|
Butrint
is a special archaeological site - a microcosm of the Mediterranean
history, from the age of the ancient Greeks to the Venetians. Virgil
believed, that it was the new Troy, and associated its fundation
with Aeneas. Plutarch recounts the legend that Pan died here. Three
thousand years of ever-changing settlement have left their mark and
today a visitor can wander amongst the ruins of one of the greatest
cities of the ancient world.
Excavations
at Butrint have unearthed many of the major monuments of the city:
Italians' excavations in the 1920's and 1930's, led by count Luigi
Ugolini, uncovered many ancient and classical monuments such as the
city walls, gates, theatre and bath houses. Since 1946 research was
continued by the Albanian Institute of the Archaeology and Monuments,
and since 1991 by a Greek team of for the research of the origins of
Butrint and the Butrint Fundation. The Butrint Fundation's work has
been focused largely on the Byzantine monuments of the city, which
include a palace complex, basilica and the fines of all - an early
6th-century baptistry with startling mosaics depicting wild animals,
birds and fish, the symbols of baptism and Christian communion.
Outside
the city walls of Butrint, in the wonderfully unspoilt landscape of
southern Albania, a visitor can find the remains of castles,
churches, a Roman aquaduct that served the city, and many Roman
villas. This historic landscape is also the home to a rich diversity
of rare and endangered wildlife.
|
