Early fortifications

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's 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 miniature
A slender copy of our massive tower,
A dry brooklet named Xanthus…and I pressed
My body against a Scaean Gate. Those with me
Feasted their eyes on this, our kinsmen's town.
In spacious colonnades the king received them,
And offering mid-court their cups of wine
They made libation, while on plates of gold
A feast was brought before them.

The plumb-line cut into the corner of the wall may 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.

 

• Early Fortifications
• The Archaic walls
• The Hellenistic walls
• QTVR of the Lake Gate