Bassania

Bassania was an Illyrian city that came under Roman control during the Illyrian Wars. It was located close to the ancient city of Lissus in southern Illyria, modern Albania. ^[1] The inhabitants of the city were called Bassanitae. The time when the Bassanitae became socii of the Romans is still unknown. The city was hellenized ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} considerably. Bassania is believed to be located near the village of Bushat, in Shkodër, Albania. ^[7]

Location

Carl Patsch identified Bassania with the village of Pedhanë or Pllanë on the river Mat entering the plain. ^[8] A recent discovery in modern Bushat village within the Shkodër County suggests an alternative possible location of Bassania in this site. The ruins of the ancient city in Bushat extended in a surface three times of the ancient ruins of Shkodër (nearest city), massive stone walls surrounded an area of about 20 hectares, were discovered by a team of Polish-Albanian Archaeologists in 2018. The city wall is massive. Measuring 3 meters thick, the wall is made from huge stone blocks packed tightly against each other. In between the stone blocks are earth and small stones filled in to close off any gaps. Ancient coins and portions of ceramic artifacts recovered near the walls date back to the 4th to 1st century BC, providing further confirmation of the age of the city ruin. The city seems to have existed until the beginning of the 1st century AD, which coincided with the end of the reign of Roman emperor Octavian Augustus. It was destroyed or abandoned during the Roman invasion. ^[9]

See also

• List of settlements in Illyria

References

1. Wilkes 1992, p. 174: "Appius Claudius was succeeded at Lychnidus by the praetor L. Anicius Gallus, who was assigned responsibility for operations against Gentius. It appears that the Illyrians planned one of their usual expeditions with army and navy in the direction of Epidamnus, and an army of 15,000 was assembled at Lissus. After detaching 1000 infantry and 50 horsemen under his halfbrother Caravantius to deal with the Cavi, otherwise unknown, Gentius advanced south for five miles and proceeded to attack Bassania, a town under Roman control. Anicius was based at Apollonia where, in addition to Roman forces, there were 2000 infantry and 200 cavalry from the Parthini, commanded by the chiefs Epicadus and Algalsus." p.329: "Bassania, Illyrian town"
2. Martin Lemke, Saimir Shpuza & Bartosz Wojciechowski — “Bushat, not lost but found: a ‘new’ Illyrian settlement in northern Albania.” Antiquity 95 (2021), e8. Why: Peer-reviewed project gallery reporting the 2017–2019 excavations at Bushat (the site identified as likely Bassania). Gives explicit data linking the site to the Hellenistic period (fortification technique, Corinthian-type roof tiles, Hellenistic pottery, coins). Essential for any discussion of Bassania’s Hellenisation.
3. Excavations at Bushat exposed a large Hellenistic fortification system (4th–3rd c. BC), Hellenistic pottery and Corinthian-type tiles — evidence tying the site to Hellenistic material culture https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/bushat-not-lost-but-found-a-new-illyrian-settlement-in-northern-albania/43C275473858E34DC5756A8ED34BDE37 "Investigations at Bushat in northern Albania during 2017–2019 have brought to light a massive fortification wall dating to the fourth century BC and enclosing approximately 20ha of hilly terrain. The wall is connected to the development of Illyrian settlements and the Hellenisation of the area."
4. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/bushat-not-lost-but-found-a-new-illyrian-settlement-in-northern-albania/43C275473858E34DC5756A8ED34BDE37 “The wall is constructed using a technique very characteristic of Hellenistic defensive structures generally and of the Illyrian region in particular: large, well-fitted stone blocks creating impressive defensive walls... the core of the wall was filled with smaller stones and earth, and was intersected by crude partition walls in a technique called emplekton.”
5. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/bushat-not-lost-but-found-a-new-illyrian-settlement-in-northern-albania/43C275473858E34DC5756A8ED34BDE37 “In all three trenches, but particularly at areas one and two, considerable amounts of Hellenistic pottery were found. These consisted largely of amphorae (with the MGS IV type dominant – this is very common in the Adriatic), but also kitchen ware and black gloss table ware (Figure 6). … Based on the pottery and other small finds, including a coin of Demetrius I of Macedon dated post-304 BC, the site was dated to the fourth to third centuries BC.”
6. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/bushat-not-lost-but-found-a-new-illyrian-settlement-in-northern-albania/43C275473858E34DC5756A8ED34BDE37 “At the same time, Bushat is an important case study for the process of Hellenisation taking place in Illyria, which had not belonged to Alexander's Empire, but gradually absorbed Greek influences, as evidenced by the architecture and pottery.”
7. Derow 2015, p. 276.
8. Šašel Kos 2005, p. 286.
9. "Polish archaeologists discover over 2000 years old lost city in Albania".

Bibliography

• Demiraj, Bardhyl (2016). "Ilir. Bassania". Konferencë shkencore: Ndre Mjeda – 150 vjetori i lindjes. Prishtinë: Akademia e Shkencave dhe e Arteve e Kosovës, Seksioni i Gjuhësisë dhe i Letërsisë; Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë.
• Derow, Peter (2015). A. Erskine; J. Crawley Quinn (eds.). Rome, Polybius and the East. Oxford: OUP. ISBN   978-0199640904.
• Šašel Kos, Marjeta (2005). Appian and Illyricum. Narodni Muzej Slovenije. ISBN   978-961-6169-36-3.
• Wilkes, John J. (1992). The Illyrians. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN   0-631-19807-5.