Archeological sites in the Balkans

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Romajë (definite Albanian: Romaja) is a village in the Prizren municipality of Kosovo. It has 2,747 inhabitants as of 2011. The area of Romajë is the site of a multi-layered settlement of the pre-Roman Iron Age, the Roman era, and the medieval era. Excavations at the necropolis of Romajë have revealed extensive burial mounds (tumuli) of classical antiquity.

Romajë is situated in the transboundary Has region of Albania and present-day Kosovo. In Serbo-Croatian, it is known as Romaja (Ромаја in Cyrillic). The area of Romajë is the site of a multi-layered settlement of the pre-Roman Iron Age, the Roman era, and the medieval era. The archaeological site that is known as Sakra is located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) to the west of the present-day village, between the right bank of the Drin and the Deshtica river.

In a series of excavations in 1970–73, an Iron Age tumuli necropolis was found in the location of the site.[2] It belongs to the Drin regional variation of the Illyrian Glasinac-Mati culture.[3][4] Three of the sixteen burial mounds of the necropolis were excavated at the time. The largest mound is more than 5 metres (16 ft) in height and 40 metres (130 ft) in diameter.[5] It contains 38 graves that must have belonged to a clan who used the tumulus for a period of several centuries. The graves date from sixth to the second century BCE.[5]

The materials found in the graves included iron weapons, a horse harness, amber and glass beads, local and imported pottery, and ritualistic items. Graves from the sixth and fifth centuries BCE contain long iron bars that were placed in the tombs are a means of payment to the afterlife. They indicate that the tribe of the Dardani had developed a concept about the afterlife as shown later in other archaeological materials such as the votive monument of Smirë.[6] The weapons included double-edged axes (Labrys), which might have been used in a ritualistic manner related to sun worship that was prevalent in the northern Illyrian tribes.[7] Ancient Greek imports (pottery, weapons) at this period mark the beginning of more intense contact of the Dardani with the Mediterranean centers of antiquity. These burial materials attest to the fact that social differentiation had begun in Dardania and that they had a local elite class who could invest in luxury imports.

Labrys were found in Iron Age graves being excavated in Romajë The trade flow of products that reached Romajë began from Apollonia and Epidamnos in southern Illyria and via the inland routes spread in the hinterland. Most of these items were produced in Athens and some came from the Ionian region.[8] Imported weapons indicate that Dardanians of the time may have served as mercenaries in foreign wars after which they brought these weapons in their homeland.[9]

The materials found in the tumuli are similar to those found in other tumuli in northern Albania, in particular, the tumuli of Kukës, which borders the Prizren region to the west and the tumuli of Mat farther to the southwest. The ceramics found in the site date to the early Iron Age, the Hellenistic era, and the Roman era.[10]

Nearby stand the ruins of the medieval church of Shën Prene (Paraskevi of Rome). It is a single-nave structure, 7.5 metres (25 ft) in length and 5.2 metres (17 ft) in width.[11]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romajë

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Vlashnjë

The multi-layer settlement of Vlashnjë is located on the flat plateau of a raised rocky terrace 335 metres (1,099 ft) above sea level, on the Pristina-Zhur road about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) west of Prizren. The site contains evidence from a number of periods, from the early Starčevo and Vinča cultures through the Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages to the Hellenistic, Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Materials found at the site include clay pottery and vessel fragments, stone and bone tools, decorative and utilitarian artifacts and coins. During Late Antiquity, Vlašnja (known as Gradišta of Vlašnja) was fortified with walls typical of Justinian I. The fortified area, covering about 2 hectares (4.9 acres), was probably used to observe the Via Lissus-Naissus (which bypassed the settlement). Pottery fragments painted with geometric lines, a Starčevo flint knife, and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines from the sixth millennium BC have been unearthed. A decorated baked-clay pot typical of the Vinča culture (third millennium BC), Bronze Age baked-clay table vessels and a 3.72-gram coin dating to 55 BC have also been found.[4] A rock shelter with painted spirals is about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) west of the site.

