Paleokastra Castle

The castle of Paleokastra is a castle built during Late Antiquity and lies around 13km north of Gjirokastra in the village of Palokastër. It lies on a river terrace at the confluence between Drino and Kardhiq and occupies a surface area of around 1ha.[1]

History

The castle was built in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD. It was built in a strategic location, easily defendable through the two rivers surrounding it. It was part of a set of castles to secure the Drino valley. It was however destroyed soon thereafter by the Goths in 378AD. The castle was rebuilt thereafter together with 2 churches. It was inhabited until around the 6th century AD. The castle was excavated between 1971-1976.[1]

Structure

The walls can be grouped into the two building periods mentioned above.

The First Building Period (Late 3th - Early 4th Century AD)

The first period which lies around 300 AD is classified by old stones recycled from antique buildings. It was around 8 metres high and 2.3 metres wide. Today's remnants reach around 3m height. Part of this first construction period is also an army barrack which was found beneath the fundaments of a Basilica of the 5th Century AD. Two inscriptions dating between 311-313 AD and 324-337 AD were found during the excavations. They were made by two Praesides of the Province of Epirus Vetus - Valerius Cassianus and Julius Lepidus and were dedicated to the Emperors Licinius and Constans II. This is seen as a proof that the construction of the castle lied in the hands of the provincial government.[2]

The Second Building Period (5th-6th Century AD)

The second period is classified by a mix of limestone and bricks as building materials. The castle has 12 square towers and two round towers on the corners. The side of the castle that faces the Drino does not have any towers at all. The main gate of the castle lies on the western side and is roughly 2.9m wide. The castle also has two minor gates which lie in the north and right next to the Drino in the east.[2]

Sacral Buildings

The ruins of two churches were excavated in the 1970's. one lies inside the castle walls and dates to the 5th century AD. It is a three-nave basilica. The middle nave is 13x5.3m big, the two side naves are respectively 2.15m and 2.49m wide. The second church was built outside the castle walls and lies to the South of it. It is a single-nave basilica to which side naves were addded later on. The church was paved with bricks and had frescos on its walls.[1][3]

References
  1. Zindel, Christian (2018). Albanien ein Archäologie- und Kunstführer von der Steinzeit bis ins 19. Jahrhundert. Andreas Lippert, Bashkim Lahi, Machiel Kiel, Böhlau Verlag GmbH & Co. KG ([1. Auflage] ed.). Wien. ISBN 978-3-205-20723-8. OCLC 1029450318.
  2. Baçe, Apollon (1981). Kështjella e Paleokastrës. OCLC 888359747.
  3. Gilkes. (2012). Albania. An archaeological guide. I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78076-069-8. OCLC 775066060.
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