Butrint 7: Beyond Butrint. Kalivo, Mursi, Çuka e Aitoit, Diaporit and the Vrina Plain. Surveys and Excavations in the Pavllas River Valley, Albania, 1928-2015, 2020
Butrint 7: Beyond Butrint. Kalivo, Mursi, Çuka e Aitoit, Diaporit and the Vrina Plain. Surveys and Excavations in the Pavllas River Valley, Albania, 1928-2015, 2020
Butrint 7: Beyond Butrint. Kalivo, Mursi, Çuka e Aitoit, Diaporit and the Vrina Plain. Surveys and Excavations in the Pavllas River Valley, Albania, 1928-2015, 2020
This article examines Butrint under Venetian and Ottoman rule during the period of its final sett... more This article examines Butrint under Venetian and Ottoman rule during the period of its final settlement and subsequent abandonment, before the start of archaeological excavations (a.d. 1386–1928). On the basis of excavated Venetian houses and later burials at the site of the Roman forum, it is argued that the Republic of Venice abandoned the Butrint headland after Süleyman the Magnificent sacked the city in 1537 and that Butrint was never resettled thereafter due to environmental adversities posed by malaria and emergent wetlands. Plague, border-zone dynamics, and state decay also exacerbated local conditions. Throughout its abandonment, however, Butrint and its environs remained economically active and strategically important, primarily to Corfu.
L’Illyrie méridionale et l’Épire dans l’antiquité VI, 2018
This paper examines the forum as a unified complex, in relation to the design, purpose, and sitin... more This paper examines the forum as a unified complex, in relation to the design, purpose, and siting of its major buildings during the Roman Imperial period, from the 1st century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. It also explores themes of Roman colonization, as they relate to the topography and building sequences of the forum and to the transformation of the Epeirote polis to the Roman colonia.
This article is the first of two to examine the sacred topography of Buthrotum in Epirus (Butrint... more This article is the first of two to examine the sacred topography of Buthrotum in Epirus (Butrint in southern Albania). The results follow from fieldwork conducted by the Butrint Foundation (BF) and the Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project between 2004 and 2014. The bipartite study offers a comprehensive re-evaluation of the urban center while presenting new archaeological findings. Part I focuses on the sacred spaces at the W end of the urban center, which includes the west courtyard and its associated buildings; Part II will treat the sanctuary of Asklepios and the forum. The RFE Project discovered a monumental inscription engraved in three lines on the paving of the courtyard in front of the west-building's entrance. Dating between 27-7 B.C., the inscription presents one of the earliest known references to the association of the Augustales from the Roman Empire.
This article examines the archaeology and history of Bouthrotos (Butrint) from the 8th to 4th cen... more This article examines the archaeology and history of Bouthrotos (Butrint) from the 8th to 4th century b.c., in the context of Epeiros and the Greek colonization of Korkyra (Corfu). The Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project has recovered stratified material deep below the level of the forum that elucidates the phasing and topography of Archaic and Classical Bouthrotos. The conclusions include a reconstruction of the historic shoreline and formation processes of the Butrint headland and the identification and partial reconstruction of the Temple of Athena Polias on the acropolis.
This article examines the impact of sea level (water table) on archaeological research at Butrint... more This article examines the impact of sea level (water table) on archaeological research at Butrint (Bouthrotos/Buthrotum) from 1928 to 2014. Rising relative sea levels over the past three thousand years have shaped the actions not only of its ancient inhabitants but also of its modern archaeologists, conditioning archaeological objectives, fieldwork and the interpretation of the archaeological record. Butrint’s first archaeologist, Luigi M. Ugolini, considered groundwater to be a detriment to archaeological research at the site. Subsequent archaeologists have viewed it as the limit of excavation. Battling water at Butrint, archaeologists have shared a universal perception of groundwater as an enemy and thereby have overlooked one of Butrint’s most important areas of archaeological research – its wetland and wet-site archaeology. The Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project undertook the first wet-site excavations at Butrint, reaching depths of up to four metres below the water table in stratigraphic excavations in the ancient urban centre. The results demonstrate that the ancient urban centre formed much later than is presently thought: the lower city emerged as dryland in the second half of the second century BC. Relative sea levels have increased since antiquity at many coastal regions in the Mediterranean, often submerging archaeological sites either partially or completely. Butrint is a case study that shows how sea level is inextricably tied to archaeological practice and interpretation at this major ancient Mediterranean seaport.
Since the start of archaeological research at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint (Bouthrot... more Since the start of archaeological research at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint (Bouthrotos/Buthrotum) in southern Albania, archaeologists have allowed the water table to serve as a limit to archaeological excavation. From 2011 to 2013, the Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project conducted the first wet-site excavations at Butrint, reaching depths of up to 4 m below the water table in the ancient urban center. Well-preserved wood and other organic remains were recovered from waterlogged deposits, dating as early as the 7th century B.C. Major changes in RFE Project methodology emerged in response to wet-site archaeology. Unskilled local workers were trained to become local excavators. This significantly improved excavation techniques and recording procedures and enhanced the quality of the archaeological data, showing the high degree to which seemingly disparate elements of field methodology are intertwined.
