Selcë e Poshtme ("Lower Selcë") is a village located in the

Mokra Mokra may refer to the following places: * Mokra, Łódź Voivodeship (central Poland) * Mokra, Silesian Voivodeship (south Poland) * Mokra, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central Poland) * Mokra, Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland ...

area,

Korçë County Korçë County ( sq, Qarku Korçë, italic=unset), officially the County of Korçë ( sq, Qarku i Korçës, italic=unset), is a county in the Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the largest by area and the seventh most populous of ...

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 ...

. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality

Pogradec Pogradec () is the eleventh most populous city in Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a narrow plain between two mountain chains along the southwestern banks of the Lake of Ohrid. Its climate is profoundly in ...

. Near the village, on the right bank of

Shkumbin The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a river in Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Etymology It derives from La ...

river at an elevation of above sea level, 5 Illyrian

Royal Tombs of Selca e Poshtme The Illyrian Tombs of Selca e Poshtme () are located near the town of Pogradec in Albania near the village of Selcë e Poshtme. On the right bank of the river Shkumbin at an elevation of 1040 m above sea level, lie the remains of the ancient ...

are found. In 1996, Albania included the Royal Tombs of Lower Selcë in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World heritage list of proposals.

History

At Selcë e Poshtme an Illyrian settlement was established since the early

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. At the beginning of the 4th century BC the first pre-urban phase evolved into a second urban phase that lasted until the 1st century AD. It was located in the region of the Illyrian

Dassaretii The Dassaretii (Ancient Greek: ''Δασσαρῆται, Δασσαρήτιοι'', Latin: ''Dassaretae'', ''Dassaretii'') were an Illyrian people that lived in the inlands of southern Illyria, between present-day south-eastern Albania and south- ...

. The Illyrian Royal Tombs were built on this site during the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. The third and last phase of the site was less developed than the two previous phases. Archaeological remains of the first three centuries of the Common Era are the least representative of the site. The settlement continued being inhabited during the

Roman Imperial period The Roman imperial period is the expansion of political and cultural influence of the Roman Empire. The period begins with the reign of Augustus (), and it is taken to end variously between the late 3rd and the late 4th century, with the beginning ...

under Anastasius I and

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

. The third phase lasted until the settlement was abandoned in late antiquity between the 4th and 6th centuries CE. The site of Selcë was in antiquity a flourishing economical centre more developed than the surroundings because it occupied a predominant position inside the region currently called

Mokër Mokër is a geographical region in Southeastern 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 Adriat ...

, and because it controlled the road which led from the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

coasts of

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

to Macedonia. Lower Selcë is a suggested location of the historic site of Pellion, where in 335 BC

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

advanced his forces to attack the Illyrians under Cleitus, son of Bardylis and

Glaukias Glaucias ( grc, Γλαυκίας; ruled c. 335 – c. 295 BC) was a ruler of the Taulantian kingdom which dominated southern Illyrian affairs in the second half of the 4th century BC. Glaucias is first mentioned as bringing a considerable for ...

of the

Taulantii Taulantii or Taulantians ('swallow-men'; Ancient Greek: , or , ; la, Taulantii) were an Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria (modern Albania). They dominated at various times much of the plain between the rivers ...

, following the death of

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

, thus securing

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

ia's northern border before leaving to conquer Asia. However alternative locations for Pelion have been proposed, including Zvezde near Korça or in Goricë. In the area of modern

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo ...

seems to have been influenced by the styles of the Macedonians.The Cambridge ancient history,Tome 6 by John Boardman, , 1994, page 440

References

External links

Selca e Poshtme as a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage Site

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Selce E Poshtme Cities in ancient Illyria Illyrian Albania Archaeological sites in Albania Populated places in Pogradec Villages in Korçë County