Runik

This site is in the village of Runik in the municipality of Skenderaj. It is in the Drenica region, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of Mitrovica and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northwest of Skenderaj (near the Skenderaj-Istog road). The site, one of the most prominent early Neolithic sites in Kosovo to date, contains artifacts from the Starcevo culture. It was excavated from 1966 to 1968 and again in 1984, and research was conducted in about 35 private parcels in the Dardania neighborhood of Runik. Starcevo and Vinca pottery fragments dating to 6500-3500 BC have been found here. A 10,000-square-metre (12,000 sq yd) magnetic survey was conducted at the site in March 2010, and the remains of huts reinforced with wooden joists have been found. Monochrome pottery decorated with red gloss, Cardium pottery, barbotine earthenware and ceramic pottery painted with linear and geometric designs have been found, along with anthropomorphic figurines and cult tables (small altars). Ornamental artifacts include a spiral baked-clay vase tinted with ocher, painted in dark colors and decorated as the palm of a hand. A significant find is a baked-clay ocarina 8 centimetres (3.1 in) in length, known as the Runik Ocarina, the oldest musical instrument found in Kosovo to date.[5]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_sites_in_Kosovo

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The Glasinac-Mati culture is an archaeological culture, which first developed during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the western Balkan Peninsula in an area which encompassed much of modern Albania to the south, Kosovo[a] to the east, Montenegro, southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina and parts of western Serbia to the north. It is named after the Glasinac and Mati type site areas, located in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania respectively.

The Glasinac-Mati culture represents both continuity of middle Bronze Age practices in the western Balkans and innovations specifically related to the early Iron Age. Its appearance coincides with a population boom in the region as attested in numerous new sites which developed in that era. One of the defining elements of Glasinac-Mati is the use of tumuli burial mounds as a method of inhumation. Iron axes and other weapons are typical items found in the tumuli of all subregional variations of Glasinac-Mati. As it expanded and fused with other similar material cultures it came to encompass the area which was known in classical antiquity as Illyria.[1]

The term "Glasinac-Mati" was coined in 1974 by archaeologists Frano Prendi and Klaus Kilian independently of each other.[2][3] Word "Mat" is the indefinite variant of Mati in Albanian. As such, the term may appear in bibliography as "Glasinac-Mat" or simply as "Glasinac" (a reference to being the earliest type site that was identified and studied). "Mat-Glasinac" is an alternative of the binomial term.[4] Other terms include "Mat-Glasinac-Drilon", as a reference to the particular variant which developed in historical Dardania and Glasinac-Burrel as a more narrow reference to the type site in Mat, which is located near Burrel.

Research in Glasinac began in 1880 after the chance discovery of a burial mound of an Iron Age age priest. The discovery signified the beginning of organized archaeological research in the region. From 1888 to 1897, a total of 1,234 mounds were excavated. They contained 1,000 tumuli with 3,000 to 5,000 finds in total. The first catalogues of the finds in Glasinac were produced in 1956-57 by archaeologists Alojz Benac and Borivoj Čović. In 1981, a revised catalogue which included an additional 192 graves from the Iron Age was produced by archaeologist Nora Lucentini. In total, 352 graves have been analyzed and subsequently catalogued. They represent 7%-12% of excavated finds in the graves of the Glasinac type site area.[5]

The Mat and lower Fan river valleys in the area of the Zadrima plain developed tumuli sites which contained graves of a warrior class whose material culture matched that of Glasinac. These burial sites typically included many weapons and armor. They remained in use until the 4th century BCE when new burial practices emerged. In central Albania, the Glasinac-Mat culture is represented in the tumuli of Pazhok which appeared in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1300 BCE). Further to the south are the Late Bronze Age tumuli of Barç and the closely related early burials of Kuç and Zi, near present-day Korçë, which represent the southernmost extension of the Glasinac-Mati culture. The 9th-8th century fortifications of Symizë, Bellovodë, Bilisht, and Tren near the Small Prespa Lake, could also be related to them.[6] The Drin river valley to the north-east of Mat around Kukës and to the east up to present-day Debar is marked by burial sites which appear in the Late Bronze Age and are closely linked to the Mat valley sites. These sites in turn are related to the sites which developed in western Kosovo around the Prizren area such as the site of Romajë.[7]

The ceramic corpus of the Glasinac-Mat group followed geometric patterns. It developed no significant variations until the late Iron Age. In Albania, excavated sites on both sides of the Shkumbin river have yielded little significant evolution in decorative patterns and forms until the end of the 6th century BCE.[8]

