Grazhdan Castle

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The Grazhdan castle is found near Peshkopi in northern Albania.

Contents

Description

The castle is located around 15 km southeast of Peshkopi, on a terrace between the streams of Grazhdan and Maqellara. [1] The castle was built in Late Antiquity around the time of Constantine the Great, rebuilt with a smaller wall around the time of Justinian I, and was strategically located where a branch of Via Egnatia met the Lissus–Naissus road. It is near the Black Drin Valley in a region where a line of late Roman forts is found and of which Grazhdan is the largest. [2] [1] [3] The walls encircled a surface of 34 hectares and were built of irregular stonework and bricks. They were 3.2 m thick and reached a length of around 3 km. There were 3 large gates and 44 towers of various shapes. One tower was turned into a small church in the Middle Ages. A cemetery was built in the former gate area and functioned in the 11th-12th century period. [1]

Johann Georg von Hahn was the first to write about the castle. Later in 1975 Apollon Baçe made a survey, and Luan Përzhita in 2001 started excavations. [1]

The castle has been connected to various settlements attested in ancient writings, specifically Dobera, Deuphracus mentioned by Procopius and Uscana. [1] [3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Zindel, Christian; Lippert, Andreas; Lahi, Bashkim; Kiel, Machiel (2018). Albanien: Ein Archäologie- und Kunstführer von der Steinzeit bis ins 19. Jahrhundert (in German). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 450–451.
  2. ↑ Winnifrith, Tom (2021). Nobody's Kingdom: A History of Northern Albania. Andrews UK Limited. pp. 63, 78.
  3. 1 2 Winnifrith, Tom (2021). Nobody's Kingdom: A History of Northern Albania. Andrews UK Limited. p. 152.

41°36′22″N20°27′57″E / 41.60611°N 20.46583°E / 41.60611; 20.46583

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