Albanian Cultural Heritage

During the 2nd century C.E. the city’s
status as a major trade center was further
enhanced by the construction of the Via
Egnatia, a roadway linking the Adriatic with
Thessaloniki and later, with Constantinople.
The largest of all public buildings
constructed in Dyrrachium during the 1st
and 2nd centuries C.E. is the amphitheater,
with a capacity estimated between 15,000
- 20,000 people, situated near the center
of the modern city. Other important
archaeological finds are the public baths
dating back from the 2nd century CE, the
remains of a 15km long aqueduct built
during the reign of Hadrian, the Byzantine
era walls, and the round forum-macellum,
built in the 5th - 6th centuries, C.E.
DURRËSI COUNTY
Most of the excavations begun in the 1960s
and most of them are ongoing, allowing
observers a rare opportunity to view an
archaeological excavation in progress.
One of the most interesting finds in the city
is “Bukuroshja e Durrësit”, (The Beauty of
Durrës) mosaic, housed in the National
Historic Museum in Tirana. The mosaic
dates back from the 4th century B.C.E.,
surviving as a wonderful example from
this period. In the 9th century C.E., the city
entered into a turbulent period.
Normans attacked the city in 1071 and
then again in 1081 C.E., subsequently
attacks by Venetians and later, Ottomans,
threatened the city’s very existence. In the
city of Durrës you may also visit the Archaeological
and Ethnographic Museums.
21