SVILUPPO URBANISTICO, FORTIFICAZIONI E VIABILITÀ NELL’EPIRO ELLENISTICO: IL CASO DELLA VALLE DEL FIUME VJOSA (ALBANIA MERIDIONALE)

The paper seeks to present some highlights on the landscape of Hellenistic Epirus on the basis of the re‐ search carried out in Byllis and in its surrounding area, i.e. the valley of the river Vjosa (southern Albania). The local settlement system is still closely linked to the rough orography engraved by the course of the Vjosa river: the environmental characteristics of this sector of Albania and its position between the Adriatic Sea and the northern Greece have significantly affected the development of the local landscape throughout antiquity. Indeed, thoughout the fourth‐third centuries BC, the region was embedded within the hellenistic kingdoms: the study of urban and rural fortifications and the contextual analysis of settlement system and roads allow to highlight the characteristics of the pervasive organization planned by the Hellenistic basileia, whose traces are still deeply impressed in the contemporary landscape.