The Glasinac-Mat culture represents a local material development of the communities which emerged in the east Adriatic. These groups became known as Illyrians in historical times.[9] Despite its eventual spread, the Glasinac-Mat culture is neither the "definitive" Illyrian material culture, nor is it the only material culture which developed among the historical Illyrians. The Glasinac-Mat culture also developed its own variants. It is classified as the central Illyrian group among related material cultures which were observed in the Iron Age with which it interacted. In total, at least six material cultures have been described to have emerged in Illyrian territories. Based on existing archaeological finds, comparative archaeological and geographical definition about them has been difficult.[10]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasinac-Mati_culture

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Prizren fortress, Kosovo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prizren_Fortress

Prizren has been traditionally identified with Theranda, a town of the Roman era.[3] Another location which may have been that of Theranda is present-day Suhareka Archaeological research has shown that the site of the fortress has passed several eras of habitation since prehistoric times. In its lower part, material from the upper part of the fort has been deposited over the centuries. It dates from the Bronze Age (c. 2000 BCE) to the late Iron Age (c. 1st century CE) and is comparable to the material found in the nearby prehistoric site in the village of Vlashnjë. In late antiquity, the fortification saw a phase of reconstruction. It is part of a series of forts that were built or reconstructed in the same period by Justinian along the White Drin in northern Albania and western Kosovo in the routes that linked the coastal areas with the Kosovo valley.[4] At this time, the Prizren fortress likely appears in historical record as Petrizen in the 6th century CE in the work of Procopius as one of the fortifications which Justinian commissioned to be reconstructed in Dardania.[5]

Present-day Prizren is first mentioned in 1019 at the time of Basil II (r. 976–1025) in the form of Prisdriana

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The village of Vrela is situated approximately 7 km west from the town of Istok. Archaeological excavations conducted here in 2010, unearthed remains and foundations of a church with small dimensions, typical for the early Christian period (4th–6th century AD). Close to the church, a necropolis is set that is most probably linked to the settlement sited in the upper part of the hill. Excavations carried in the church, revealed a large type of crypt grave, measuring: 2.80m in length, 1.40m in width and 1.40m in height, constructed in the shape of a semicircular arch or vault. The grave is oriented east-west and at the western side a small entry gate of 0.6m, in height, with an archway has been recorded. Nonetheless, the crypt/grave was constructed with tough stones, and what is interesting, inside the unearthed grave, intact mortal remains of a male was discovered, buried according to the Christian rites.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_A...ites_in_Kosovo

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Kosovo:

The village of Mališevska Banja, situated southeast from the town of Mališevo, on the left side of the Mirusha river shore, an archaeological site known by the toponymy 'Trojet e Vjetra' is found. This archaeological site has a character of a burial mound (tumulus) and was erected during the Iron Age, but reused during the Early Medieval period. Investigations, respectively archaeological excavations were carried out at this location in 2005, which resulted with confirmation of graves identification, constructed with stone slabs and very rich with grave goods. Among the most important findings, Early Medieval jewelry made of bronze like rings, bracelets, and necklaces with a symbol of Christian crosses were recorded and documented.[4]

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The Fortress of Harilaq (Albanian: Kalaja e Harilaqit or Kështjella e Harilaqit, Serbian: Градина/Gradina or Ариљача/Ariljača;[1] 4th–6th century AD), is situated on top of the hill known by the local toponymy as the Gradina – Harilaq, set in an elevated and dominant position, west from the Ariljača village. The fortress is located in an altitude of maximum 766 metres above sea level, and is approximately sited 9 km southeast from the town of Kosovo Polje and only 2 kilometres west from Pristina International Airport "Adem Jashari".[2]

