Apollonia, founded as a Corinthian colony at the beginning of the 6th century BC, is one of the largest and most important archaeological sites in Albania. Apollonia is a sprawling and complex conglomeration of Greek and Roman remains, some majestically extant, others still to be unearthed. The main site and its surrounding area were designated as an archaeological park in 2005 – conferring, for the first time, protected status. The ICAA has been involved with a number of projects at Apollonia aimed at saving important remains from destruction by encroaching development and at enhancing the understanding and appreciation of the ancient settlement.

The Necropolis

The Apollonia Necropolis Project started in 2002 as an initiative of the Albanian Rescue Archaeology Unit (ARAU) in conjunction with the Institute of Archaeology. The necropolis lies in the Kryegjata valley to the northeast of the ancient city and excavations were carried out on three tumuli located on a ridge close to the modern village of Radostina. Repeatedly damaged during gravel extraction and subsequently looted, these endangered monuments required swift action to record the remains and retrieve surviving artefacts.

The project provided crucial new data relating to the foundation of the colony. While two of the tumuli were in use between the beginning of the 6th and the end of the 4th centuries BC, another contained graves with artefacts dated to the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. This discovery indicates that the environs of Apollonia were settled by a developed local population prior to the Corinthian colonisation. This is the first time that such information has come to light from reliable excavated material and the established history of the area now needs to be rethought. Comprehensive study of the skeletal material is adding detailed information on the diet, health, lifestyle and death of these early communities. These significant excavations, as well as the artefacts from the graves, will be published in the ICAA archaeological monograph series.

Apollonia Port survey

A project to investigate the low-lying area southeast of the walled city using geophysical survey was initiated by ARAU in conjunction with the University of East Anglia (UK) in 2007. Appearing today as an expanse of drained coastal plain, far from the course of the Vjosa River, finds from the surrounding fields suggest a period of once dense occupation. Evidence compiled from remotely sensed satellite data indicates that the area was adjacent to the course of the ancient Aous River, as well as revealing the location of former coastlines and the presence of a large coastal lagoon west of Apollonia. The area may hence be the likely location of the city’s port, alluded to in several historical sources.

A highly sensitive caesium vapour magnetometer with GPS positioning – applied for the first time in Albanian archaeological research – was used to survey an area of over 5.2 ha. The survey revealed zones of dense urban settlement, including building foundations and former roadways. Several building plans follow a northwest/southeast orientation, suggesting the formal planning and layout of urban suburbs, and, in some cases, several phases of urban development. Although none of the structures discovered could be definitively assigned to the ancient port, the survey highlighted the extent of urban settlement along the western flanks of the walled city, estimated at over 80 ha. This suggests that more than half of the ancient city is currently buried beneath alluvial deposits. Further work is planned to establish a chronology for landscape changes such as delta formation, river migration and the silting of lagoonal areas around Apollonia.