A preliminary investigation of two prehistoric cave sites in Southern Albania

Francis, K.D., Bescoby, D.J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5127-9085 and Gjipali, I. (2009) A preliminary investigation of two prehistoric cave sites in Southern Albania. Annual of the British School at Athens, 104. pp. 9-26. ISSN 2045-2403

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Abstract

In this article we describe the evaluation of two prehistoric sites situated within the coastal zone of south-western Albania, originally investigated by the Italian prehistorian Luigi Cardini in 1939. The first is a cave site in the town of Himara; the second a rock-shelter at Kanalit in the Acroceraunian Mountains to the north. Investigations at both locations revealed stratified evidence of prehistoric activity dating from the mid-Holocene. At Kanalit, an extensive lithic assemblage provided evidence for the exploitation of the adjoining coastal lowlands during the Mesolithic, while at Himara, a largely unbroken sequence of deposits records often intensive human activity at the cave from the Early Bronze Age. Radiocarbon dates have provided a significant independent chronological marker for Early/Middle Bronze Age horizons. The ceramic evidence indicates a predominance of local influences, the site not becoming part of wider trading networks until the late Iron Age, c. seventh to sixth centuries BC.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Art History and World Art Studies (former - to 2014)
Depositing User:	Sarah Burbidge
Date Deposited:	09 Feb 2011 14:46
Last Modified:	26 Jul 2026 05:29
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/21209
DOI:	10.1017/S0068245400000186

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