Hadrianpolis excavation featured in book

TIRANA, March 14 – “Hadrianapolis II, Results of archeological excavations 2005-2010,” a book by Italy’s Roberto Perna and Albania’s Dhimiter Kondi will be promoted this weekend in Tirana. The volume, which will be promoted on Saturday, March 16 at 11.00, is a detailed compilation of the six-year Italian-Albanian joint expedition in Hadrianapolis, an ancient Roman archeological park in southern Albania.
Few months ago, the Albanian-Italian team resumed excavations in the ancient Roman Hadrianapolis park, southern Albania for another two years. The resumption of works after their suspension in late 2011 will make possible the discovery and restoration of most of the park, archeologists say.
“We started work here in 2005 together with Albanian colleagues. At that time, Hadrianopolis was quite unknown and our final goal was to turn it into an archeological park with all the restored items and accessible to tourists,” says Professor Roberto Perna of Italy’s University of Macerata, a co-director of the expedition.
Last year, a photo exhibition called “Hadrianapolis, a Roman town in ancient Epirus” was featured at the Italian Institute of Culture. The exhibition featured sixty colored and black and white photos illustrating archeological excavations Italian experts have been carrying out in cooperation with Albanian colleagues in the Hadrinapolis park.
Previous expeditions in the site managed to discover important remains such as the Roman baths, monumental tombs and an ancient church, all of which are expected to give Hadrianapolis the national park status and attract more visitors.
Located in Drino valley in Gjirokastra region by a village bearing the same name, Roman Hadrianopolis dates back to the second century A.D. The theatre was excavated in 1984 and has a capacity of 4,000 seats in 27 steps.
The settlement, Hellenistic in origin, was re-founded under Emperor Hadrian, who gave it its name. The excavated remains include public buildings such as a theatre and Roman baths, large parts of the urban settlement and an extensive necropolis.