Butrint and Corfu

The early urban history of Butrint is uncertain. Earthenware fragments that may date to the 10th–8th centuries BC have been found on the acropolis hill, but mainly the assemblage consists of fine, painted Corinthian wares.

Corcyra (modern Corfu) as a Corinthian colony grew into a great emporium, covering what is today known as Kanoni, with an agora accessible from two harbours and encompassing by the 6th century BC as much as 600 hectares. As trade between Greece, Italy and Dalmatia prospered, so Butrint with its safe anchorage must have prospered too.

At the eastern end of the acropolis hill, a sacred pit (bothros) was found, containing proto-Corinthian and Corinthian wares dating from the 7th century BC, as well as Attic pottery of the 6th century. The conspicuous and highly visible location, on the highest point of the acropolis hill, in which the pit was found, suggests that this was the location of a sanctuary; the temple having been demolished in the construction of the late antique basilica there.

The restricted space on the acropolis and the absence of a contemporary cemetery has led to the suggestion that Butrint initially was little more than a seasonal refuge. However, it is possible that the inhabited area was situated on the western plateau of the acropolis, where the reconstructed castle now stands.

The sections of polygonal walling remaining on the top of the acropolis are usually thought to be Archaic in date (6th centuries BC). However, it is uncertain whether they represent a complete circuit wall or an enclosure for the sanctuary (temenos). The relief of a lion devouring a bull, incorporated in late antiquity into the Lion Gate, provides a tantalising glimpse into the elaborate urban adornment of this period.

Given the importance and proximity of Corcyra (modern Corfu), Butrint may have formed part of its domain, its periraia. The historian Thucydides (3.85.2) tells how in 427 BC factions from Corfu escaped the city’s civil war and occupied ‘Corcyrean territory across the channel.’ The so-called Dema wall north of Butrint, and the settlement at Çuka e Aitoit to the south, has been interpreted as delimiting this territory

 

• Sacred Origins
• Mythological Origins
• Butrint and Corfu
• Butrint and Pyrrhus