Apollonia of Illyria
Apolonia
Albania · Fier
In brief
Apollonia contains the remains of a Greek colony of Corinthian origin. Excavations and geophysical surveys document changes in residential neighbourhoods and public spaces over time.
What was found?
- 1Archaic residential blocks
Three residential neighborhoods separated by narrow streets were identified. They reveal the city's regular settlement plan in its early period.
- 2Hellenistic agora
The large rectangular public square was built over part of the older residential neighborhoods. It shows how the city center was reorganized over time.
- 3Foundations of a long stoa
The foundations and architectural decoration fragments of the colonnaded building bordering the agora to the north were found. The remains show that the square was designed on a monumental scale.
- 4Semicircular building
The remains of this very poorly preserved building were uncovered. According to researchers, it may be a Hellenistic council house; its function has not been established.
What does it point to?
Apollonia points to planned urban life with residential neighborhoods and public spaces. The replacement of older houses by the Hellenistic square shows that the city center was transformed according to changing needs.
What did it teach us?
- Revealed that regular residential blocks dated back to the Archaic period.
- Showed that the Hellenistic agora partially eliminated the older settlement fabric.
- Established that the Hellenistic agora was separate from the known monumental center of the Roman period.
Images
Record
- Culture
- Corinthian colony; Ancient Greek; Roman
- Team / historical
- Albanian Institute of Archaeology; French-Albanian Mission at Apollonia
- Coordinates
- 40.7231°, 19.4730°
Sources
Nearby excavations
- —
- —
- 12.000
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