The total surface of the fortress, also counting the circular walls/ ramparts, measures around 1.3 hectares of the inner space of the stronghold. The archaeological excavations at this site were conducted in several seasons, commencing in 2005 and were carried out systematically until 2010 by the staff of the Museum of Kosovo, particularly the Archaeological Institute of Kosovo.[3] Nonetheless, several conservations and consolidations of the circuit walls were done in order to preserve the remains. During the five archaeological seasons' works, numerous remains and foundations of sacral, profane and utilitarian buildings were discovered. In regard, the entire outer sides of the rampart with towers at the axes were unearthed, as well as a church with three naves and a Saskrity are discovered, but also two almost identical structures in a rounded shape of an unknown sacral complex has been uncovered, as well. On the other hand, vast movable archaeological material composed of: metal made working tools, jewelry, coins, bricks, glass fragments and architectural structures, all clear indications that pinpoint to the Late Antique date and especially typical for the Justinian Period. Also, at this fortress traces of prehistoric periods have been evidenced, especially emphasizing the metal periods, but it continued to exist all through antiquity and up to the Medieval Period.[2] Discovered and recorded findings from this site of excavations from 2005–2008 were presented at the International Conference on Illyria: Illyri Meridionale et l'Epire dans l'antiquite, Act du V colloque internacional de Grenoble, 8–11 octobre 2008, held in Grenoble, France.[4]



The Harilaq castle differs from other fortifications of this period, not only within Kosovo but throughout the Central Balkans.[5] This stronghold enters in the group of castles and fortifications reconstructed and constructed in Dardania (61 reconstructed and 8 constructed) by Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great (527–565 AD), recorded in the written work by Procopius in the 6th century, in his book De Aedificiis – On BuildingsOn Buildings – Procopius.[5]

The fortress differs from the other castles for the construction of the curtain wall, for interior architectural structures and binding material used. Situated on top of a hill, like most castles from this period in the region, it controls a large landscape view over a large area of Kosovo, with portions of the Municipalities of Kosovo Polje, Pristina, Obilić, Lipjan, Ferizaj, Štimlje and Glogovac visible.[5] Besides toponyms known to local population, as the castle or the Upper Gradina, there is identified a large concentration of stones and bricks, unusual for the locals' tradition of contemporary constructions, which were taken and used by residents of the area, presenting clear indications of the existence of a castle in the Ariljača.

This castle, with its rampart, interior architectural objects, is incomparable and has no analogy with other castles throughout the central Balkans, be it architectural constructions, and also for their function and destination, being that some structures are still a mystery as to what they functioned for and how they were used. Harilaq Castle presents the most excavated area, compared to castles of the same period in Kosovo.[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harilaq_Fortress

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THE KOMANI KRUJA CULTURE




Glass necklace, 7th - 8th century, Shurdhah

The Komani-Kruja culture is an archaeological culture attested from late antiquity to the Middle Ages in central and northern Albania, southern Montenegro and similar sites in the western parts of North Macedonia. It consists of settlements usually built below hillforts along the Lezhë (Praevalitana)-Dardania and Via Egnatia road networks which connected the Adriatic coastline with the central Balkan Roman provinces. Its type site is Komani and its fort on the nearby Dalmace hill in the Drin river valley. Kruja and Lezha represent significant sites of the culture. The population of Komani-Kruja represents a local, western Balkan people which was linked to the Roman Justinianic military system of forts. The development of Komani-Kruja is significant for the study of the transition between the classical antiquity population of Albania to the medieval Albanians who were attested in historical records in the 11th century.

Komani-Kruja is a network of rural and urban settlements and their cemeteries which flourished in central and northern Albania and nearby regions. In central Albania, the rural settlements of Arbë, Klos, Kaçinar and Malaj have been identified. Urban settlements developed via the urbanization of the areas around local forts include Kruja, Lezha, Dalmace, Sarda. Cemeteries range from Lake Shkodër to Lake Ohrid (northwest to southeast) and from the hinterland of Durrës to the Drin river valley (southwest to northeast).[1]

