Dyrrhachium (Durrës) – Submerged Roman Harbour of Illyria
Epidamnos · Dyrrhachium · Durrës Harbour
Archaic to Venetian (627 BCE – 1501 CE)·Greek-Corinthian / Illyrian / Hellenistic / Roman / Byzantine / Venetian·🇦🇱 Durres County, Durrës, Albania
About
About Dyrrhachium (Durrës) – Submerged Roman Harbour of Illyria
Dyrrhachium (Epidamnos) – Corcyrean-Corinthian foundation (627 BCE), Illlyrian capital, Caesar vs Pompey battlefield (48 BCE) and terminus of Via Egnatia. Its Roman harbour mole (60 m ashlar breakwater) and western quay now lie submerged 2–4 m in Durrës Bay after Late Antique subsidence and Scutari Lake alluviation. Albanian-German surveys (Karaiskaj, Auriemma) mapped two submerged moles (north 60 m, south 40 m) at –2.5 m with Roman hydraulic concrete and mooring bollards, enclosing a 250 m harbour basin now under modern port. The Byzantine–Venetian sea walls overlie the mole.
Why it mattersOnly Adriatic Via Egnatia harbour preserving submerged Roman double mole in modern bay; documents 2 m Late Antique subsidence along Albanian coast.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Archaic Epidamnos vs Hellenistic Dyrrhachium basin phases
- 02Relation of submerged mole to Caesar's 48 BCE siege works
Theories
- 01Pompey and Caesar's Dyrrachium battle lines crossed harbour isthmus
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Harbour Archaic c. 600 BCE; Roman mole 1st c. CE; Byzantine repairs 6th c.
- Period
- Archaic to Venetian (627 BCE – 1501 CE)
- Culture
- Greek-Corinthian / Illyrian / Hellenistic / Roman / Byzantine / Venetian
- Purpose
- Adriatic terminus of Via Egnatia – military and grain port for Macedonia–Danube
- Abandoned
- 1501 Ottoman conquest + bay siltation
- Rediscovered
- Karaiskaj 1970s; Auriemma marine survey 2018–
- Excavation
- Submerged
Harbour Archaic c. 600 BCE; Roman mole 1st c. CE; Byzantine repairs 6th c.
Initial construction
c. 1479 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
41.3080° N · 19.4490° E · -2 m · 3 mapped features
Northern Roman Mole (60 m)
moleNorthern ashlar mole 60 m at –2.5 m – main Roman breakwater
41.3090° N · 19.4485° ESouthern Quay Mole (40 m)
moleSouthern quay mole 40 m at –2 m – secondary harbour arm
41.3075° N · 19.4480° EVia Egnatia Harbour Terminus Quay
harbourHarbour terminus quay at –1.5 m where Via Egnatia met sea – milestone found
41.3085° N · 19.4495° E