

Data on two types of transport amphorae discovered in the city of Apollonia

Nouvelles données sur les sols mosaïqués d’Apollonia d’Illyrie

Hadrianopolis e la valle del Drino: sviluppo monumentale ed economico dall’étà ellenistica 25.

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Roberto Perna, Dhimitër Çondi367

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Three years of Albanian-Polish excavations in Shkodra Piotr Dyczek and Saimir Shpuza

Projet de collaboration topographique et archéologique franco-albanaise de Durrës/Dyrrhachium (Rapport préliminaire – Le S.I.G.)Eduard Shehi, Catherine Abadie-Reynal

Some ideas on the street network organisation at Roman Dyrrhachium Eduard Shehi

Some monumental tombs in the Hellenistic necropolis of ByllisJamarbër Buzo

Bronze vessels found in hoard contextsSabina Veseli

New archaeological evidence from Uskana, KicevoMixhait Pollozhani

Andreas Oettel

lAte Antiquity And middle Ages

Von der illyrischen Festung zum römischen oppidum. Die Transformationsprozesse der illyrischen Stadt Lissos/Lissus

The Roman villa and Early Christian complex at DiaporitWilliam Bowden and Luan Përzhita

Guntram Koch

Gëzim Hoxha

Sarcophagi of Roman Imperial times in Albania.Some general considerations and new finds

Scampis dans l’antiquite tardive: La ville intra et extra-murosElio Hobdari, Ylli Cerova

Die Transformationsprozesse in der Stadt Lissus während der Spätantike

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527

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Neritan Ceka

Luc Buchet

Elvana Metalla

Oliver Gilkes

Fitni Dalipi

The time and the place of the formation of the Albanians in the Middle Ages

Corpus des mosaïques d’AlbanieMarie-Patricia Raynaud

Epidamnos/Dyrrachium/Dyrrachion/Durrës: Le trasformazioni della città antica e medievale attra verso gli scavi e le ricerche italo-albanesiSara Santoro, Afrim Hoti

L’évolution du peuplement de l’Albanie du Nord entre la fin de l’Antiquité et le début de l’époque ottomane. Les apports de l’anthropologie

Les données céramiques sur le commerce dans la ville de Durrës pendant IXe-XVe s.

Anchiasmos (Onchesmos) in the 5th-7th centuries: city, pilgrimage, centre and port.Kosta Lako, Skënder Muçaj, Skënder Bushi, and Suela Xhyheri

Excavations over the water, 2003-2012

The function of the fortresses of Antiquity in the Lake Ochrid basin

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piotr dYcZeK and Saimir ShpUZa

The excavations in Scodra2 (Fig. 1) are an excellent example of good cooperation between Albanian and Polish scholars. Regardless of the two nations’ difficult and complex histories, the first scientific relations and friendship were established in the 1950s, sufficiently strong to survive the vicissitudes of fate. These close relations fruited in a government proposition in 2010 to start archaeological investigations in Albania. The choice of tempting sites was immense, but our eyes fell on Scodra, not merely because of its history, but also because we have been engaged in excavating the site of Rhizon, the capital of Queen Teuta, in neighbouring Montenegro The chance to excavate the capital of Genthios was thus a splendid opportunity for comparison research on the two sites. Moreover, Scodra had already been explored in the past by some of Albania’s best archaeologists:

three yeArs of AlbAniAn-Polish

eXcAvAtions in scodrA1

Fig. 1. Rosafa fortress (Photo P. Dyczek).

S. Anamali, H Spahiu, N. Ceka, B. Lahi, G. Hoxha. Their immensely important publications cleared the way for our research3.

The site is extremely difficult to assess archaeologically. It is very big and presents thick archaeological deposits from the latest, Turkish and Venetian, times, has no reference points and has suffered from the erosive action of its rivers. Planning archaeological work, not to say the actual digging, is extremely difficult4.

Our efforts are currently aimed at investigating the Hellenistic period in the history of Scodra, tracing the earliest traces of Illyrian occupation, determining site chronology and identifying the changing urban layout. Three

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seasons are not enough to answer all research questions, but are sufficient to assess site potential and to evaluate provisionally the results as well as complete preliminary studies of archaeological finds and features discovered in situ.

