Late-antique and Medieval Walls

Late Antiquity 

 

During Late Antiquity, the wall circuit was extensively renewed. The western part of the city, where it became more vulnerable because of the proximity of the isthmus, was reinforced through the construction of a new defensive circuit. It is now known as Western Defences, and it was built between the 5th and 6th century AD. The walls are formed by rectangular worked limestone bonded with grey and white mortar and are completed with three towers defending the lower city for about 100 m between the West Gate and the Vivari Channel. Today the towers are bounded within the masonry, however they were originally built over a Roman period structure, whose spolia seldom appear in the walls, and which probably determined their alignment in Late Antiquity. The Butrint Foundation has conducted some trial excavations in Towers 1 and 2 between 2004 and 2008, revealing an almost identical archaeological sequence between the two. They are rectangular structures, equipped with three stores: the lowest levels were used for storage, while the higher for defence. The uppermost chambers were accessed through a staircase running up against the inner face of the wall which was connected to the wall-walk of the curtain wall. The lower floors were accessed using a wooden ladder. The floor of the first and second storeys were supported by timber joists. These towers remained in use for a long time after their construction. It seems that from the early 7th century AD these towers were transformed into domestic buildings.

Along the northern edge of the site, the Late-Antique walls circled the lower city following the route of the previous fortifications, which were probably preserved to such a height as to still guarantee a valid defence, making only partial restoration operations when necessary. The expansion of the wall circuit along the southern shore of the lake, up to the edge of the Vivari Channel while a further section was also laid across the isthmus, has been dated to the 5th-6th century AD by the archaeologists of the Butrint Foundation, based on the stratigraphic investigations carried out at the Triconch Palace in the levels leaning against the fortification. The course of this wall circuit is not known in its entirety because of the limited evidences. No structures survive to its full height, it is not clear whether there were towers along the circuit or if it supported fighting platforms. It seems likely that it extended along the channel edge, however there is little sign of it beyond the Water Gate and it is possible that the Late Antique wall may have turned at this point to meet the Classical wall next to the Tower Gate. The Late Antique wall circuit was built in a way to connect earlier Roman buildings together, thus giving it an uneven appearance. This is visible in the area of the Triconch Palace, where the earlier structures were demolished leaving a continuous and uneven barrier, or even in Saranda. The new sections were built using tightly coursed limestone, bonded with coarse mortar and tile or spolia. Numerous gateways were opened on the wall circuit, underlying that the waterfront was still accessible from the city. It seems that the Classic and Hellenistic fortification on the north side of the city were still used as defence, even though further implemented in some cases. An example is the wall circuit near the Lion Gate where the wall was rebuilt in the Medieval phase, probably mirroring a rebuilding of the Classical wall that had already been part of the Late Antique fortification. The section to the west of the Colombarium also belongs to the Late Antique fortification, running northwest out from the line of the classical wall and appears to link part of the Colombarium to the wall circuit. Late Antique walls distinguish themselves by their construction technique, which usually involves decorative scoring along the mortar courses. It is possible that this wall circuit included the Roman buttressing of the earlier city wall. Another possible section of the Late Anquite wall circuit is found at the base of the acropolis, running to the Vivari Channel and controlling the access to Butrint from the isthmus. Little is visible of it, with the exception of a large upstanding section of tightly coursed masonry filled with spolia that was part of a tower. 

 

Middle Age

 

During the Medieval phase new defensive wall circuits were built all over the town, dividing the city into three districts: the acropolis, the lower city and the northern citadel. For what concerns the area of the Western Defences, by the late 8th century they were used as dwellings and had probably lost their military function. However, their occupation ended when both towers were destroyed after a fire broke out, probably after an attack. The upper floors and tiled roofs collapsed, the structure was not destroyed but it was only rarely occupied in the following centuries. In the 13th century they were fortified again and their interior completely changed, but it is not known the extent of this program of reconstruction, which also involved new buildings. 

A first set of interventions were made before the 13th century, however it is difficult to date them properly. One of the main characteristics of the Medieval construction is the use of limestone masonry with clear lifts and string-courses. The wall is bounded with the thick lime mortar, and often four to six small stones are laid diagonally rather than horizontally, probably to keep the coursing level in the absence of larger stones. The acropolis wall enclosed the entire summit of the hill for the first time and it was made with reused blocks from the Hellenist defences. It was characterised by fighting platforms and crenelations, still partially visible, and it employed the same gateways built in the Hellenistic period, even though some of them were renovated (the northern and western gate were flanked by watchtowers and the southern one was protected by an outer wall). Five new gateways were also built, four of which entered through the northern citadel and were all flanked by towers. For what concerns the lower city, in many areas it is difficult to make a distinction between the Medieval and the Late Antique wall, however it seems that this refurbishment included the development of a major gateway at the bridging-point between the Vrina Plain and Butrint, the so-called Water Gate. The construction technique is similar to the one used on the acropolis, which see coursed limestone with little tile and numerous spolia, bonded with coarse gravel and shell-rich mortar. Numerous large square putlog holes can also be found, as it can be seen on the wall between the Lake Gate and the Lion Gate. 

