Selcë e Poshtme ("Lower Selcë") is a village located in the Mokra area,

Korçë County Korçë County (), officially the County of Korçë (), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Southern Albania, Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the largest by area and the List of counties of Albania by population, fifth most p ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality

Pogradec Pogradec (,) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eleventh most populous city in Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a List of settlements on the Lake Ohrid coastline, narrow plain between two mountain ch ...

. Near the village, on the right bank of Shkumbin river at an elevation of above sea level, 5 Illyrian Royal Tombs of Selca e Poshtme are found. In 1996, Albania included the Royal Tombs of Lower Selcë in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World heritage list of proposals.

History

At Selcë e Poshtme an Illyrian settlement was established since the early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. At the beginning of the 4th century BC the first pre-urban phase evolved into a second urban phase that lasted until the 1st century AD. It was located in the region of the Illyrian Dassaretii. The Illyrian Royal Tombs were built on this site during the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. The third and last phase of the site was less developed than the two previous phases. Archaeological remains of the first three centuries of the Common Era are the least representative of the site. The settlement continued being inhabited during the

Roman Imperial period The Roman imperial period is the expansion of political and cultural influence of the Roman Empire. The period begins with the reign of Augustus (), and it is taken to end variously between the late 3rd and the late 4th century, with the beginnin ...

under Anastasius I and

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

. The third phase lasted until the settlement was abandoned in late antiquity between the 4th and 6th centuries CE. The site of Selcë was in antiquity a flourishing economical centre more developed than the surroundings because it occupied a predominant position inside the region currently called Mokër, and because it controlled the road which led from the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

coasts of

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. Lower Selcë is a suggested location of the historic site of Pellion, where in 335 BC

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

advanced his forces to attack the Illyrians under Cleitus, son of Bardylis and

Glaukias Glaucias (; ruled c. 335 – c. 295 BC) was a ruler of the Taulantii, Taulantian kingdom which dominated southern Illyrians, Illyrian affairs in the second half of the 4th century BC. Glaucias is first mentioned as bringing a considerable force ...

of the

Taulantii Taulantii or Taulantians ('swallow-men'; Ancient Greek: , or , ; ) were an Illyrians, Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria (modern Albania). They dominated at various times much of the plain between the rivers Dri ...

, following the death of Philip II, thus securing

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

ia's northern border before leaving to conquer Asia. However alternative locations for Pelion have been proposed, including Zvezde near Korça or in Goricë. In the area of modern

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

seems to have been influenced by the styles of the Macedonians.The Cambridge ancient history,Tome 6 by John Boardman, , 1994, page 440

References

External links

Selca e Poshtme as a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage Site

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Selce E Poshtme Cities in ancient Illyria Illyrian Albania Archaeological sites in Albania Populated places in Pogradec Villages in Korçë County