At this early stage in the research we have concentrated on testing of the site to trace the principal urban features, like streets, architectural districts, extent of cemeteries from different

Fig. 2. Satellite picture from Google Earth with localization of trenches excavated in 2011-2013 campaigns.

periods, layout of the fortifications. The evidence is naturally somewhat sketchy for now, hardly enough for a consistent picture of the city as a whole. Concentrated investigations of selected spots within the confines of the ancient site will follow, based on the very enticing results that we shall fill you on in this publication.

To date we have completed 17 test trenches (Fig. 2) of a total area of more than 400 m2. Some of these were inside the fortress, others in the so-called lower town. In both cases, our work has contributed new information to data deriving from previous Albanian excavations in these areas. We have traced Hellenistic layers underlying Roman and medieval deposits5.

The earliest structure that we have explored was located in trench 11 on the slope of the Rosafa citadel hill. An ellipsoidal structure of stone was raised on bedrock. It measured 1.50 x 1.10 m. The walls were constructed of broken stone bonded with earth (Fig. 3).

There are very little finds from the Hellenistic period. Some clay vessels, stoppers and amphora

Fig. 3. Grave in trench no. 11. (Photo by J. Recław).

sherds. Sections of the ancient fortifications can be seen in some places of the curtain walls built up in Venetian and Ottoman times, but their dating is only by analogy. They were surely in existence already in the 3rd century BC, but they could well have been constructed at an earlier date, as suggested by the well dated cyclopean walls of Risan. Pottery from the 3rd century BC was discovered in two trenches on the acropolis as well as in two trenches in the lower town6 (Fig. 4). There were also stoppers, stamps on amphora handles and sherds of Greek-Italic amphorae7 (Fig. 5) from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.

These finds indicate that Hellenistic occupation encompassed not only the hill itself, but also considerable areas on the Buna and Drina rivers at the foot of the hill. Moreover, the fact that Hellenistic artifacts are present in relatively small trenches can be construed as indirect proof of the extent and wealth of the ancient town. Burning and debris recorded in two trenches could stand in confirmation of the sources that speak of the destruction of Scodra in 168 BC. An analysis of

the stratigraphy in the trenches suggests that the town was not rebuilt until the beginning of the 1st century AD New buildings were raised at that time on the leveled ruins.

Three chronological horizons correspond to the Roman period traced in the trenches. These are respectively from the 1st/2nd, 3rd/4th and 4th

centuries AD. Structures from the earliest phase

Piotr dycZEK and Saimir ShPUZA

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Fig. 4. Fragments of Hellenistic pottery. (Photo by J. Recław).

(1st-beginning of the 2nd century AD), dated by numismatic evidence as well as radiocarbon dating, were uncovered in the lower town in the vicinity of the later defenses. Remains of a building with a hypocaust system in place were discovered, encompassing other characteristic remains, like thick ash and burning deposits, small bricks of the bessales type and other bricks making up once an opus spicatum brick floor. White mosaic cubes are proof of there having been a mosaic floor at least in some of the rooms. The structure may have gone up in flames because of a flaw of the central heating system. The destruction was most certainly local as there is no corresponding destruction layer from the beginning of the 2nd century AD to be seen in the other trenches. The building itself was quite luxurious. Rubble layers have yielded fragmentary stuccowork and marble wall revetment (Fig. 6). A provisional analysis suggests that marble was imported from Italy as well as Euboea, for example.

An important discovery was made in 2011 thanks to information from local conservators, who had taken note of two inscribed blocks immured in a pillar supporting a barrel vault inside a large cistern (no. 3) still holding some water. The full capacity

of the cistern was estimated at 665 cubic meters, but marks on the walls indicated that it usually held about 230 cubic meters. Research by G. Karaiskaj in 1985 dated the construction of this cistern to the Venetian period (1396-1479), that is, the time when, according to A. Ducellier, the modern fortress was built. Our architectural analysis of the cistern structure led us to believe that it had undergone refurbishment and partial rebuilding in the Ottoman period, posing the problem of when the spolia were immured in the pillar. Again, a careful examination of architectural bonding indicated that the Venetian

Fig. 5. Stamp on the Greco-italic amphora handle with the name of LVCINO (?). (Photo by J. Recław).

