The basilica on the Vrina Plain

The vigorous late 5th- to mid 6th-century ecclesiastic building programme at Butrint is evident also on the Vrina Plain where a large basilica – possibly the focus of a monastic community – was constructed reusing older structures. A Roman three-aisled apsidal building located close to the water’s edge, was remodelled to become the entrance for the new Christian church. On one side a triple doorway was cut through the wall to form a façade, on the other was added the church proper. The new basilica church could in this way boast an imposing façade and entryway consisting of a double porch (exonarthex and narthex) facing directly toward Butrint and the Vivari Channel.

Whereas the church was paved with elaborate mosaics, the new narthex was covered in stone slabs. Here, in front of the main doorway a large tomb was inserted – presumably to hold the remains of one of the benefactors of the church, whose donation is alluded to in the mosaic floor. Rooms on either side of the basilica appear to have been memorial chapels. From the eastern aisle a narrow door led into a small square room with a bench along one wall. A niche in the back wall of the room appears to have been either the location of devotional object set on a glass shelf, or have formed the sill of a window to light the room.

In sharp contrast to this, the late 6th to 9th centuries were characterised by heavy taxation, civil unrest and diminished trading. This spelt a period of sharp recession for Butrint, as for other maritime economies, and by the early Middle Ages the use of the basilica had changed radically. Reduced to its central aisle and sanctuary it was now the private chapel of an important local aristocrat. An upper storey for private habitation had been constructed over the basilica, in the side aisles a variety of workshop activities were located, and structural repairs required the insertion of posts through the mosaic floor.

Despite the utilitarian aspect of the ground floor, the inhabitant was clearly a person of regional and international standing. No less than four lead seals, designed to authenticate official documents, were found. One is illegible, but two were issued by respectively the strategos of Nicopolis and the strategos of Dyrrhachium. The third – depicting a peacock – was issued by Constantine, Eunuch of the Imperial Bedchamber in Byzantium. Further, more than 50 late 9th-/early 10th-century Byzantine coins, were found in excavation, as was a splendid iron horse bit inlaid with silver.

Linked to this aristocratic household a small cemetery was established, possibly for the community or retainers under the jurisdiction of the official. A young female was interred adorned with bronze earrings in her ears and two silver earrings tied by a cord around her neck, whereas a young man was buried wearing a broad belt with an ornate bronze belt buckle and strap end. This grave was cut through the mosaic floor and marked by a foot-stone; the care and location suggesting that he may have belonged to the aristocratic family. The building appears to have been abandoned in the mid- 10th century due to a rise in water levels, and the site was reduced to a cemetery.

 

• The Churches of Butrint
• The Great Basilica
• QTVR of the great Basilica
• Other Churches at Butrint
• The monastery at Diaporit
• QTVR of the monastery at Diaporit
• Reconstruction of the monastery at Diaporit
• The basilica on the Vrina Plain
• Excavating the Vrina Plain basilica (QTVR)
• The mosaic pavement of the Vrina Basilica
• The mosaic pavement in detail