Leon Rey: the French interests at Apollonia

Ugolini’s early interest in Phoenicê might have been chosen in order to win favour with current Albanian nationalist sentiments regarding an Illyrian past and hence gain and advantageous position in Albania. Italian archaeological interest in Albania was much motivated by a desire to counteract French influence, exemplified by Leon Rey at Apollonia.

Rey was the first foreign archaeologist to work in Albania after the First World War. After having worked as a prehistorian with the French archaeological service at Thessalonika during the war, he was invited by the French humanitarian and politician, Justin Godart, to direct an archaeological mission. Initially Rey worked in a number of places in the country, eventually settling on a long-term excavation at Apollonia, the great classical city on the coast.

Rey’s mission was small compared to that of the Italians, and funding from the French government much more restricted than that from the Italian. Despite this he threw himself into the process of establishing a mission, uncovering the monumental centre of Apollonia, being instrumental in organising the ‘Zog 1 Archaeological Museum’ at Vlora and building up an extensive network of friends and acquaintances in Albania. There is no doubt that he integrated his activities with local organisations far more than did Ugolini.

Rey was conscientious about publishing his work, creating a small journal to show the results of his own work and Albanian cultural matters in general. This material provides a fascinating glimpse of how an interwar archaeological mission worked. Unlike Butrint, the ruins of Apollonia had been used as a quarry for centuries, not the least by the Pashas of Berat. But during 14 seasons Rey excavated residential, defensive, religious and public structures; most famously a stoa with a series of fine Roman statues. Technically, Rey’s excavations were typical of the time and similar to those of Ugolini, though the latter knew better how to dress a site for fine photographs.

As the leaders of the largest foreign archaeological projects in interwar Albania it is inevitable that Ugolini and Rey should be contrasted together. Indeed, at the time Ugolini at least made conscious comparisons between his work and that of the French Mission, seeing the French as academic and political rivals. For his part Rey was pragmatic and calm about the political situation, highlighting the differences between the publicity-conscious and dynamic Ugolini and himself as the more established scholar. Nevertheless, he was quite aware of the motivations behind the Italian presence and chose not to inflame Italian suspicions by entering into any form of dispute.