ThREE yEARS Of ALBANIAN-POLISh EXcAVATIONS IN ScOdRA

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Fig. 6. Fragments of stucco – early roman period. (Photo by J. Recław).

period was the most likely candidate. Hydraulic plaster a few centimetres thick coated the entire cistern on the inside, but happily not the inscription. Blocks placed one on top of the other formed a pillar with a side 60 cm long (Fig. 7). The bottom block is a fragment of a funerary stela preserving a fairly banal Latin inscription: commemorating Iulius and his wife Cordia:

P IVLIVS TRORVFVS•LA

BERIAE•M•F•CORDIAE•CONIVGI

The very rich decoration of this stela merits note: a kymation with dentils and an offering phialae and alabastron on the lateral surfaces.

The other inscribed block, fully preserved, was immured upside down. The front bears a well

preserved Latin inscription, while the two opposite sides have one a Latin and the other a Greek inscription.

They indicate that the block was reused as a tombstone, already turned upside down, perhaps deliberately to make the original Latin inscription difficult to read (Fig. 8). We learn from this inscription that the council of Scodra erected a statue for one C. Memmius Iulius.

C•C•F MEMMIOIVLIOMAIORLARIO CALCAPRIMA OPTIONIPRIMIPILARIORVM

SVB COMMENTAIENSI•COMMENTAIENSI COR

NICVLARIORI REEF•PRAETORIO PRIMIPILARI•VE•DVCINARIO

PATRONO ORDOSPLENDISSIMVS

COLONIAE• SCOIDRINORVM FELI

C(aio) C(ai) f(ilio) Memmio Iuliomaioriario, cali-ga prima, optioniprimipilariorum,

5 subcommentar(i)ensi, comment[ar](i)ensi, cor- niculario pr(a)ef(ectorum) praetorio, primipilari, v(iro) e(gregio), ducenario,10 patrono, ordo splendidissimus coloniae Scodr- anorum. Feli(citer).

For Caius, son of Caius, Memmius Iulius, serving as maioriarius, previously in the military service, including service as optio of the primipilarius, deputy of the commentariensis, cornicularius prefect of the pretorians, primipilaris, noble man, ducenarius, patron, the most illustrious city council of the colony of Scodrians [erected]. Good luck.

Two conclusions can be drawn from a reading of this inscription, both novel and interesting. Firstly,


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the cursus honorum listing the offices of Caius, from the lowest referred to generally as caliga prima to the highest apparently, fulfilled in Rome, contains ranks never mentioned before in any known text. In any case, they appear in a context and order that shake our current ideas and determinations. Therefore, we are dealing with a unique document that gives insight into Roman army structure. The other element is an expressis verbis reference to the status of Scodra as a colony, ending a debate of many years as to Scodra’s status in the Roman period, discussed in the publications of, for example, S. Anamali, H. Ceka, É. Deniaux, V. Kamsi.

The foundation of the colony of Scodra is the less represented from the ancient sources compared to other colonies. Only Plinius mentions the presence of a roman colony in the city8. Apart him other authors do not mention the foundation of the colony in Scodra although the city was the former centre of the Illyrian king Genthius, the main scene of the last actions of the Illyrian-Roman war9 and was also, before the foundation of the colony, an oppidum civium romanorum with a high presence of Roman citizens.

Fig. 7. Stone pillar in the cistern with inscriptions. (Photo by P. Dyczek).

Fig. 8. Latin inscription found in cistern. (Photo by P. Dyczek).


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The city had a geographical protection as it was surrounded by the rivers Kiri, Drini and Buna and by a lake. The strategic position of the city is seen also in the pact of Brundisium where it was established as a frontier city between the territories divided among Octavian and Marc Anthony10.

Therefore, the political past of the city, its strategic position and the fertile territory around stimulated the foundation of the colony in Scodra. This foundation completed the chain of the roman colonies in the Adriatic coast situated between Doclea in the north and Dyrrachium in the south. Until the discovery of the Latin inscription in one of the Venetian cistern of the city only one other inscription found in Doclea mentioned the foundation of the colony in Scodra11. The inscriptions mentions Marcus Flavius who was also duumvir quinquennalis et pontifex and in charge of the colonies of Epidauro and Narona.

