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Richard
Hodges, William Bowden and Kosta Lako, eds.
Byzantine
Butrint: Excavations and Surveys 1994-99.
Oxbow,
2005.
ISBN
1842171585.
Hardback.
432p, 88
b/w pls, 169 b/w illus, 31 col pls, 16 col illus, tbs.
Publisher's
recommended price £40.00
The ancient walled town of
Butrint sits at the crossroads of the Mediterranean. In its heyday it
could command sea-routes up the Adriatic Sea to the north, across the
Mediterranean to the west, and south through the Ionian islands. It
also controlled a land-route into the mountainous Balkan interior. For
much of its long history it occupied a hill on a bend in the Vivari
Channel, which connects the Straits to the large inland lagoon of Lake
Butrint. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992, Butrint
covers an area of around 16 ha, but geophysical survey has shown that
at times it was almost twice this size. The site itself is made up of
two parts: the acropolis and the lower city. The acropolis is a long
narrow hill, whose sides are accentuated by a circuit of walls that
separate it from the natural and artificial terraces gathered around
the flanks of the hill. The lower city occupies the lower-lying
contours down to the edge of the Vivari Channel. This book brings to
life this extraordinary Byzantine town, with chapters on the historical
sources, various aspects of the archaeological excavation and survey,
finds of pottery and environmental remains.
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