Historic site · Gjirokastër
Antigonea
A short-lived Epirote city founded by King Pyrrhus and burned by Rome in 167 BC.
- UNESCO site
- Butrint
- Oldest foundation
- Epidamnos/Durrës, 627 BC
- Best preserved stadium
- Amantia
In plain language
Albania has some very good ancient ruins that most people have never heard of. Butrint is the most famous. Apollonia, Byllis, Antigonea and Amantia are quieter and often nearly empty.
Simple explanation
Albania has some very good ancient ruins that most people have never heard of. Butrint is the most famous. Apollonia, Byllis, Antigonea and Amantia are quieter and often nearly empty.
On this page
The five that matter
- Butrint — Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman in one wooded peninsula. UNESCO since 1992.
- Apollonia — a Corinthian colony that became a Roman university town; Octavian studied here.
- Byllis — the largest excavated Illyrian city, on a plateau above the Vjosa, with five basilicas.
- Antigonea — founded by Pyrrhus, destroyed by Rome in 167 BC and never rebuilt.
- Amantia — an Illyrian hill city whose stadium is cut into the slope.
Practicalities
Butrint is inside a national park and takes a comfortable half day. Apollonia is 12 km from Fier and has a monastery and museum on site. Byllis, Antigonea and Amantia need a car and reward the effort with near-solitude.
Shade is limited at all of them. Go early or late in summer.
What is on display elsewhere
The National History Museum in Tirana holds much of the movable material. The Onufri museum in Berat Castle covers post-Byzantine icon painting, and Durrës has an archaeological museum beside the sea wall.
Connected subjects
Related subjects
Historic site · Fier
Apollonia
A Corinthian colony that became a Roman university town — Octavian was studying here when Caesar was killed.
Historic site · Vlorë
Butrint
A Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman city layered on one wooded peninsula — Albania's first UNESCO site.
Historic site · Fier
Byllis
The largest Illyrian city yet excavated, on a plateau above the Vjosa with five early Christian basilicas.
Historic site · Vlorë
Amantia
An Illyrian hill city whose stadium — cut into the slope — is among the best preserved in the region.
Beach · Vlorë
Grama Bay
A remote bay on the Karaburun peninsula whose cliffs carry Greek and Latin inscriptions cut by ancient sailors.
Explainer
Albania's Ancient Civilisations
Illyrians, Greek colonists and Rome, layered on the same coastline for a thousand years.
Sources
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