This is the second volume arising from the 1994-2003 excavations of the
Triconch Palace at Butrint (Albania), which charted the history of a
major Mediterranean waterfront site from the 2nd to the 15th centuries
AD. The sequence (Butrint 3: Excavations at the Triconch Palace: Oxbow
2011) included the development of a palatial late Roman house, followed
by intensive activity between the 5th and 7th centuries involving
domestic occupation, metal-working, fishing and burial. The site saw
renewed activity from the 10th century, coinciding with the revival of
the town of Butrint, and for the following 300 years continued in
intermittent use associated with its channel-side location. This volume
reports on the finds from the site (excluding the pottery), which
demonstrate the ways in which the lives, diet and material culture of a
Mediterranean population changed across the arc of the late Roman and
Medieval periods. It includes discussion of the environmental evidence,
the human and faunal remains, metal-working evidence, and the major
assemblages of glass, coins and small finds, giving an insight into the
health, subsistence base and material culture of the population of a
Mediterranean site across more than 1000 years. The findings raise
important questions regarding the ways in which changes in the
circumstances of the town affected the population between Late Antiquity
and the Middle Ages. They illustrate in particular how an urban Roman
center became more rural during the 6th century with a population that
faced major challenges in their health and living conditions.