The number of Latin inscriptions found until now in Scodra is not considerable. Only thirteen of them have been documented belonging mostly to the II-III centuries AD12. Most of these inscriptions were found in the territory around Scodra showing a certain influence of this colony also in the territory around. Unfortunately we have only few data’s

Fig. 9. Latin and Greek inscriptions from cistern. (Photo by P. Dyczek).

documenting roman presence in the rural territory of the colony. Only the remains of a rural villa dated in the II century AD have been excavated13.

In the IVth century AD Scodra become the capitol of the new province of Praevalis which testifies that the city played a major administrative role for the region during all the imperial period.

There remains an important question concerning the dating of this text. Without going into the intricacies of paleographical and epigraphical dating, we can say that the inscription was commissioned in the second half of the 3rd century AD, before the battle on the Mulvian Bridge (28 October 312), which constitutes a terminus ante quem for the establishment of a colony at Scodra. The two secondary inscriptions carved awkwardly on the side surfaces of this statue base are equally fascinating. They constitute a bilingual version of the same text (Fig. 9).

DYNAMI•VIVA/ΔΥΝΑΜ ΖΗCAIC

The Greek version in particular indicates that the base was reused in Late Antiquity as a tombstone for a woman of the name Dynamia,


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Fig. 10. Tower of late antique defense wall. (Photo by J. Recław).

who was most likely Christian. The formula „let her live (eternally)” is characteristic of Late Antique Christian tombstones. The bilingual character of the text, while not an entirely isolated example in Late Antiquity is unique in Illyria and significant for Scodra. It constitutes direct proof for the coexistence of Greek and Latin culture in this period and for the strong position of Christianity which had only been supposed before. The inscriptions are still under epigraphic study - they will be published soon in ZPE and our annual Novensia – but already now it can be said that they have contributed significantly to our knowledge of ancient Scodra as well as to what we know of the Roman army and administration, and the interaction between different cultures.

The original phase of the lower town defenses, already excellently researched and published by G. Hoxha, appears to be dated to the

Fig. 11. The plan of defense wall and necropolis extra muros. (Drawing by M. Różycka).

late 3rd and early 4th century AD. Hoxha’s detailed work prompted us to uncover another section of the Roman fortifications in order to be able to correlate with it the stratigraphy of the Roman building with hypocaust system that we had discovered. In effect we uncovered a section of the defenses together with a semicircular tower (Fig. 10).

A close analysis of wall bonding led us to the conclusion that the Scodra defenses went through three phases of building construction. First, at a distance of 2.30 m to the east of the wall recorded by G. Hoxha, there was a stone wall that was 2.50 m wide. It has been preserved largely as a ghost wall with just a few stones still in place. It appears to have been dismantled or destroyed by a flood as suggested by thick alluvial deposits and the blocks taken to raise a solid masonry wall of a width equal to 1.30 m. Radiocarbon dating and pottery evidence indicate that this building event can be placed at the end of the 3rd or beginning of the 4th century AD14. Semicircular towers were attached to this wall at a later date. The mortar used in the two stages was almost identical, but there is an evident joint, which is up to 5 cm thick in places, marking the connection between the curtain wall and the tower. Also, the inclusions in the mortar are different and the building foundation offsets of the two parts of the wall occur at different levels. Radiocarbon dating again has suggested a date for this reconstruction of the defences. We now think it occurred around AD 340, meaning that it should be connected with the military activities of the emperor Constans I in Illyria.


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Fig. 12. Wall and floor of 17th c. pharmacy – trench no. 16. (Photo by M. Lemke).

Fig. 13. Venetian majolica. (Photo J. Recław).

Two phases of a necropolis were noted also on the outside of this wall. The first inhumation burials correspond in date to the original late antique defence wall (Fig. 11). Only one of the eight excavated graves had any kind of grave goods. In this grave from a later phase of the cemetery an iron dagger was found at hip level.

In the late Roman period the city appears to have occupied a considerable area, encompassing both the fortress hill and the area at the foot of this mount on the eastern and northern sides. Flood-related damages do not permit the occupation on the western side of the hill to be traced. The ruins of a Turkish house were cleared in this area, complete with inner garden. Late antique glasses were recorded in practically all the trenches, as well as some stubs of walls in trench 16 located on the banks of the Drini river (Fig. 12).


