The World Heritage site of Butrint (ancient Buthrotum), is located in southwest Albania on a small peninsula jutting into the the Mediterranean Sea across from the island of Corfu. Throughout its long and varied life, the city was a valuable port and strategic base for controlling the Straits of Corfu, and thus the sea-routes that link the northern Adriatic with the Mediterranean. From the 6th century BC through the early 19th century AD, Butrint's owners lavishly decorated the city with architectural wonders, many of which still survive today.
The city was founded as an early Hellenistic sanctuary in the sixth century BC. By the 4th century BC, Butrint had become a substantial settlement, its acropolis perched 42 meters above its lower city holding two temples, one a sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius, legendary Greek physician and son of the god Apollo and Coronis. Diaporit, a luxurious Hellenistic-Roman period villa covering about 2000 square meters (21,500 square feet), was built during this time. A Greek ampitheatre seating 5000 was added in the 3rd century BC.
Butrint's Roman Colonization
In 44 BC, at the end of the conflict between Pompey and Caesar, Caesar Augustus declared Butrint a colony, and it remained an important Roman port through the 6th century AD. The large residential structure known as the Triconch Palace was first built during the 4th century AD. During the 5th century AD, the emperor Justinian built a large cathedral and a baptistry with exquisite mosaic flooring at the site.
But by 650, the population had largely abandoned the townsite, and most commercial activities ceased. In the late 8th or early 9th century, Butrint was sacked and two towers representing the main stronghold at the time were burned.
After the Romans
By the ninth and 10th centuries AD, Butrint began to thrive again, and its history mirrors that of other Mediterranean ports; a succession of owners and occupants, including Normans, Venetians, Angevins, Byzantines, and finally the Ottomans, who continued to build and rebuild the city's architecture. In the 18th and early 19th century, Butrint played an important strategic role during the Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815). In 1797, the Ottoman Pasha of Ioannina (a.k.a. Lion of Ioannina) threw out the Venetians and built a fort, today called Ali Pasha's castle, and strengthened overland trade networks so he didn't need to depend on sea trade.
Among the architectural pieces of Butrint that exist today include the Greek theatre, monumental fountains, three public baths, a gymnasium decorated with mosaics, an aqueduct built by Augustus, and the exquisite mosaic floors of the Triconch Palace.
Archaeology at Butrint
The site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992 and excavations have since been conducted by the Butrint Foundation and the Albanian Institute of Archaeology (AIA). Joint excavations at Diaporit have been undertaken by the University of Nottingham and the AIA. An osteological study (Mutolo et al) of burials from a cemetery at Diaporit and other cemeteries in Butrint included individuals between the 5th and 13th centuries AD identified the occurrence of Brucellosis, an infectious disease that, like tuberculosis, can be passed to humans from livestock.
A new survey of Ali Pasha's Castle by the Butrint Foundation in 2009 (Caraval) revealed its earlier Venetian foundations and shed light on the extensive architectural changes established by the Ottoman ruler during his 24-year-long control over the region.
A study of glass from places throughout Butrint was reported in 2011 (Schibille), focused on the identification of glass production in the first millennium AD, when Levantine glass dominated the Mediterranean market. Butrint's role in glass production is primarily as consumers: the elite residents of the city imported raw glass, glass vessels and tesserae for mosaics from different locations over time. Schibille was able to identify European Roman glasses and Egyptian glasses, but surprisingly found a dearth of Levantine glasses, suggesting that trade networks shifted throughout the medieval period. She also identified some glasses that did not fit known glass production sites, and argues that that indicates that there are primary glass-making centers that have yet to be discovered.
Sources
With so many different rulers, it's hard to know how to label Butrint, so this glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Carvajal JC, Palanco A, and Molla N. 2010. The castle of Ali Pasha at Butrint: from gateway to defence line. Antiquity 84(323): Project Gallery (free download)
Hodges R. 2001. Butrint 2000: Excavating a world heritage site in Albania. Minerva 12(4):46-51.
Hodges R, Kamani S, Logue M, and Vroom J. 2009. The sack of Butrint, c. AD 800. Antiquity 83(320): Project Gallery (free download)
Mutolo MJ, Jenny LL, Buszek AR, Fenton TW, and Foran DR. 2012. Osteological and molecular identification of brucellosis in ancient Butrint, Albania. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 147(2):254-263.
Schibille N. 2011. Supply routes and the consumption of glass in first millennium CE Butrint (Albania). Journal of Archaeological Science 38(11):2939-2948.
