Ancient theatre discovered at Illyrian site

TIRANA, Dec. 5 – A group of Albanian and German archeologists has discovered an ancient theatre in the ancient town of Dimal situated in the Krotina fortress just outside the UNESCO World Heritage site of Berat, southern Albania.
The discovery was made by specialists of the Albanian Institute of Archeology and Germany’s University of Cologne, Deutsche Welle reported this week. Ancient Dimal, was inhabited by the Illyrians, Albanians’ predecessors until 168 BC following Albania’s Roman conquest.
Michael Heinzelmann, a professor of the University of Cologne, says the traces of the theatre are very important for a town which is believed to have been small and short-lived. The development and prosperity of this town dates back from the III to II century B.C, a period when the acropolis’s first fortification was abandoned and a new wall was built to replace it.
Dimal becomes the seventh ancient theatre to have been discovered in Albania testifying to the major impact of Greek colonies along the Adriatic coast, such as those in Apollonia.
Another important discovery the joint Albanian-German expedition has made is a portico on the western part of the ancient site as part of the fortification system.
“Our new excavation objective is the ancient city’s general urban planning as a concept of life beyond death by continuing excavations in the respective metropolis,” said Belisa Muka of the Albanian Institute of Archaeology, describing the discoveries in the Illyrian site as the most important after the suspension of excavations in the early 90s.
The first excavations in Dimal began at the site in 1963 and since then a 30m long Stoa has been unearthed. The monument clearly resembles the Stoa of Apollonia, indicating the strong links between these two cities. Many stamped tiles have been found, bearing the names of the workshop owners but also the name, Dimalitan showing that the workshops were property of the city. The ancient writer Polybius mentions the city in the Second Illyrian-Roman war, during 219-218 B.C., when the city was fortified. The Roman historian Titus Livius, mentions Dimal again in the events of 205 B.C. when the city was ruled by Romans. Several inscriptions found during the excavations shed light on the political organization of the ancient city.