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Fig. 14. Façade of medieval defense wall. (Photo by P. Dyczek).

Fig. 15. Quarries close to medieval defense wall. (Photo by M. Lemke).

Single walls and finds, mostly from the area of the fortress, date to the Venetian period. The most interesting pieces include a Venetian majolica jug15 (Fig. 13). An important discovery was made during work on an additional defense wall, which has been the object of scholarly discussion since the 1970s (Fig. 14).

The emplekton building technique had suggested an Illyrian origin for this wall, but there were other theories placing its construction in the Turkish or even modern periods. There can be no doubt now, following our research, that the wall was raised by the Venetians. In 1458 the fortress was being prepared to withstand a long siege. The fortifications were reinforced, sufficiently to endure the first dangerous Turkish attack in 1474. Parts of the defenses were destroyed in this siege. The written sources had indicated that the walls were rebuilt after this event and the hill surrounded by additional timber-and-earth defenses. Our findings have shown that the city walls were reinforced rather with additional stone fortifications on the side from Fig. 16. Reconstruction of phases of rebuilding of the

medieval defense wall. (Photo P. Dyczek).


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Fig. 17. Turkish road close to Djamija e Plumbit. (Photo by P. Dyczek).

Fig. 18. Fragment of balance from pharmacy - trench no. 16. (Photo by J. Reclaw).

which the defenders expected artillery shelling.

This hastily built wall only imitated the cyclopean bond; it was a simple, which does not

mean the least laborious technique, giving rise to the later scholarly misunderstanding. Our calculations give the wall a height of about 7 m. Stones for its construction were brought from a huge quarry that we have located (Fig. 15) extending over 2 hectares and missed by previous investigators of Scodra. The quarry lat at the base of the walls. This was an economical solution – there was no need to transport building material from afar – and practical as well, as it increased the steepness of the rock in the forefront of the wall. The Turks quickly recognized the effectiveness of this additional line of defenses. They attacked it first apparently in an effort to breach the outer wall curtain and even succeeded in part, but did not mange to take the fortress. Quick to learn, the Turks came back with a bigger and more amassed attack and after a year-long siege, in 1478/1479, Scodra fell16.

The Turks immediately adapted the Venetian fortifications to their own purposes. They dismantled the wall down to a height of about 2.5 m and removed the inner curtain to form a ramp on the slope. This permitted canon bombarding of the slope which could not give protection to any attackers in this case, while an additional line of defenses could be placed behind the low wall which acted as a kind of bulwark (Fig. 16). The archaeological discoveries appear to confirm this sequence of alterations to the fortifications.

Our findings, which have verified current opinions concerning this important historical event, helping in effect to reconstruct one of the most important episodes of the Venetian- Turkish war are of cardinal importance for the history of


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Fig. 19. Metal box for antidote thiriaca from pharmacy - trench no. 16. (Photo by S. Shpuza).

1 Project financed by National Center of Science, Poland, no 2011/09/M/HS3/01828. The bibliography position: Shpuza, Dyczek 2013 and Shpuza, Dyczek 2013a have been financed in the frame of the same program.

Notes

medieval Scodra. History textbooks will now have to be changed concerning this significant part of the events. We have also uncovered remains of the Turkish town, including a road leading from the old mosque located near the present so-called Lead Mosque (Fig. 17) to the Kiri river crossing and a Muslim necropolis from the 16th century lying next to it. An extremely interesting discovery was made in a test trench on the Drina riverbank. Layers from the 18th century included a room and in the fill

of this room, on the floor, there were fragments of a balance (Fig. 18) and a small metal container (Fig. 19). Its lid was decorated with a representation of two facing heads with Negroid features, surrounded by an inscription in Latin. Containers of this kind used to hold thiriaca, which was a poison antidote


