Hasan Ceka | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 08/25/1900 |
| Died | 1/11/1998 |
| Nationality | Albanian |
| Citizenship | Albania |
| Education | University of Vienna |
| Occupation | Archaeologist |
| Children | 4 |
Hasan Ceka was a renowned Albanian archaeologist and numismatist from Elbasan, Albania. He is known for his archeological missions in Apollonia and Butrint, as well as his contributions in Illyrian numismatics. He became known as the founder of Albanian archeology.
Ceka was born in 1900 to an intellectual family that took pride in its patriotic tradition. His father, Hysen Ceka, had studied in Istanbul and was a friend of poet Naim Frasheri, one of the most prominent figures of the Albanian National Awakening. Upon returning to Albania, Hysen built Albanian schools in the town of Elbasan, the region of Shpat, and elsewhere. [1]
Following a strong familial tradition in education, Hasan pursued his studies in Vienna. He studied alongside other young Albanian intellectuals, including Aleks Buda, Eqrem Çabej, Hamdi Sulçebe, Qemal Butka, Frederik Shiroka, among others. Ceka distinguished himself as a bright student, completing his studies at the University of Vienna in 1930. [1]
After returning to Albania in 1930, he worked at the National Library, where he created an archaeological collection and represented the Albanian state on archaeological missions in Apollonia and Butrint.
Known as the founder of Albanian archaeology, [2] [1] Professor Hasan Ceka led the first archaeological expedition in Apollonia in 1947 as well as the creation of the Archaeological Ethnographic Museum in Tirana. After several informative expeditions in different archaeological sites, he returned to Apollonia in 1956 to dedicate all of his research to the ancient city.
Alongside the excavations in Apollonia, Prof. Ceka showed special care for the collection and preservation of the Albanian ancient and medieval monetary heritage, managing to create the numismatic cabinet with a very rich and high-quality collection. He uniquely specialized in numismatics. Hasan Ceka is considered the founder of Albanian numismatics. Thanks to his care, the Numismatic Cabinet was created with the Albanian ancient and medieval monetary heritage. In 1965 he published his major scholarly work titled "Problems of Illyrian Numismatics". He published many articles in scientific domain both domestically and abroad about the history of the Illyrians and Albanians. He left in manuscript the work "The Coins of Dyrrachium and Apollonia".