Amantia

 ruins, ancient, archaeological site, interesting place, national park

Amantia was the historical capital of the Illyrian tribe of Amantes and was founded around the V century, BCE. It is located in the present day city of Plloça in the Vlora River Valley. At its peak, Amantia featured an acropolis and a Doric-style temple dedicated to Aphrodite. Most notable among the preserved features is the stadium, measuring 60 X 12.5m. A significant sculpture, the relief of the God of Fertility, can bee seen at the National Historic Museum. Additional relics from Amantia are on display at the Archaeological Museum in Tirana.

The Amantia National Park lies in a spectacular location, high in the Kurvelesh Mountains to the east of the city of Vlora. A rough road leads the visitor there, some 50 minutes drive from Vlora.
Amantia is located on a prominent bluff with a fortified acropolis while the sides of the steep hill are terraced. One of the gates to the acropolis has been restored. On the southern side is a religious complex with a platform for a colonnaded Greek-style temple dedicated to Aphrodite and a small stadium for associated religious games. A series of monumental tombs are also to be found in the vicinity.

The city seems to have been founded in the 6th or 5th century BC and become the centre of the local Amantis tribal grouping. It lay on an important route along the valley of the River Vijosa from the Kurvelesh region to the Drinos valley near Tepelena. This and the existence of the religious sanctuary clearly enriched the city and ensured its prosperity into the Roman period.

While not much is known of the later history of Amantia, in the 5th or 6th century the temple of Aphrodite was demolished and replaced by a Christian basilica.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWvZrLdap2o