Visiting Butrint in Albania (18)

The Butrint Baptistery is one of the outstanding early Byzantine monuments of the central Mediterranean. Its complex structure ranks it alongside the large free-standing baptisteries of late antique and medieval Italy, and its extraordinary mosaic pavement is the best preserved and by far the most elaborate of any of these. The floor design consists of seven bands circling the baptismal font at the centre - making in all eight, the Christian number of salvation and eternity. Salvation is one of the principal themes of the mosaic, expressed as the water of baptism and the water of life. To the northwest, or left of the font, a door led into an adjoining room which is also decorated with a mosaic floor. The function of the room is hard to determine, although it is most likely an adjunct space used by the bishop to instruct and confirm candidates for baptism before and after their spiritual rebirth through the baptismal rite. The mosaic is contemporary with the Baptistery pavement, though of a different design: a running ivy scroll around the walls of the room contains two large areas, one consisting of squares and motifs of birds, branches bearing fruit and peacocks flanking vases; the other, medallions, interlocking octagons with black trees and an inscription recording the name of a bishop.Ideally, the Baptistery complex and its mosaics would be permanently on display. However, seasonal rise and fall of the water level in the surrounding lagoon results in repeated submerging and drying of the pavement. If the mosaic were constantly exposed to the air this process would lead rapidly to permanent and irreversible deterioration. So. to ensure the long-term preservation of the mosaics, the floor of the Baptistery will normally have to be kept covered. Every few years the mosaics will be uncovered for a limited period to allow public access and scientific conservation.

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The ruins of the funerary monument known as the Columbarium lie outside Butrint circuit of walls and close to the Lion Gate. First excavated in the 1930s by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Maria Ugolini, it was interpreted then as a bathhouse which was converted into a funerary monument during the 5th century AD. However, survey work undertaken at Butrint from the 1990s re-examined this building and suggested its primary function was that of a mausoleum, rather than a bathhouse, as evidenced by its form and location away from the main city. The building is rectangular in plan, measuring roughly 8m by 16m, with many interior and later divisions for the insertion of tombs. It is thought that there are a number of unexcavated tombs remaining within the building. Work in 2015 revealed a mosaic with marble slab in the center which possibly served as a podium for pre-burial body setting and preparation. The mosaic was identified as belonging to a church that had been partially excavated by Ugolini and dated to the 5th-6th century AD. 

The so-called Lion Gate takes its name from the relief depicting a lion devouring the head of a bull positioned above the entrance. The lion relief was not part of the original wall, but was placed here in the 5th century AD, in order to reduce the size of the gate and make it easier to defend. The relief is from a temple building and may date from as early as the 6th century BC. As you pass through the gate you will see a spring which, during Roman times, was associated with the cult of nymphs. An inscription in front of the well records that a citizen of Butrint, Junia Rufina, paid for its refurbishment in the 2nd century AD: 'Junia Rufina friend of nymphs'. When it was first excavated, Christian motifs were discovered on the back wall of the well, suggesting that the pagan spring had been Christianised in the 5th or 6th centuries AD.

The spectacular circuit wall of Butrint dates back to the 4th century BC and is a fine example of the engineering skills of this period. The wall was constructed, without mortar, using large blocks that fit closely together. The gate was discovered by the Italian Archaeological Mission in the 1930s. They associated the gate with the Scaean Gate mentioned in Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid (Book III).Virgil recounts Aeneas' journey from Troy to Italy, and his meeting with the Trojan exiles, Helenus and Andromache who, according to legend, founded Butrint.I saw before me Troy in miniatureA slender copy of our massive tower,A dry brooklet named Xanthus... and I pressedMy body against a Scaean Gate. Those with meFeasted their eyes on this, our kinsmen's town.In spacious colonnades the king received them,And offering mid-court their cups of wineThey made libation, while on plates of goldA feast was brought before them.Look for the plum-line cut into the corner of the wall. This may have been to ensure the straight arrangement of the blocks or else served for a drain-pipe. Whatever its function, it is proof of the masterful precision of the 4th century BC builders. Later FortificationsCaesar's legacy - a flourishing Roman port - ended in the later 6th century with the collapse of the Mediterranean economy. Already, in the 5th century Butrint had been fortified along its shoreline leaving the urban area on the plain undedefended. As we have seen, the town flourished within these walls, before the Slavs reached here in the 580s and much of the lower city was abandoned. In 1081 the Norman adventurer, Robert Guiscard took the town, but he was quickly expelled by the Byzantines.Throughout the medieval period Butrint's fortifications were rebuilt and reinforced many times. In the 13th century, with the revival of the town under the Epirote Despots of Arta, a new castle was made at the west end of the acropolis. At the same time the entire wall circuit was refurbished. The walls were repaired many times as Angevins, Venetians and Byzantines struggled to control this pivotal point on the Strait of Corfu. In an attempt to reduce the financial burden of maintaining Butrint, a new fortress was built on the south side of the Channel by the Venetians in the 15th century. This fortress, known as the Triangular Castle, defended the fish traps of Butrint which were the primary financial asset of the settlement in this period. Soon after the fortress was built, the old town was abandoned in its favour.