This article discusses a unique masonry lime-kiln identified in 2014 at Butrint (Buthrotum), an a... more This article discusses a unique masonry lime-kiln identified in 2014 at Butrint (Buthrotum), an ancient seaport situated between Greece and Italy that occupied a small headland on the Ionian Sea in southern Albania, in the region of ancient Epirus (Epeiros). The Butrint headland was settled as early as the second half of the 7th century BC and was occupied almost continuously until the Republic of Venice abandoned the acropolis and its colonial settlement on the headland in 1537. Excavations undertaken at the site of the Roman forum since 2004, under the sponsorship of the Butrint Foundation and the Roman Forum Excavations Project, have recovered material culture associated with the major urban phases of Butrint over this long period. Amidst the ruins of the old forum, the lime-kiln was built during a key phase in the city’s history, in the 10th-11th century, marking the death of classical Butrint and its resurrection as a ‘God-guarded city’ of the Byzantine Empire.
In Butrint 4: The Archaeology & Histories of an Ionian Town, 2013
With a number of monumental tombs and burials having been discovered on the lower slopes of the h... more With a number of monumental tombs and burials having been discovered on the lower slopes of the hill near Butrint, the investigation in 2004 explored the western limits of the cemetery. A six-week archaeological survey was undertaken to examine an area of almost 11,000 sq. m. located c. 1 km west of the ancient city; this focused exclusively on the cemetery occupying the concave hallow on the lowest slope of Mount Sotira. The survey discovered substantial remains of tombs in six general areas, and in all identified 23 funerary structures, four of which were freestanding monumental tombs.
Butrint 7: Beyond Butrint. Kalivo, Mursi, Çuka e Aitoit, Diaporit and the Vrina Plain. Surveys and Excavations in the Pavllas River Valley, Albania, 1928-2015, 2020
Butrint 7: Beyond Butrint. Kalivo, Mursi, Çuka e Aitoit, Diaporit and the Vrina Plain. Surveys and Excavations in the Pavllas River Valley, Albania, 1928-2015, 2020
Butrint 7: Beyond Butrint. Kalivo, Mursi, Çuka e Aitoit, Diaporit and the Vrina Plain. Surveys and Excavations in the Pavllas River Valley, Albania, 1928-2015, 2020
This article examines Butrint under Venetian and Ottoman rule during the period of its final sett... more This article examines Butrint under Venetian and Ottoman rule during the period of its final settlement and subsequent abandonment, before the start of archaeological excavations (a.d. 1386–1928). On the basis of excavated Venetian houses and later burials at the site of the Roman forum, it is argued that the Republic of Venice abandoned the Butrint headland after Süleyman the Magnificent sacked the city in 1537 and that Butrint was never resettled thereafter due to environmental adversities posed by malaria and emergent wetlands. Plague, border-zone dynamics, and state decay also exacerbated local conditions. Throughout its abandonment, however, Butrint and its environs remained economically active and strategically important, primarily to Corfu.
L’Illyrie méridionale et l’Épire dans l’antiquité VI, 2018
This paper examines the forum as a unified complex, in relation to the design, purpose, and sitin... more This paper examines the forum as a unified complex, in relation to the design, purpose, and siting of its major buildings during the Roman Imperial period, from the 1st century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. It also explores themes of Roman colonization, as they relate to the topography and building sequences of the forum and to the transformation of the Epeirote polis to the Roman colonia.
This article is the first of two to examine the sacred topography of Buthrotum in Epirus (Butrint... more This article is the first of two to examine the sacred topography of Buthrotum in Epirus (Butrint in southern Albania). The results follow from fieldwork conducted by the Butrint Foundation (BF) and the Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project between 2004 and 2014. The bipartite study offers a comprehensive re-evaluation of the urban center while presenting new archaeological findings. Part I focuses on the sacred spaces at the W end of the urban center, which includes the west courtyard and its associated buildings; Part II will treat the sanctuary of Asklepios and the forum. The RFE Project discovered a monumental inscription engraved in three lines on the paving of the courtyard in front of the west-building's entrance. Dating between 27-7 B.C., the inscription presents one of the earliest known references to the association of the Augustales from the Roman Empire.
This article examines the archaeology and history of Bouthrotos (Butrint) from the 8th to 4th cen... more This article examines the archaeology and history of Bouthrotos (Butrint) from the 8th to 4th century b.c., in the context of Epeiros and the Greek colonization of Korkyra (Corfu). The Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project has recovered stratified material deep below the level of the forum that elucidates the phasing and topography of Archaic and Classical Bouthrotos. The conclusions include a reconstruction of the historic shoreline and formation processes of the Butrint headland and the identification and partial reconstruction of the Temple of Athena Polias on the acropolis.
