DOI article:
Rummel, Christoph: Geomagnetic research at Risan (Montenegro) and Shkodër (Albania), 2011 season
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41947#0022
Shkoder
The modem city of Shkoder, ancient Scodra, is situated on the southeastern tip of Lake Shkoder
in the north of Albania and is one of the largest cities of the country. The city surrounds two hills.
The southern one, Rozafa, is believed to have formed the core of the ancient settlement. As such,
it must have dominated a narrow stretch of land between lake Shkoder and the confluence of three
major rivers, the Drin, the Buna and the Kiri.18 It is believed to have been established as capital of
the Illyrian Labeates tribe in the fourth century BC and has been associated directly with King
Gentius and Queen Teuta.19 In 168 BC, Scodra was conquered by the Romans.20 Variously belong-
ing to the provinces of Illyricum and later Dalmatia, Scodra remained an important centre in late
Antiquity and the Byzantine period.21
As the little that is known of ancient Scodra is based primarily on literary evidence and hy-
potheses on the basis of limited rescue excavations, the Center for Research on the Antiquity of
Southeastern Europe initiated a new joint Albanian-Polish research project at Shkoder in September
2011. Over the next five years, this project aims to reconstruct the topography of the ancient site
and define its chronology.22 As part of the initial campaign, the RGK geomagnetic survey presented
here was aimed at defining the structural makeup in the key areas of the Polish excavation pro-
gramme in order to provide a wider context for the results of these. In view of the limited time-
frame, the survey was seen as a trial in order to assess to what extent ground conditions in Shkoder
are favourable enough to extend the geophysical survey in the future.
The areas surveyed in Shkoder can be divided into two survey areas [Pig. 3], the western
survey area 1 being placed southwest of one Polish trench (at the time of the survey) in an orchard
and green fields west of the Lezhe road [Fig. 14]. This part of the survey was run in optimal ground
conditions on flat grassland between isolated tress, although there was some disturbance in the
form of modern power- and telephone-posts as well as a transformer house situated to the west of
the area. The general aim of research in this area was to try and define a fortification wall that had
been identified in Albanian rescue excavations23 (expected in grids 7 and 8) and clarify whether
or not settlement traces can be found outside the fortified part of Scodra. Survey area 1 was placed
in open grassland to the east of Xhamia e Plumbit mosque in order to define the surrounding area
of the other Polish excavation area and define whether this part of the site contains any remains
of antique settlement patterns. While surface conditions were optimal, several one-man bunkers
in the research area clearly limited a sensible placement of survey grids [Fig. 15].
Aside from a large number of strong dipoles (up to +/-1000 nT), the main interest in the geo-
magnetic map of survey area 2 [Fig. 8] is the vast number of amorphous pits found in all three
grids surveyed, especially in view of the practical absence of linear anomalies that could be inter-
preted as walls. Three roughly parallel linear anomalies in grid 9 that follow a NNW-SSE orien-
tation could conceivably be interpreted as walls; in view of the fact that they would form a building
of 26 m x 16 m, however, it seems unlikely that they belong to one structure. If settlement activity
in this part of the site is to be assumed, it could be suggested that some of the identified amorphous
anomalies indicating pits may represent the postholes of timber buildings. The sheer number of
pits, however, does not allow for any clear connection into rectangular shapes — although multiple
variations, all conjectured, are not doubt possible. As such, the data could represent a multi-period
settlement of timber buildings. The identified pits could equally well be the result of other forms
of human activity.
18 Lemke 2011.
19 Wilkes 1992, p. 172.
20 Śaśel-Kos 2007, p. 136.
21 Hoxha2003.
22 http://www.novae.uw.edu.pl/english/scodra/scodra201 l.htm.
23 Lemke 2011, esp. fig. 4.
The modem city of Shkoder, ancient Scodra, is situated on the southeastern tip of Lake Shkoder
in the north of Albania and is one of the largest cities of the country. The city surrounds two hills.
The southern one, Rozafa, is believed to have formed the core of the ancient settlement. As such,
it must have dominated a narrow stretch of land between lake Shkoder and the confluence of three
major rivers, the Drin, the Buna and the Kiri.18 It is believed to have been established as capital of
the Illyrian Labeates tribe in the fourth century BC and has been associated directly with King
Gentius and Queen Teuta.19 In 168 BC, Scodra was conquered by the Romans.20 Variously belong-
ing to the provinces of Illyricum and later Dalmatia, Scodra remained an important centre in late
Antiquity and the Byzantine period.21
As the little that is known of ancient Scodra is based primarily on literary evidence and hy-
potheses on the basis of limited rescue excavations, the Center for Research on the Antiquity of
Southeastern Europe initiated a new joint Albanian-Polish research project at Shkoder in September
2011. Over the next five years, this project aims to reconstruct the topography of the ancient site
and define its chronology.22 As part of the initial campaign, the RGK geomagnetic survey presented
here was aimed at defining the structural makeup in the key areas of the Polish excavation pro-
gramme in order to provide a wider context for the results of these. In view of the limited time-
frame, the survey was seen as a trial in order to assess to what extent ground conditions in Shkoder
are favourable enough to extend the geophysical survey in the future.
The areas surveyed in Shkoder can be divided into two survey areas [Pig. 3], the western
survey area 1 being placed southwest of one Polish trench (at the time of the survey) in an orchard
and green fields west of the Lezhe road [Fig. 14]. This part of the survey was run in optimal ground
conditions on flat grassland between isolated tress, although there was some disturbance in the
form of modern power- and telephone-posts as well as a transformer house situated to the west of
the area. The general aim of research in this area was to try and define a fortification wall that had
been identified in Albanian rescue excavations23 (expected in grids 7 and 8) and clarify whether
or not settlement traces can be found outside the fortified part of Scodra. Survey area 1 was placed
in open grassland to the east of Xhamia e Plumbit mosque in order to define the surrounding area
of the other Polish excavation area and define whether this part of the site contains any remains
of antique settlement patterns. While surface conditions were optimal, several one-man bunkers
in the research area clearly limited a sensible placement of survey grids [Fig. 15].
Aside from a large number of strong dipoles (up to +/-1000 nT), the main interest in the geo-
magnetic map of survey area 2 [Fig. 8] is the vast number of amorphous pits found in all three
grids surveyed, especially in view of the practical absence of linear anomalies that could be inter-
preted as walls. Three roughly parallel linear anomalies in grid 9 that follow a NNW-SSE orien-
tation could conceivably be interpreted as walls; in view of the fact that they would form a building
of 26 m x 16 m, however, it seems unlikely that they belong to one structure. If settlement activity
in this part of the site is to be assumed, it could be suggested that some of the identified amorphous
anomalies indicating pits may represent the postholes of timber buildings. The sheer number of
pits, however, does not allow for any clear connection into rectangular shapes — although multiple
variations, all conjectured, are not doubt possible. As such, the data could represent a multi-period
settlement of timber buildings. The identified pits could equally well be the result of other forms
of human activity.
18 Lemke 2011.
19 Wilkes 1992, p. 172.
20 Śaśel-Kos 2007, p. 136.
21 Hoxha2003.
22 http://www.novae.uw.edu.pl/english/scodra/scodra201 l.htm.
23 Lemke 2011, esp. fig. 4.