Grazhdan Castle
Description
The castle is located around 15 km southeast of Peshkopi, on a terrace between the streams of Grazhdan and Maqellara.{{cite book|last1=Zindel|first1=Christian|last2=Lippert|first2=Andreas|last3=Lahi|first3=Bashkim|last4=Kiel|first4=Machiel|title=Albanien: Ein Archäologie- und Kunstführer von der Steinzeit bis ins 19. Jahrhundert|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|year=2018|language=de|pages=450–451}} The castle was built in Late Antiquity around the time of Constantine the Great, rebuilt with a smaller wall around the time of Justinian I, and was strategically located where a branch of Via Egnatia met the Lissus–Naissus road. It is near the Black Drin Valley in a region where a line of late Roman forts is found and of which Grazhdan is the largest.{{cite book | last=Winnifrith | first=Tom | title=Nobody's Kingdom: A History of Northern Albania | publisher=Andrews UK Limited | year=2021 | pages=63, 78}} The walls encircled a surface of 34 hectares and were built of irregular stonework and bricks. They were 3.2 m thick and reached a length of around 3 km. There were 3 large gates and 44 towers of various shapes. One tower was turned into a small church in the Middle Ages. A cemetery was built in the former gate area and functioned in the 11th-12th century period.
Johann Georg von Hahn was the first to write about the castle. Later in 1975 Apollon Baçe made a survey, and Luan Përzhita in 2001 started excavations.
The castle has been connected to various settlements attested in ancient writings, specifically Dobera, Deuphracus mentioned by Procopius and Uscana.{{cite book | last=Winnifrith | first=Tom | title=Nobody's Kingdom: A History of Northern Albania | publisher=Andrews UK Limited | year=2021 | page=152}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Castles in Albania}}
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