2 Praschniker, Schober 1919, p. 9-10; Evans 2006, p. 79-85, p. 91-94. 3 Kamsi 1976, p. 117-127; Hoxha 2003, Cabanes et al. 2008, p. 265-276. 4 Our efforts could hardly have been successful without the assistance of a fantastic team of field archaeologists, P Pushimaj, H. Sokoli and the Parc director N Shati, whom we are extremely grateful to for their work and their generous friendship. 5 Shpuza, Dyczek 2013, p.439-445, Shpuza, Dyczek 2013a, p.174-179. 6 Migatti 1989, p. 25, Tab 8, nos 3, 4; Rotroff 1997, p. 160-163; Rotroff 2007, p. 252-255. 7 Désy 1989, nos 286, 526, 794; Carre et al. 1998, p. 66; Lahi 2009, p.85, p. 95-97, p. 105-116. 8 Plinius III, 22. 9 Polybius XXVIII, 8.4; Tite-Live XLIII, 20.2 ; XLIV, 30.15; XLV, 26.1. Florus, II, 13; Appian, ,65. 10 Appian, V, 65 ; WILKES 1997, p. 232-297; ŠAŠEL-

KOS 2005, p. 555.

known since antiquity. The antidote was prepared by famous venetian pharmacists. Thus, there is every reason to believe that we have discovered a apothecary’s or physician’s house.

After three seasons of work the Alba-nian-Polish research in Scodra are still in a prelimi-nary stage. In spite of this, we have already obtained important new data supplementing earlier investi-gations. We are very grateful to our Albanian col-leagues for the opportunity to excavate and we hope that our joint project to discover the ancient past of Scodra will run for many more, interesting years, bring even more splendid results in the future.

11 Anamali 1994, p. 19: M(arco) Flavio T(iti) f(ilio) Quir(ina) /Frontoni sacerd(oti) in coloniis Naron(a) et Epidauro, (duum)viro I(ure)d(icundo) Iulio Risinio, (duum)viro /quinq(uennali) pontif(ici) in col(onia) Scodra.... 12 Kamsi 1972, p. 71-78; Anamali 1994, p. 21; Anamali, Ceka, Deniaux, 2009, p. 28-35, nos. 7-18.

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Kamsi 1973 V. Kamsi, “Mbishkrime në gjuhën latine të Muzeut të Shkodrës”, in : Kumtari i Muzeut Popullor të Shkodrës, Shkodër, 1973, p. 71-78.Kamsi 1976 V. Kamsi, “Extension de la ville de Shkodër pendant l’antiquité et le Moyen-Âge”, Monumentet 11 (1976), p. 117-127.Migatti 1989 B. Migatti, “ Grčko-helenistička keramika iz Starog Grada” VAMZ 3, XXII (1989), p.19-42.Praschniker, Schober 1919 C Praschniker, A. Schober, Archäologische Forschungen in Albanien und Montenegro, Wien, 1919.Rotroff 1997 S. I. Rotroff, Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material, Athenian Agora XXIX, Princeton 1997.Rotroff 2008 S. I. Rotroff, Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares, Athenian Agora XXXIII, Princeton 2008.ŠAŠEL-KOS 2005 M. ŠAŠEL-KOS, Appian and Illyricum, Ljubljana, 2005.SHPUZA, DYCZEK 2013 S. SHPUZA, P. DYCZEK, “Gërmimet arkeologjike të vitit 2012: Shkodër”, Iliria XXX SHPUZA, DYCZEK 2013a S. SHPUZA, P. DYCZEK, “Scodra”, in I. Gjipali, L. Përzhita, B. Muka (eds), Recent Archaeological Discoveries in Albania, Tirana 2013, p. 174-179. Tafilica 1990 Z. Tafilica, “Gërmimet arkeologjike të vitit 1990: Shkodër”, Iliria 1990/2, p. 263-264.Wilkes 1997 J. Wilkes, “Les provinces danubiennes”, in Cl. Leppeley (éd.), Rome et l’intégration dans l’Empire II, Paris, 1997, p. 232-297.ZAGARČANIN 2004 M. ZAGARČANIN, Stari Bar. Keramika venecjanskog doba, Koper, 2004.

13 Tafilica 1990, p. 263-264. 14 Ferjančič 1997, p. 231-239. 15 Guarnieri 1988, p. 52; Zagarčanin 2004, p. 70-71. 16 Barleti 2012, p. 57-98.

three years of albanian-polish excavations in shkodra

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