L’American journal of archaeology vient de publier les résultats de la saison de fouilles 2004-2005 par une équipe albano-américaine sur le site du tumulus de Lofkënd (région de Mallakastër) qui comprend une soixantaine de tombes de l’Age de fer.L’exploration de ce site offrait une opportunité rare d’examiner des éléments de la civilisation illyrienne de la période précédant immédiatement la fondation des colonies grecques sur la côte. Ces fouilles ont permis également de comprendre les rapports entre une tombe monumentale comme le tumulus et le reste du groupe. Elles ont également apporté des éléments importants sur les coutumes funéraires des Illyriens. L’article est disponible en ligne ici avec de nombreuses photos des fouilles. Le tumulus se trouve à une altitude de 318 m au dessus de la mer et domine la vallée de Gjanicë (comme le tumulus de Patos, 14km au nord-ouest de Lofkënd). Il était situé à proximité des centres fortifiés proto-urbains de Margëlliç, Gurëzozë, Mashkjezë, Byllis, Klos-Nikaia et Dimal et à la limite est de l’ancienne colonie corinthienne d’Apollonia, sur le territoire tribal des Bylliones.
John K. PAPADOPOULOS, Lorenc BEJKO, Sarah P. MORRIS, « Excavations at the prehistoric burial tumulus of Lofkënd in Albania : a preliminary report for the 2004-2005 seasons”, American journal of archaeology, vol. 111, n°1, p. 105-147.
Abstract: Exploration of an Early Iron Age burial tumulus at Lofkënd in Albania offered a unique opportunity to examine the formative period immediately preceding the founding of Greek colonies on the coast and how such a prominent burial place functioned in relation to a particular group, or groups, of people in Illyria. We anticipated that the investigation of a major burial site predating both the colonial foundations and the majority of the so-called protourban centers in the region would lead to a better understanding of the processes that contributed to the rise of urbanism in Illyria. This report presents a preliminary account of the 2004 and 2005 excavation seasons, during which time more than 60 burials were cleared. Mortuary customs are discussed and a brief account of a DNA study is presented. Various finds from the fill of the tumulus and a soil analysis provide important new evidence on tumulus formation. We review the chronology of the site and present the preliminary results of a fully textured three-dimensional model of the mound and its tombs.
John K. PAPADOPOULOS, Lorenc BEJKO, Sarah P. MORRIS, « Excavations at the prehistoric burial tumulus of Lofkënd in Albania : a preliminary report for the 2004-2005 seasons”, American journal of archaeology, vol. 111, n°1, p. 105-147.
Abstract: Exploration of an Early Iron Age burial tumulus at Lofkënd in Albania offered a unique opportunity to examine the formative period immediately preceding the founding of Greek colonies on the coast and how such a prominent burial place functioned in relation to a particular group, or groups, of people in Illyria. We anticipated that the investigation of a major burial site predating both the colonial foundations and the majority of the so-called protourban centers in the region would lead to a better understanding of the processes that contributed to the rise of urbanism in Illyria. This report presents a preliminary account of the 2004 and 2005 excavation seasons, during which time more than 60 burials were cleared. Mortuary customs are discussed and a brief account of a DNA study is presented. Various finds from the fill of the tumulus and a soil analysis provide important new evidence on tumulus formation. We review the chronology of the site and present the preliminary results of a fully textured three-dimensional model of the mound and its tombs.
