The Paleokastra Castle is a castle built during

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

, located around north of Gjirokastra in the village of

Palokastër Palokastër ( sq-definite, Palokastra), is a village in the administrative unit of Cepo, Gjirokastër, southern Albania. The village is well known because in its vicinity is the Paleokastra castle. The site was first discovered by British Major ...

, in southern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. It lies on a river terrace at the confluence between Drino and Kardhiq rivers and occupies a surface area of around .

History

The castle was built in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD. It was built in a strategic location, easily defendable through the two rivers surrounding it. It was part of a set of castles to secure the

Drino valley The Drino valley ( sq, Lugina e Drinos, el, Κοιλάδα Δρίνου) is a valley in southern Albania and northwestern Greece along the Drino The Drino or Drinos ( sq, Drino, el, Δρίνος) is a river in southern Albania and northwester ...

. It was, however, destroyed soon thereafter by the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

in 378 AD. The castle was rebuilt thereafter together with 2 churches. It was inhabited until around the 6th century AD. The castle was excavated between 1971 and 1976.

Structure

The walls can be grouped into the two building periods mentioned above.

First building period (late 3rd – early 4th century AD)

The first period, which lies around 300 AD, is classified by old stones recycled from antique buildings. The wall was around 8 metres high and 2.3 metres wide. Today's remnants reach around 3 m height. Part of this first construction period is also an army barrack which was found beneath the foundations of a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

of the 5th century AD. Two inscriptions of approximately 311–313 AD and 324–337 AD were found during the excavations. They were made by two praesides of the Province of

Epirus Vetus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinric ...

, Valerius Cassianus and Julius Lepidus, and were dedicated to the emperors

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...

and

Constans II Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...

. This is seen as a proof that the construction of the castle lay in the hands of the provincial government.

Second building period (5th–6th centuries AD)

The second period is classified by a mix of limestone and bricks as building materials. The castle has 12 square towers and two round towers on the corners. The side of the castle that faces the Drino does not have any towers at all. The main gate of the castle lies on the western side and is roughly 2.9 m wide. The castle also has two minor gates which lie in the north and right next to the Drino in the east.

Sacral buildings

The ruins of two churches were excavated in the 1970s. one lies inside the castle walls and dates to the 5th century AD. It is a three-

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

basilica. The middle nave measures 13 × 5.3 m, and the two side naves are 2.15 m and 2.49 m wide. The second church was built outside the castle walls and lies to the south of it. It is a single-nave basilica to which side naves were added later on. The church was paved with bricks and had

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

s on its walls.

References

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