Butrint is Albania's greatest Roman archaeological site!

Discover Butrint: a UNESCO site in Albania with Greek, Roman, and Byzantine roots. Explore ancient temples, a grand theater, and the historic Venetian fortifications.

0:00 Introduction
1:06 Foundation and early city
2:55 Arrival of Rome
3:20 Augustan city
5:05 Virgil immortalizes the city in the Aeneid
6:26 Later history of Butrint: 3C AD- Christian city
8:20 Medieval city (Slavs, Normans, Byzantines, Venetians and more)- finally concluding with Ottoman control and then Albanian independence

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[KonradAdenauerJr]

Thank you for showcasing this. It's fascinating to see ancient Roman traces all around the Adriatic Sea.

[fabmukaj]

Butrint is a great place to visit.
I will also recommend the beautiful site of Apollonia which is near the city of Fier.

[alanmaconnachie]

It’s interesting to learn about the connections to ancient Troy, & amazing to think that some of the survivors may have visited this site. Great info…Thanks!

[lesliewatson-cqmb]

9:48 excellent video and a real eye opener to this area. Thank you, Leslie and Tim

[aalexander]

This is an excellent video - thanks so much for posting this.

[Sensibleman]

We recently visited this amazing place. A must for anyone planning a trip to Albania or Greece.

[margiethessin]

We were visiting Corfu in 2019 and realized we could take a short ferry ride to Albania. We hired a tour guide/taxi driver in Saranda and he took us to Butrint. Fascinating visit but I’ve learned a lot more from this video. Thank you!

[marcoscaba]

A lot of information and great imagery. Great video!

[jennifersiegrist]

Wow, what an amazing site, and to be able to see it . Thank you ❤❤❤❤

[martinstensby]

Great video, thanks! There is so much to see and it’s good to have your excellent guidance to make my choice from.

[ancientrome]

Lovely Video! Amazing how well preserved some of the buildings are!

[leannemorris]

I went here 6 months after Albania opened up for tourism. What an incredible place. There are areas where there are huge slabs of rock so smooth and so perfectly fitting together you cannot fit a pin between them. Each slab was carved to fit with the next, corners and straight lines. They are all about 1m long and almost as thick in places. How did they lift and carve them? I couldn't've see any tool marks on these slabs. There was one stream that was heated upstream and went under all the roman houses providing heat in winter and another stream they made to take effluent away. Sadly, there were no males in this town, neither young or middle aged. Only old old men tending gardens. When I asked the tour guide where all the males were, she said they went to Corfu and onto Europe to get away from the war. Her own 14 year old son, put floaties on his arms and along with his friends (one in a rubber ring), they swam to Corfu to escape the war. This place is incredible and is a showcase for what the Romans could achieve building wise.

[dearprudence]

What an interesting site. I really want to visit Albania.

Hint -please slow down your panning speed Darius. It's hard on the eyes to try to follow quick pans.

[Peter_Schiavo]

We're going to visit Corfu eventually. We'll be sure to see this also.

[skerdimeta]

Butrint (1) was built by Trojans after 1, 200 bc as Rome, the New Troy, after Troy was destroyed by Mycenean Greeks. The lower cyclopic stones and the Amphitheater are from this period and are the highest technology, still surviving in a good shape. Then the Oracle of Apollonia (50 miles north) advised them to move further west to build the New-New Troy in Rome, which Romulus and Remus did. The Greeks had it for some time in the classical period (Butrint 2) with the smaller stone walls in the amphitheater, then the Romans (Butrint 3) and Finally the Venetians.

[oatnoid]

Its fascinating that some of these obscure ruins were key cities in the ancient empire. And the historical figures who might have strode those very floors.

[northernengland]

Very interesting video, you're on my list of good presenters, it ain't very long 😂.

[Rayza]

One of my favorite ancient ruined cities I've ever visited. Thanks for a great showcase and overview of the history. Especially the drone shots were nice to see from above which the average Joe can't see walking around the site. Some of that I did not know like how those were the names of freed slaves written in Greek. Why were they enshrined forever on the theater, what was the reason for that?

Anyway, about Julius and Augustus Caesar. In my research, which isn't always the best sources like you probably know how to find, I found that both of them visited the city. Julius visited after his army's loss at Dyracchium (Durrës) to Pompey's forces. He hopes the magic spring water and relaxing atmosphere could help them regroup and face Pompey again in Greece which they did and won. That is why afterwards he gave special status to the city as a veteran colony for it helped them win the war. Augustus I heard visited maybe even twice as Emperor or before he was Emperor. As Emperor to oversee or inspect the additional constructions he ordered.

Anyway, GREAT VIDEO. I visited in June 2021 and recorded a bunch of videos and photos and still never released them anywhere 🤔 they are all on file, maybe I should.

[James-oljx]

Butrint is more ancient than Rome itself, Rome was created by Butrint. In its foundations, the entire European history is carried.

[atlantic_love]

I appreciate the effort that goes into making these videos, but I call into question their accuracy. We really have no way of knowing what these sites actually looked like, unless there are paintings lying around that were created back then. There's just really nothing left of any of the structures. It is my understanding that the stone from these sites was removed over the centuries to make buildings elsewhere. Perhaps there are other sources of information you're relying upon?