This article examines the impact of sea level (water table) on archaeological research at Butrint... more This article examines the impact of sea level (water table) on archaeological research at Butrint (Bouthrotos/Buthrotum) from 1928 to 2014. Rising relative sea levels over the past three thousand years have shaped the actions not only of its ancient inhabitants but also of its modern archaeologists, conditioning archaeological objectives, fieldwork and the interpretation of the archaeological record. Butrint’s first archaeologist, Luigi M. Ugolini, considered groundwater to be a detriment to archaeological research at the site. Subsequent archaeologists have viewed it as the limit of excavation. Battling water at Butrint, archaeologists have shared a universal perception of groundwater as an enemy and thereby have overlooked one of Butrint’s most important areas of archaeological research – its wetland and wet-site archaeology. The Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project undertook the first wet-site excavations at Butrint, reaching depths of up to four metres below the water table in stratigraphic excavations in the ancient urban centre. The results demonstrate that the ancient urban centre formed much later than is presently thought: the lower city emerged as dryland in the second half of the second century BC. Relative sea levels have increased since antiquity at many coastal regions in the Mediterranean, often submerging archaeological sites either partially or completely. Butrint is a case study that shows how sea level is inextricably tied to archaeological practice and interpretation at this major ancient Mediterranean seaport.
Since the start of archaeological research at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint (Bouthrot... more Since the start of archaeological research at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint (Bouthrotos/Buthrotum) in southern Albania, archaeologists have allowed the water table to serve as a limit to archaeological excavation. From 2011 to 2013, the Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project conducted the first wet-site excavations at Butrint, reaching depths of up to 4 m below the water table in the ancient urban center. Well-preserved wood and other organic remains were recovered from waterlogged deposits, dating as early as the 7th century B.C. Major changes in RFE Project methodology emerged in response to wet-site archaeology. Unskilled local workers were trained to become local excavators. This significantly improved excavation techniques and recording procedures and enhanced the quality of the archaeological data, showing the high degree to which seemingly disparate elements of field methodology are intertwined.
This article discusses a unique masonry lime-kiln identified in 2014 at Butrint (Buthrotum), an a... more This article discusses a unique masonry lime-kiln identified in 2014 at Butrint (Buthrotum), an ancient seaport situated between Greece and Italy that occupied a small headland on the Ionian Sea in southern Albania, in the region of ancient Epirus (Epeiros). The Butrint headland was settled as early as the second half of the 7th century BC and was occupied almost continuously until the Republic of Venice abandoned the acropolis and its colonial settlement on the headland in 1537. Excavations undertaken at the site of the Roman forum since 2004, under the sponsorship of the Butrint Foundation and the Roman Forum Excavations Project, have recovered material culture associated with the major urban phases of Butrint over this long period. Amidst the ruins of the old forum, the lime-kiln was built during a key phase in the city’s history, in the 10th-11th century, marking the death of classical Butrint and its resurrection as a ‘God-guarded city’ of the Byzantine Empire.
In Butrint 4: The Archaeology & Histories of an Ionian Town, 2013
With a number of monumental tombs and burials having been discovered on the lower slopes of the h... more With a number of monumental tombs and burials having been discovered on the lower slopes of the hill near Butrint, the investigation in 2004 explored the western limits of the cemetery. A six-week archaeological survey was undertaken to examine an area of almost 11,000 sq. m. located c. 1 km west of the ancient city; this focused exclusively on the cemetery occupying the concave hallow on the lowest slope of Mount Sotira. The survey discovered substantial remains of tombs in six general areas, and in all identified 23 funerary structures, four of which were freestanding monumental tombs.
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Papers by David R Hernandez
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2972/hesperia.88.2.0365
Epeirote polis to the Roman colonia.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-archaeology/article/buthrotums-sacred-topography-and-the-imperial-cult-i-the-west-courtyard-and-pavement-inscription/473B56EAFCD5D6B3ABCFFB59A59E82E1
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/10.2972/hesperia.86.2.0205.pdf
archaeological excavation. From 2011 to 2013, the Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project conducted the first wet-site excavations at Butrint, reaching depths of up to 4 m below the water table in the ancient urban center. Well-preserved wood and other organic remains were recovered from waterlogged deposits, dating as early as the 7th century B.C. Major changes in RFE Project methodology emerged in response to wet-site archaeology. Unskilled local workers were trained to become local excavators. This significantly improved excavation techniques and recording procedures and enhanced the quality of the archaeological data, showing the high degree to which seemingly disparate elements of field methodology are intertwined.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2972/hesperia.88.2.0365
Epeirote polis to the Roman colonia.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-archaeology/article/buthrotums-sacred-topography-and-the-imperial-cult-i-the-west-courtyard-and-pavement-inscription/473B56EAFCD5D6B3ABCFFB59A59E82E1
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/10.2972/hesperia.86.2.0205.pdf
archaeological excavation. From 2011 to 2013, the Roman Forum Excavations (RFE) Project conducted the first wet-site excavations at Butrint, reaching depths of up to 4 m below the water table in the ancient urban center. Well-preserved wood and other organic remains were recovered from waterlogged deposits, dating as early as the 7th century B.C. Major changes in RFE Project methodology emerged in response to wet-site archaeology. Unskilled local workers were trained to become local excavators. This significantly improved excavation techniques and recording procedures and enhanced the quality of the archaeological data, showing the high degree to which seemingly disparate elements of field methodology are intertwined.