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Zgërdhesh is an
archeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
in
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. It is located south of the road from Fushë-Kruja to Kruja. Zgërdhesh is somewhat of a mystery because it is unmentioned in ancient sources. Some scholars believe, however, that it may be the site of ancient Albanopolis, referred to by
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
. The
Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...
n settlement here seems to have been founded in the 7th or 6th century BC and flourished in the 4th and 3rd centuries, before being abandoned in the 2nd century BC, when the inhabitants moved to
Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...
and Lezha.


Name

The
toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...
''Zgërdhesh'' first occurs in 1431, in a Turkish document as ''Ozgurtaè'', and subsequently, in 1641, in the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
chronicle of Marco Scura as ''Sgurdessi''. The etymology is probably a combination of ''zgër-'' and ''dhe'' with the toponymical suffix ''-esh'', from Latin ''-ensis''.


History

It is thought that the original city had an overall area of 20 hectares. Construction originates from several periods, the first of which belongs to typical construction of the 6th century BC (blocks of stones with minimal carvings), and is typical of the construction at the top of the hill, where the first settlement must have been centered. A second construction period (5th century BC) is characterized by the use of cubical blocks, and includes the construction of most of the city walls, the towers, and the acropolis, as well as the most important buildings. Archaeological artifacts (roof tiles seals with stamps on them) are witness of at least 5 ceramic manufacturing sites, which furnished the city with roofing materials. Other manufacturing sites produced amphoras, terracottas, and different dishes found onsite. An
Illyrian helmet The Illyrian type helmet (or Greco-Illyrian type helmet) is a style of bronze helmet, which in its later variations covered the entire head and neck, and was open-faced in all of its forms.. It originated in Peloponnese, ancient Greece, and was d ...
has also been found and it is thought that they were all local products. Commerce of the city is shown by artefacts of ceramics that were typical of Dyrrachium and Lissus, as well as coins, principally of Dyrrachium, all of which belong to the late 4th century BC through the 2nd century BC. In addition a statue of
Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
has been found, as well as various ornamental terracottas, which show the presence of a cultural life in the city. It is thought that the
Illyrian Wars The Illyrian Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Illyrian kingdom under the Ardiaei and Labeatae. In the ''First Illyrian War'', which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adr ...
weakened the city and then the eventual Roman invasion caused the abandoning of the city, which has remained uninhabited since. Among the remains at Zgërdhesh are 1,350 meters of fortification walls and heavily decayed terraces and towers spread over a hillside of 8.2 hectares. The original city was built on the acropolis but there is little to see in the way of visible remains except a section of the eastern defensive wall, with a tower on the northeast corner. Just inside the entrance are the foundations of an early Christian chapel, a very small building indicating the continued occupation of the site in later antiquity, but also its greatly diminished importance.


See also

* Albanopolis *
List of ancient cities in Illyria This is a list of settlements in Illyria founded by Illyrians (southern Illyrians, Dardanians, Pannonians), Liburni, Ancient Greeks and the Roman Empire. A number of cities in Illyria and later Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum, Illyricum were b ...
*
List of ancient tribes in Illyria This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria (; ). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greeks, causing the name Illyrians to be ap ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zgerdhesh Illyrian Albania Former populated places in the Balkans Cities in ancient Illyria Archaeology of Illyria Archaeological sites in Albania