A visit to Zgërdhesh - ancient Albanopolis?

The archaeological site at Zgërdhesh has been associated with the ancient city of Albanopolis since the mid-19th century when Austrian diplomat Johann Georg von Hahn identified the ruins as the city of the Illyrian Albanoi tribe mentioned in Ptolemy’s Geography. This identification has been accepted by many scholars, though not conclusively proven. 

General view of the site, acropolis in background, from west wall

Since 2017, a joint Albanian-German team*  has been working at Zgërdhesh, following on from the excavations of Selim Islami in 1969-1973 and work carried out under Lazër Papajani in 2007-2008. It’s a really interesting site, with (as usual for Albania) wonderful views over the surrounding countryside. This was my second visit, the first was thwarted by the really dense vegetation - also mentioned by the Austrian archaeologist Camillo Praschniker (who visited in June 1916) and the recent excavators. On this occasion, however, my timing was good as the vegetation had just been cleared, apart from at the acropolis. 

One of the west wall towers 

The modern entrance to the site is along a well-preserved section of the western city wall with three towers and a slip gate. The wall is made of large limestone blocks cut very precisely and fitting together without the need for mortar and is part of the circuit dated to the end of the 4th century BCE which marked the urbanisation of the settlement and enclosed some ten hectares of land. 

Gate in the west wall

However, as is usual for settlements in this area (for example also Lissus/Lezhe), the earliest inhabited area of the site is on the highest part of the hill, in this case at the eastern end of the site. The walls enclosing the city make a rough triangle, within the walls the western part is quite flat, the land then rises towards the east until it reaches the steeper acropolis section of the site. The settlement is on a limestone spur coming out from the mountains to which it is joined by a saddle, with the valleys of the Çinar and Lana on either side. 

Traces on the acropolis suggest that the settlement was inhabited from the 6th century BCE, and a wall was built around the summit early on, enclosing an area of around 1.36 hectares. Towards the end of the 4th century, a much larger area was walled: the urban settlement covers an area of around ten hectares. The city flourished during the next few centuries, even after the area came under Roman control following the end of the Illyrian Wars in 229. 

The finds from the site show that the buildings of the Albanoi were roofed with tiles from several manufacturing centres, and fragments of amphorae from a variety of places in the Mediterranean show the trading connections of the city. There are also plentiful ceramics, including small terracotta figures (the surface is littered with sherds of pottery even today). So far, there has not been much monumental sculpture from the site – a statue identified as Artemis is now in the Skanderbeg Museum in Kruje. Metal finds include coins, particularly from Epidamnus/Dyrrachium, and a star object from the site is an Illyrian helmet – also now on display in Kruje. Judging by the finds to date, the city seems to have declined in the Roman Imperial period, for reasons unknown. However, a necropolis inside the walls of the city was used from around the 2nd century CE to the 4th and there are also the remains of a church on the site. The dating of the church is uncertain, with scholars opting from early Christian to medieval. 

The church

So, back to the visit to the site. As I mentioned, the modern entrance to the site is at the well-preserved section of the west wall. Unfortunately, though we can see the northern extent of the wall and its corner tower, the southern section is lost due to modern housing and intensive agriculture. It has been suggested that the main gate of the city may have been in this area, as a road would have led from the city to Epidamnus/Dyrrachium. 

The north and south (long sides of the triangle) sections of the walls are not well preserved, though one can occasionally see blocks of stone that have fallen from the wall and even some sections of rock beds, so it is possible to more or less trace their course. We decided to see if we could trace the north wall, so made our way east parallel to the course of the wall on the outside of the city. Though the wall itself quickly ‘ran out’ it was interesting to see several channels, water conduits and basins cut into the rock. As the vegetation became thicker we turned south and entered the city area at more or less the mid-point. 

A stepped 'street'

The middle section of the city is fascinating in that it is possible to see how the inhabitants had used the bedrock as a quarry but also to form structures such as rooms, and to provide the base for internal walls. There are also beam holes and channels for drainage. The inhabitants, as at other sites such as Byllis and Orikum, made stone stepped streets up the gradient of the hill. The recent excavations have documented many of these features and discovered some new sections of street, adding to Islami’s work which had only really recorded the main stepped street, being more focused on the defensive works. The Albanian-German team have also recorded some residential buildings, and structures which may have functioned as terraces or retaining walls. 

Towers of the cross-wall

The eastern third of the city is separated from the lower western area by a cross wall running south-north and with towers, including one round tower. One of the gates of the city is found where this cross-wall joins the south city wall. The gate is unusual as it has a curved corridor leading to the egress. Within this part of the city, which seems to have been fortified as a place of last resort, there are also traces of structures which use the bedrock as walls or parts of walls. This area is also the location of the church which is oriented roughly east-west and constructed using spolia and brick. The interior was excavated by the Albanian-German team and several burials were found inside including the remains of at least six individuals whose remains appear to have been gathered together in a wooden box. 

I was unable to explore the top of the acropolis as it had not been cleared of vegetation, so I made my way back down to join my fellow explorer and we had a good look at the lower section of the site and west wall – where a stone lined drain has been excavated – before leaving the site. 

Drainage channel leading to wall 

The Albanian-German excavations have produced preliminary reports of their three seasons on the website: http://archiz.info/. The reports are fantastic resources for anyone wishing to have more detail about the site. 

The surveys have shown that there is much more to learn, and the excavations, such as the necropolis, are already adding a lot to our understanding of chronology. In addition, the team has extended their study beyond the walls, and as part of this external survey the locals showed the archaeological team the remains of a circular structure on land outside the perimeter of the site. Subsequent excavation of the ‘tholos’ revealed two layers of finely worked large stone blocks making a circle with a diameter of approximately 5.5m. The blocks were carefully finished on the outside and laid on a base of gravel and were evidently held together with metal brackets - some of the holes for the brackets still have the lead residue. Any upper layers of the structure are now missing, so it is not possible to be sure of its function, though there is some suggestion that it may have been a tomb. The sherds found in the tholos are not yet dated. 

Zgërdhesh is well worth visiting if you, like me, are a fan of ancient walls! It’s a great site to explore and to try and imagine what life was like there for the inhabitants in ancient times – with your residence nestling at the foot of the mountains, a fabulous view over the valley below, and drinking imported wine from fine glass vessels. If you aren’t a big wall fan, it’s still a great place for a walk, or you could include this as part of a day visit to Kruja, especially as you can then see some of the finds from the site in the museum. 

Getting There

The site is signposted on the road from Fushe Kruje to Kruje. The turning is on the right-hand side of the road and it is less than 15 minutes to the site. The road is suitable for all vehicles. There are further signposts all the way to the site. 

Practicalities

The site is not fenced and there is no entrance fee. There are no facilities such as toilets. There is a small parking area near the modern housing. It’s a very exposed site with few trees so if you are visiting in hot weather wear a hat and take water. A thorough visit will take 90 minutes, but if you don’t go to the acropolis you can just have a look around the western wall and the towers in less than half an hour. 

Outline map by Albinfo  CC BY-SA 4.0

*The team now working at the site is from the Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany) under the direction of Dr. Thomas Maurer (Frankfurt) and Dr. Elvana Metalla (Inst. Arch. Tirana).