A second phase of massive reconstruction is dated between the 13th and 14th century. It is characterised by a distintive construction technique characterised by an extensive use of spolia and tiles between large stones, as well as the use of narrow circular putlog holes lined with mortar. This new building program encompassed the lower and upper wall circuits and increased the defences on the landward side of the city. The fortification around the Acropolis were implemented between the 13th and 14th century. The castle was strengthened with walls, buildings, and a southern tower. The western approach to the acropolis was remodelled adding a new outer wall from the medieval tower overlooking the West Gate down to the foot of the acropolis. It was also strengthened with the addition of an external triangular bastion. This new entrance had a clearly defensive nature, highlighted also by the numerous arrow slits piercing the wall near the West Gate and the barracks building. Another semicircular bastion was added between the Lake Gate and the Lion Gate A new defensive wall was extended northwards down the steep slope from the West Gate to the lakeshore, restricting the access from the isthmus to the northern citadel. The four gates along the northern side of the earlier medieval walls were blocked preventing the access to the northern citadel, while the south wall collapsed and was rebuilt in a series of terraces. The lower circuit was implemented through the construction of new towers, like the one near the Triconch Palace, new wall-walks and the reconstruction of gateways. Large stretches of the wall were rebuilt and new towers were constructed in correspondence with earlier gateways, and in particular near the West Gate.

 

Venetian phase 

 

The wall circuit was altered in this period and new fortifications were built, such as the Venetian Tower and the Triangular Fortress. The construction technique is derived from the buildings of the late Medieval phase, with the use of tile and both square and circular putlog holes. New gateways and triangular bastions were added to the Medieval defences, probably in the attempt to give better protection to the westward side of the city. For this same purpose, barracks were built in the north side of the city and the defences were extended down to the lake shore by the insertion of a new wall. A new gateway was built here, flanked by a watchtower controlling the access from the isthmus to the outer wall of the northern citadel and the North Gate. The last reparations of the fortification on the Acropolis probably took place at the end of the 15th century, which also marks the reconstruction of the Acropolis Castle and the last phase of occupation of the Western Defences. 

Bibliography on the subject

 

  • Andrews R., Bowden W., Gilkes O., Martin S., "The late antique and medieval fortifications of Butrint" in Hodges, Bowden and Lako, Byzantine Butrint: excavations and surveys 1994-99, Oxford, 2004, pp. 126-150
  • Benfatti M., Castignani V., Pizzimenti F., "Le fortificazioni di Butrinto: nuove acquisizioni topografiche e stratigrafiche" in Caliò, Gerogiannis, Kopsacheili, Fortificazioni e società nel Mediterraneo occidentale, Roma, 2020, pp. 183-200
  • Bowden W., "The city in Late-Antique Epirus: the example of Butrint" in Cabanes P., L'Illyrie méridionale et l'Épire dans l'Antiquité III. Actes du IIIe colloque international de Chantilly (16-19 Octobre 1996), Paris, 1999, pp. 335-340
  • Bowden W., Epirus Vetus. The Archaeology of a Late Antique Province, 2003, pp. 87-88
  • Greenslade S., Leppard S., Logue M., "The acropolis of Butrint reassessed", in Hansen, Hodges, Leppard, Butrint 4, Oxford, 2013, pp. 47-76
  • Hernandez D. R., "The abandonment of Butrint. From Venetian enclave to Ottoman backwater" in Hesperia, vol. 88, 2019, pp. 365-41
  • Kamani S., "The Western Defences" in Hansen, Hodges, Butrint 4. The archaeology and history of an Ionian town, Oxbow Books, 2013, pp. 245-256
  • Karaiskaj G., "Les murs d'enceinte de Butrint au Moyen Age (VII-XVe s)" in Monumentet, vol. 20, 1980, pp. 5-36
  • Karaiskaj G., Crowson A. (edt), The fortifications of Butrint, English edition of Butrinti dhe fortifikimet e tij (Tirana 1986), London-Tirana, Butrint Foundation, 2009, pp. 61-89
  • Molla N., Paris M. F., Venturini F., "Material boundaries: the city walls at Butrint" in Hansen, Hodges, Butrint 4. The archaeology and history of an Ionian town, Oxbow Books, 2013, pp. 260-279
  • Ugolini L. M., Butrinto. Il mito di Enea. Gli scavi, Istituto grafico tiberino, 1937, pp. 168-172