This was the main entrance into Butrint between the 3rd century BC and the 14th century AD. In the later 3rd century BC an imposing entrance, the Tower Gate, was constructed. It was flanked by a round tower on one side and a rectangular tower on the other, both with arrow slits. Wooden gates sealed each end of the long passageway between the two towers, which was wide enough for a cart to pass. In the Roman period a bridge and aqueduct were constructed and crossed the Vivari Channel at this point. The water would have been distributed within the city by branch aqueducts, although none survive today. Between the Tower Gate and the bridge lay two monumental fountains forming a symbolic gateway into the city. Only one fountain survives. Statues of Dionysius and Apollo were found in two of its three niches. By the medieval period the bridge and aqueduct had long since collapsed. Nevertheless the 'Water Gate' built here in the 13th century shows how the gate remained Butrint's most important entrance.

The Archaeological Museum of Butrint was opened in 1938 to highlight the plentiful, and largely Graeco-Roman finds, from the Italian Archaeological Mission of the 1920s and 1930s, led by Luigi Maria Ugolini and was reopened during the 1950s-1960s, in the premises of the Venetian fortress within the acropolis of the ancient city. It contained the plentiful Graeco-Roman archaeological finds from the Italian Archaeological Mission of the period between the two World Wars (1928- 1940), that eventually survived the devastation of World War II.The entire collections of the museum is presented on the basis of three criteria namely;the chronological one, which aims to display the development of the city in different periods of time from the prehistory (Stone Age) to its decline during the Middle Ages;the thematic one, to show aspects from everyday economic and social life such as handicrafts, trade, relations with the region and the Mediterranean, art, religion, education, etc.;the didactic one that is developed through the use of information panels, maps, sketches, models, three-dimensional reconstructions of the main monuments. The rich collection and the inspiring landscape have turned it into one of the most visited archeological centers in Albania. The Virtual tour of this museum is available through the webpage of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Albania.

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Data point related to the Nymphaeum - Butrint located in Ksamil. This element is categorized as Architecture,Historical Building in Albania, and the coordinates are 39.7462 (North), 20.0230 (East). Improve the page of Nymphaeum - Butrint, we need your experience as a traveler, culture expert, photographer or local expert to get some information about Nymphaeum - Butrint in Ksamil, Albania. Currently open to receiveBlog posts which talk about Nymphaeum - ButrintPictures of Nymphaeum - ButrintNews articles about Nymphaeum - ButrintVideo related to Nymphaeum - ButrintHistorical facts/events about Nymphaeum - Butrint

Butrint, from the 5th century, had a bishop and the Great Basilica was the bishop's church. It was constructed in the early 6th century AD, at the same time as the Baptistery. The original basilica would have had the three aisles separated by colonnades of columns and capitals reused from earlier buildings, some of these can still be seen inside. The floor was paved with a mosaic, which was created by the same craftsmen who made the Baptistery mosaic, and there was a polygonal apse. In the medieval period the Basilica was substantially rebuilt with stone piers and a new semi-circular apse. A flagstone floor was placed over the mosaic pavement. Elsewhere in the town another eight churches have been found so far. The most significant of these is located on the plain on the opposite side of the Vivari Channel.