Where is apollonia located

I will try not to repeat observations made by Stanislaw in his review but there are some additional aspects which, I think, are worth covering. The low numbers of tourists compared with many Mediterranean sites is another bonus! There are a number of notice boards around the site indicating that development money has been provided by various countries and by organisations including UNESCO.

The Museum , situated in Byzantine monastery buildings near the site entrance, has a particular significance - both because it and its contents are rather fine and because it represents another stage in the development of adequate protection for Apollonia.

In it was looted during the civil disturbances which spread across Albania and stayed closed until Preservation of the site is not yet fully established however - as recently as Feb a case of theft of artefacts was prosecuted. As previously indicated, despite many years of excavation, much of the site remains unexplored. If you are really interested in Apollonia then this thesis from provides a summary of its history and its excavation together with loads of detail on artefacts and graves which can be skipped!

But look out for a magnificent Bronze shield. This article describes how the shield has been reconstructed, in a 20 year project, from over pieces.

It was discovered in one of the Necropolis Tumuli. Indeed the museum is very proud of this recent acquisition and displays it on its logo. So - what are the chances of Apollonia being nominated in the near future? Nevertheless it gets Crit ii all to itself and probably can't simply be "left out"! However, surface survey of the region suggests that there was very little use of the area until the colonial establishment.

The first post-Mycenaean Greek mariners and traders in the Adriatic were the Euboeans, who interpreted the foreign coast of this sea in ways that were confortable to them. It has been conjectured that at the site of Apollonia, in particular, those early Greek seafarers encountered a deserted landscape with abandoned tumuli interpreting them as monuments to their Homeric ancestors.

Archaeological evidence shows that in the hinterland of Apollonia the earliest Greek pottery dates from the middle of the 7th century BC and is solely Corinthian. A Corinthian Type A transport amphora that is dated to between the third and last quarter of the 7th century BC, also prior to the foundation of the colony, was discovered inside a tumulus, confirming pre-colonial interaction for the site of Apollonia.

The local population's density before the establishment of the colony is debated. When Greek colonists arrived, there were no indigenous people inhabiting in the immediate vicinity of Apollonia, or, if a native settlement in and around Apollonia existed at all, it was very limited. Despite an ancient tradition preserved by Stephanus of Byzantium that the site was first settled by Illyrians there is yet no clear evidence that it was settled by a non-Greek population before the arrival of the Greek colonists.

Traces of Iron Age non-Greek ceramics dating back to the pre-colonial period are very few. Such a pattern appears to conform to a gently trodden landscape, which likely was occupied only seasonally by Illyrians, as one should expect from an area inhabited by people who were organized in tribes. The colony at Apollonia was founded by a group of Corinthians led by the oikist Gylax to an already existing trading post around BC.

Wilkes reports that Corinth is said to have responded to an Illyrian invitation. Stocker states that all textual evidence suggests otherwise, while McIlvaine et al. According to Picard there is no doubt that the small number of the colonizers enabled the Illyrians the opportunity to prevent the colonial settlement in the area if they wished, hence Apollonia was necessarily founded with the approval of the natives, certainly because of trade advantages the colonizers could grant them.

The first colonizers were followed by others particularly from Corcyra. Apollonia and Epidamnos were the only Greek colonies founded in the Adriatic Sea during the Archaic era, and the only colonies established in Illyria by mainland Greeks.

Apollonia in particular was one of the last colonies founded in the west by mainland Greeks during the Archaic colonization. The placement was chosen because it occupied a strategic position at trade crossroads north—south along the eastern Adriatic coast and east—west with the interior of Illyria and Macedonia; across the Straits of Otranto it was also close to the Italian coast; furthermore it was suitable for a riverine port on the shore of the Aoos, and there was also the presence of quality pastureland and scarcity of indigenous settlements in the immediate hinterland of the asty.

The polis was located on a significant cultural border between Chaonia, which was the northernmost part of Epirus, and Illyria. The ultimate guide to the very best Greek temples in the world, from Agrigento to Paestum and more, includes an interactive map surviving temples from Ancient Greece. Albanian Historic Sites Discover the best historic sites in Albania, including the ancient cities of Butrint and Apollonia.

Greek Temples The ultimate guide to the very best Greek temples in the world, from Agrigento to Paestum and more, includes an interactive map surviving temples from Ancient Greece. Alternative Name. Ancient Greece. Building Category. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website.

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