2026

From 14 to 23 September 2026, the second archaeological survey campaign took place at the fortified settlement of Sopot, near Borsh, in southern Albania.

The main goal of the campaign was to complete the survey of the slopes surrounding the citadel. On the northern slopes, the team documented several small buildings and terracing walls, which suggest that this area was part of the residential quarter of late antiquity and the Middle Ages. On the southern slopes, an impressive system of terraces emerged, with walls sometimes more than 30 metres long, together with clear traces of stone quarrying. The team also carried out a first inspection of the south-western part of the site, an area almost never explored before, which proved very promising thanks to the presence of medieval and even Bronze Age materials.

At the same time, the materials laboratory cleaned, catalogued and drew the finds collected during the survey. These cover a long span of time, from Bronze Age pottery to Hellenistic and Roman fragments, and from medieval glazed pottery to military objects from the twentieth century.

The results of this season add a new layer to our understanding of Sopot and its history. They show how a systematic survey can reveal the organisation of a settlement that was occupied over many centuries, from the Bronze Age to the recent past. The new data will be integrated into the site plan currently being drawn up and will guide future research at the site.