The earliest discoveries around the Koman culture were made in 1898, around the graveyard of the Dalmaca castle, near Koman. Part of the artifacts found are in bronze and iron, the rest in silver and glass, in addition there are also ceramic vases. The bronze and iron material artifacts are mainly weapons and tools, such as axes, knives, and spearheads. Ornaments, made in bronze, glass, and silver include rings, fibulas, ear rings, bracelets, and glass necklaces. Similar artifacts have been discovered in the Cape of Rodon, as well as close to Krujë. Until 1990 around 30 archaeological sites with similar artifacts dated to the same time period (7th-9th centuries AD) were found in various territories of Albania as well as modern Kosovo. Limited excavations campaigns occurred until the 1990s. Objects from a vast area covering nearby regions the entire Byzantine Empire, the northern Balkans and Hungary and sea routes from Sicily to Crimea were found in Dalmace and other sites coming from many different production centres: local, Byzantine, Sicilian, Avar-Slavic, Hungarian, Crimean and even possibly Merovingian and Carolingian. Within Albanian archaeology, based on the continuity of pre-Roman Illyrian forms in the production of several types of local objects found in graves, the population of Komani-Kruja was framed as a group which descended from the local Illyrians who "re-asserted their independence" from the Roman Empire after many centuries and formed the core of the later historical region of Arbanon.[2] As research focused almost entirely on grave contexts and burial sites, settlements and living spaces were often ignore.[3] Yugoslav archaeology proposed an opposite narrative and tried to frame the population as Slavic, especially in the region of western Macedonia.[4] Archaeological research has shown that these sites were not related to regions then inhabited by Slavs and even in regions like Macedonia, no Slavic settlements had been founded in the 7th century.[5]

What was established in this early phase of research was that Komani-Kruja settlements represented a local, non-Slavic population which has been described as Romanized Illyrian, Latin-speaking or Latin-literate.[6][7] This is corroborated by the absence of Slavic toponyms and survival of Latin ones in the Komani-Kruja area. In terms of historiography, the thesis of older Albanian archaeology was an untestable hypothesis as no historical sources exist which can link Komani-Kruja to the first definite attestation of medieval Albanians in the 11th century.[6][7] Archaeologically, while it was considered possible and even likely that Komani-Kruja sites were used continuously from the 7th century onwards, it remained an untested hypothesis as research was still limited.[8] Whether this population represented local continuity or arrived at an earlier period from a more northern location as the Slavs entered the Balkans remained unclear at the time but regardless of their ultimate geographical origins, these groups maintained Justinianic era cultural traditions of the 6th century possibly as a statement of their collective identity and derived their material cultural references from the Justinianic military system.[9] In this context, they may have used burial customs as a means of reference to an "idealized image of the past Roman power".[9] Winnifrith (2020) recently described this population as the survival of a "Latin-Illyrian" culture which emerged later in historical records as Albanians and Vlachs. In Winnifrith's narrative, the geographical conditions of northern Albania favored the continuation of the Albanian language in hilly and mountainous areas as opposed to lowland valleys.[10]

A ring found among the artifacts, had an inscription, which according to the Austrian Albanologist Ippen, as well as German linguist Krahe, was in Illyrian language, however Albanian archaeologist Hasan Ceka, and the Bulgarian archaeologist L. Ognenova proved that the inscription (KEBOH HANA English: God, please help Anna) was a prayer, in a formula that can be found in Medieval Greek. In addition, the ring was dated to a later century than several other artifacts (11th century, rather than 7th-9th centuries). Later, multiple rings, similar to the first were found, in different sites. Their ubiquitous presence suggest that they are the result of local production, and not imported.

Research greatly expanded after 2009 and the first survey of Komani's topography was produced in 2014. Until then, except for the area of the cemetery the size of the settlement and its extension remained unknown. In 2014, it was revealed that Komani occupied an area of more than 40 ha, a much larger territory than originally thought. Its oldest settlement phase dates to the Hellenistic era.[11] Proper development began in the late antiquity and continued well into the Middle Ages (13th-14th centuries). It indicates that Komani was a late Roman fort and an important trading node in the networks of Praevalitana and Dardania. Participation in trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean via sea routes seems to have been very limited even in nearby coastal territory in this era.[12] In the Avar-Slavic raids, communities from present-day northern Albania and nearby areas clustered around hill sites for better protection as is the case of other areas like Lezha and Sarda. During the 7th century as Byzantine authority was reeastablished after the Avar-Slavic raids and the prosperity of the settlements increased, Komani saw increase in population and a new elite began to take shape. Increase in population and wealth was marked by the establishment of new settlements and new churches in their vicinity. Komani formed a local network with Lezha and Kruja and in turn this network was integrated in the wider Byzantine Mediterranean world, maintained contacts with the northern Balkans and engaged in long-distance trade.[13]

Komani Kruja Culture