Papers by Nadia Aleotti
Cronache di Archeologia, 41, 2022
Gli articoli pubblicati nella rivista sono sottoposti a peer review nel sistema a doppio cieco
ROMA E IL MONDO ADRIATICO DALLA RICERCA ARCHEOLOGICA ALLA PIANIFICAZIONE DEL TERRITORIO, II.2, 2022
The paper focuses on late Hellenistic contexts from Butrint (Albania) in order to investigate the... more The paper focuses on late Hellenistic contexts from Butrint (Albania) in order to investigate the impact of
the Romanization on the material culture of the site. The Butrint Roman Forum Excavations Project (RFE,
2011-2013) directed by the Notre Dame University (Prof. D. R. Hernandez) in collaboration with the Albanian
Institute of Archaeology (Prof. Dh. Ҫondi) was mainly designed to investigate the Roman Forum, but
soundings deepened under the Roman levels, reached pre-Roman contexts as well. Here pottery from late Hellenistic
contexts will be presented, trying to define continuity or changes between the early and the late Hellenistic
material culture. Despite the administrative Romanization of the region starts from the late 2nd cent. B.C. and
progressively strengths until the foundation of Butrint as roman colony in the late 1st cent. B.C., late Hellenistic
pottery is in continuity with previous early Hellenistic centuries. At the same time, the trade openness witnessed
in the pottery from the 2nd cent. B.C. is connected to the new economic and commercial balances originated by
the growing success of Rome in the Mediterranean Sea and the consequent involvement of Butrint in new trade
dynamics.
The Hellenenistic Pottery from Mursi, Albania
In D.R Hernandez and R.Hodges, Butrint 7: Beyond Butrint: Kalivo, Cuka e Aitoit and their surroundings: Surveys and Excavations by the Italian Archaeological Mission, the Albanian Institute of Archaeology and the Butrint Foundation, 1928-2015 , Oxford 2020, pp.266-273, 2020
In I.Kamenjarin, M.Ugarkovic (editeb by), Exploring the neighborhood. The role of ceramics in understandig place in the Hellenistic World, Proceedings og the 3rd Conference of IARPotHP, Kastela, June 2017, 1st-4th, Wien 2020, pp. 401-413, 2020
Thanks to its privileged geographical position, Butrint played a key role in relations between ea... more Thanks to its privileged geographical position, Butrint played a key role in relations between eastern and western Mediterranean Sea throughout the antiquity. While during the Archaic and Classical periods Butrint fell within the sphere of influence of the nearby colony of Kerkyra, starting from the Hellenistic period, Butrint gains full political and commercial autonomy becoming an important harbour in the routes connecting the two sides of the Mediterranean and it kept this key role during all through the antiquity. During the RFE Project (2011-2014), important archaeological data concerning all these phases came to light. Regarding Greek Butrint, deep soundings under the Roman levels, in particular under the pavement of the forum's basilica (Unit 21), have brought to light a stratigraphic sequence that allows us to follow all the main phases of the settlement, from the earliest Corinthian occupation, until the construction of the Roman forum at the end of the 1 st century B. C. In particular, the study of pottery from this sequence clearly shows the passage from the Corinthian sphere of influence, attested by the almost absolute predominance of Corinthian pottery in the Archaic period, to the progressive autonomy during the Hellenistic period when Butrint's material culture is fully comparable to that from nearby Epirote sites. In this text, a summary of the study of early Hellenistic contexts from the RFE project will be presented, focusing on the features of the new Hellenistic material culture in Butrint.
in G. Lepore, B. Muka , L'Archeologia della Morte in Illiria e in Epiro. Contesti, Ritualità e Immagini tra Età Ellenistica e Romana, Atti del Convegno Internazionale, Tirana 16-18 dicembre 2019,, 2020
Atti del IV Convegno Internazionale di Studi Dialoghi sull’Archeologia della Magna Grecia e del Mediterraneo, Paestum 15-17 novembre 2019
The topic here presented is part of a PhD project on the archaeology of cult in Kerkyra and its p... more The topic here presented is part of a PhD project on the archaeology of cult in Kerkyra and its peraia from the 8th to the 4th cent. B.C., aimed to investigate worships attested on the island and on its projection on the mainland and their archaeological evidences. Among all the attested cult identities, Aristaeus is certainly one of the most interesting figure: being strictly connected to the Euboea, the study of his presence in Kerkyra can indeed contribute to the long standing debate on the Euboeans presence on the island before the Corinthian colonization. The paper therefore wants to deep his presence in ancient Kerkyra, starting from the analysis of available archaeological data and then trying to contextualize them in the light of both literary sources and relationships to other Euboean mythological references known for the island.
The paper presents the results of the latest archeological excavation (2012-2014) carried out by ... more The paper presents the results of the latest archeological excavation (2012-2014) carried out by the University of Bologna and the Albanian Institut of Archeology in the ancient city of Phoinike, near to Saranda, in the south of Albania. The recent excavations cast new light on the private architecture of the hellenistic period, after the study of the only case, La Casa dei due Peristili. With this new excavations, we have another private structur of the hellenistic period, that show in the same time differences and resemblanc with the other house.
