New Bronze Age site discovered in Himarë, Albania

Yesterday the excavation of a tumulus dating to the Bronze Age and containing multiple burials was announced here in Albania. Excavations at the site, in the municipality of Himara, started two years ago after some graves were discovered in the bed of a stream.

 

Photo from Literalmedia.com 

Himara is a coastal town in the south of Albania, and is part of the Vlora regional authority. Vlora’s Director of Heritage, Orges Feimi, has today made a statement about the discovery, news of which was broken by journalist Aleksander Çipa on his Facebook page.

 

Feimi explained that the site was discovered during surveys in the Himara area, which is thought to have great potential for undiscovered archaeological sites. During these inspections a chance find showing evidence of burials was made in the bed of the Goran brook, which is subject to seasonal torrents. It seems that the surface had been washed away to reveal some cist graves.

 

The discovery was verified by archaeological authorities and the National Council of Archaeology authorised the rescue excavation of the graves in 2018. Following that excavation, the tumulus and other graves in the channel of the stream were also discovered.

 

The tumulus has been dated to the late Bronze Age, between the 15^th and 12^th centuries BCE and contains several burials along with grave goods. The remains of a well-constructed circular wall made of several courses of substantial stone blocks can be seen, with a group of stone lined burials in the centre. The graves make use of large slabs of stone, and do not seem to be all oriented in the same direction.  Documentation is still ongoing, and some of the finds are undergoing conservation. Results of the excavations will be made public at a later date.

 

The presence of more than one tumulus, along with the cist graves, confirms the existence of a necropolis in the area of Ndrehora, near the new Himara bypass. Odise Çaçi, historian of Vlora, has warned about importance of the archaeological wealth of the area and possible destruction in the face of the construction that is going on in the area. He has called for construction companies to employ an archaeologist on their staff.

You can see more of the site in the videos: 

 

From https://shqiptarja.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nks-zi7TOGY&feature=youtu.be

From https://literal.media/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxYbvZ0SH1c&feature=youtu.be