Archaeological Investigations in a Northern Albanian Province Volume 64: Volume One: Survey and Excavation Results

Northern Albania is an important region to study the origins of inequality and social complexity, with some of the earliest and largest hill forts and tumuli in Albania located in Shkodr. This research report, based on five years of field and laboratory work, is the first synthetic archaeological treatment of the region and presents the results of regional survey and test excavations at three settlements and three tumuli. Volume 1 includes geological context, literature review, historical background, and reports on the regional survey and test excavations, while Volume 2 describes the artifacts recovered, including chipped stone, small finds, and pottery from the prehistoric, Classical, Roman, medieval, and post-medieval periods.

Format: Hardback
Length: 800 pages
Publication date: 28 April 2023
Publisher: The University of Michigan Press

Few archaeological sites in northern Albania have been surveyed and excavated, despite their significance in understanding the origins of inequality and social complexity. Located beyond the reach of the Classical Greek colonies in south-central Albania, this region has received less scholarly attention. However, northern Albania holds equal importance in ongoing archaeological debates.

Shkodr, a city in northern Albania, is home to some of the earliest and largest hill forts and tumuli dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages. The city's Shkodr (Rozafa) Castle, once the capital of the Illyrian Kingdom, was conquered by Rome in the early 3rd century BC. This research report, focused on the province of Shkodr, is the result of five years of field and laboratory work and represents the first comprehensive archaeological treatment of the region.

The results of the Projekti Arkeologjik i ShkodrËs (or PASH) are presented in two volumes. Volume 1 provides geological context, a literature review, historical background, and reports on regional survey and test excavations at three settlements and three tumuli. Volume 2 details the artifacts recovered, including chipped stone, small finds, and pottery from prehistoric, Classical, Roman, medieval, and post-medieval periods. Additionally, the authors present the results of faunal, petrographic, chemical, carpological, and strontium isotope analyses of these artifacts.

These two volumes place northern Albania and the Shkodr Province at the forefront of archaeological research in the Balkans. The comprehensive coverage of the region's archaeological heritage and the detailed analysis of the artifacts provide valuable insights into the past and contribute to our understanding of the development of inequality and social complexity in the region.

Dimension: 279 x 216 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781951538736