Posters by Nadia Aleotti
Conference Presentations by Nadia Aleotti
The site of Çuka e Ajtoit is strategically located on an imposing hill overlooking the Pavla and ... more The site of Çuka e Ajtoit is strategically located on an imposing hill overlooking the Pavla and Kalamas valleys a few kilometers from the present Greek-Albanian border. It is the main site of ancient Cestrine, the coastal region of ancient Epirus between Chaonia and Thesprotia. The site, noted since the beginning of the last century, is mainly known as a fortified center of the Hellenistic period, characterized by an imposing wall circuit
reinforcing the natural defenses of the impervious hillside. Since 2021, a new joint project between Sapienza University of Rome and the Albanian Institute of Archaeology has been active at Çuka e Ajtoit, aiming to shed
new light on the history and reconstruction of the site from a diachronic perspective. After systematic surveys during the first campaigns, excavation trenches in significant sectors of the site have been opened since 2022. Prominent among these is the so-called Palace, an imposing extra-urban complex along
the western slopes of the hill. This structure, consisting of multiple rooms and large open courtyards and already investigated by previous excavations, has traditionally been interpreted as a public building, a prytaneion, or a place related to the management of food commodities. Ongoing researches — both the updated survey of the site’s structures and excavations — increasingly delineate instead the complexity of its nature. In particular, 2023 excavations uncovered some stratigraphic contexts related to the abandonment of a Hellenistic nearby place of worship (3rd-mid-2nd century BCE). Based on the material it contained, its amount and characteristics, this deposit seems to be related to a public sacred space, rather than to domestic worship. The corpus of material is notable for the abundant presence of fragments of terracotta figurines, some even intentionally deposited in a cavity in the wall of the investigated structure. They are associated mainly with black-glazed pottery, together with other
ceramic classes (amphorae, coarse and common pottery). The paper focuses on ceramics from this deposit in relation to their specific context of discovery. When considered against the background of the repertoire of the regional Hellenistic pottery, some shapes found in the deposit are noteworthy for being attested elsewhere only in sacred or funerary contexts, or for the specific ritual use they may have had in sacred contexts. Moreover, many fine ware fragments, although attributable to a local production on the basis of their technical features, are distinguished from the regional morphological repertoire by some variants, details, and decorations not otherwise attested. Starting from the analysis of the votive pottery from the deposit found at Çuka e Ajtoit, the paper therefore aims to investigate the hypothesis of a local production specifically intended for sacred contexts, in an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of the material culture of this part of ancient Epirus.
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Papers by Nadia Aleotti
the Romanization on the material culture of the site. The Butrint Roman Forum Excavations Project (RFE,
2011-2013) directed by the Notre Dame University (Prof. D. R. Hernandez) in collaboration with the Albanian
Institute of Archaeology (Prof. Dh. Ҫondi) was mainly designed to investigate the Roman Forum, but
soundings deepened under the Roman levels, reached pre-Roman contexts as well. Here pottery from late Hellenistic
contexts will be presented, trying to define continuity or changes between the early and the late Hellenistic
material culture. Despite the administrative Romanization of the region starts from the late 2nd cent. B.C. and
progressively strengths until the foundation of Butrint as roman colony in the late 1st cent. B.C., late Hellenistic
pottery is in continuity with previous early Hellenistic centuries. At the same time, the trade openness witnessed
in the pottery from the 2nd cent. B.C. is connected to the new economic and commercial balances originated by
the growing success of Rome in the Mediterranean Sea and the consequent involvement of Butrint in new trade
dynamics.
Posters by Nadia Aleotti
Conference Presentations by Nadia Aleotti
reinforcing the natural defenses of the impervious hillside. Since 2021, a new joint project between Sapienza University of Rome and the Albanian Institute of Archaeology has been active at Çuka e Ajtoit, aiming to shed
new light on the history and reconstruction of the site from a diachronic perspective. After systematic surveys during the first campaigns, excavation trenches in significant sectors of the site have been opened since 2022. Prominent among these is the so-called Palace, an imposing extra-urban complex along
the western slopes of the hill. This structure, consisting of multiple rooms and large open courtyards and already investigated by previous excavations, has traditionally been interpreted as a public building, a prytaneion, or a place related to the management of food commodities. Ongoing researches — both the updated survey of the site’s structures and excavations — increasingly delineate instead the complexity of its nature. In particular, 2023 excavations uncovered some stratigraphic contexts related to the abandonment of a Hellenistic nearby place of worship (3rd-mid-2nd century BCE). Based on the material it contained, its amount and characteristics, this deposit seems to be related to a public sacred space, rather than to domestic worship. The corpus of material is notable for the abundant presence of fragments of terracotta figurines, some even intentionally deposited in a cavity in the wall of the investigated structure. They are associated mainly with black-glazed pottery, together with other
ceramic classes (amphorae, coarse and common pottery). The paper focuses on ceramics from this deposit in relation to their specific context of discovery. When considered against the background of the repertoire of the regional Hellenistic pottery, some shapes found in the deposit are noteworthy for being attested elsewhere only in sacred or funerary contexts, or for the specific ritual use they may have had in sacred contexts. Moreover, many fine ware fragments, although attributable to a local production on the basis of their technical features, are distinguished from the regional morphological repertoire by some variants, details, and decorations not otherwise attested. Starting from the analysis of the votive pottery from the deposit found at Çuka e Ajtoit, the paper therefore aims to investigate the hypothesis of a local production specifically intended for sacred contexts, in an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of the material culture of this part of ancient Epirus.