The Lost Caves of Luigi Cardini: Explorations in Albania 1930-2001
Karen
Francis, Institute of World Archaeology, University of East Anglia,
Norwich, NR4 7TJ.
email:
K.Francis@uea.ac.uk
When referencing this article, please use the following convention:
Francis, K. 2001. The Lost Caves of Luigi Cardini: Explorations in Albania 1930-2001 Capra 3 available at - http://capra.group.shef.ac.uk/3/cardini.html
Introduction
In June 2000, a team
of archaeologists from the Institute of World Archaeology, UK, and the Albanian
Institute of Archaeology began a field survey in southern Albania. The aim
of the project was to re-locate a number of "lost" prehistoric caves and
surface sites that were first explored in the 1930s by an Italian archaeologist,
Luigi Cardini. In 1930, the director of the Italian Archaeological Mission
to Albania, Luigi Maria Ugolini, recruited Cardini as the mission's prehistorian.
Between 1930 and 1939, Cardini travelled extensively throughout south-western
Albania and, with the help of a few dedicated Albanian guides, mapped and
recorded over 60 natural caves and rockshelters. Under Cardini's supervision,
Albanian workmen carried out trial excavations within some of the most promising
caves, revealing evidence of human occupation dating from early prehistory
to Roman times. Cardini also identified a number of surface sites close
to the seashore, where concentrations of Middle Palaeolithic stone tools
provided evidence of Neanderthal activity. Cardini’s discoveries, particularly
that of a Palaeolithic open-air site at Xarra, close to the southern border
with Greece, represent a major part of our current knowledge of Albanian
prehistory today. However, prior to the exciting discovery of his Albanian
field notebooks within the archives of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia
Umana, in Rome in 1999 (Francis, 2000), the majority of Cardini's research
in Albania had been long forgotten.
The Italian Archaeological
Mission to Albania
The origins of the
Italian Archaeological Mission to Albania were rooted in the political crisis
that existed in the region immediately prior to the First World War. At
this time, various powers with an interest in the post-Ottoman Balkans were
vying for control over the newly-defined Albanian territory. Italy's main
political concern was the Albanian port of Vlora, which it perceived as
the keystone to control over the Adriatic. Although Albania's borders were
later determined by the Ambassadors' Conferences of 1921 (Vickers, 1995:100)
instability reigned and in the geopolitical contest that ensued between
Greece, Yugoslavia and Italy, cultural activities, particularly archaeology,
were viewed as a way of promoting influence within the country (Gilkes and
Miraj, 2000: 111).
In the early 1920s the French archaeologist Justin Godart made numerous visits to Albania and, with the consent of the Albanian Government, organised excavations at the Dark Age cemeteries at Kruja; Durres and at the great classical site of Apollonia, situated to the north of Vlora. In 1923, as a result of Godart's reconnaissance and despite opposition from Italy, an accord was signed between France and Albania, which allowed the French to dispatch an exploratory archaeological mission to central and northern Albania. The director of the French mission, Leon Rey carried out numerous excavations before finally concentrating his efforts at Apollonia, where excavations continued throughout the 1930s (Rey, 1939).
The new Italian government of Benito Mussolini reacted strongly to the French development and the Italian Foreign Ministry turned to archaeologist Roberto Paribeni for advice. Paribeni, then Director of the Italian Archaeological Mission to the Levant, had been a pioneer of Italian archaeology in Albania in the early 1900s (Paribeni, 1903). From his experiences in Albania, Paribeni was well aware of the nationalist tendencies of the Albanian people in terms of their perceived continuity with the ancient Illyrians, as well as their long-standing resistance to the Turks: "The fanatical and puerile natural pride of the Albanians.......to know and illustrate their ancestors the Illyrians" (Paribeni, 1924). Paribeni proposed a new series of excavations of Albanian prehistoric cemeteries, in order to obtain evidence to exploit these sentiments for political ends. In 1924, in response to the French threat, a small Italian archaeological mission was deployed to the south of the country, outside the area of the French concession (Gilkes and Miraj, 2000: 113).
The director chosen for the new Italian mission was Luigi Maria Ugolini, a young archaeologist from Bertinoro in Romagna. Ugolini had studied at the University of Bologna, where he produced a thesis on the Bronze Age site of Fonte Panighina, situated close to his home town. An ambitious and energetic character with an active interest in politics, Ugolini had recently joined the Fascist Party (Zevi, 1986: 171). In light of Paribeni's exploitation of the Illyrian connection, these traits, combined with his interest in prehistory must have certainly played a part in Ugolini's appointment as the mission's first director. In his first year in 1924 Ugolini made two journeys in Albania, where, despite problems with the Albanian gendarmerie, he was able to examine numerous archaeological sites including the southern classical cities of Phoenicê and Butrint. His subsequent report to the Foreign Ministry urged further intervention at these sites and, in a theme that was to continue, Ugolini criticised the ineptitude of the French team. It may have been for his own gain that Ugolini also highlighted somewhat unfounded concern that the interests of the French extended beyond archaeology, much to the delight of Paribeni. As a result of Ugolini's initial expedition, Paribeni persuaded the Italian government to apply for a legal concession to excavate at Phoenicê. Consequently, in December 1927 they were granted a 30-year permit to study certain areas of southern Albania, on the condition that excavations were carried out on a yearly basis and that they would throw light on the origins of the ancient Illyrians (Kamberi, 1994: 5). Ugolini's directorship was duly renewed and his continued success was probably due to his ability to combine scientific rigour with political necessity, exploiting the Italian nationalist sentiment to promote his work - often at the expense of the French. As his self-confidence and standing grew, Ugolini learned that promises of further funding for excavation and publishing could be extracted from the Foreign Ministry by careful reference to the lavish establishment of the French Mission (Gilkes and Miraj, 2000: 116). Ultimately, Ugolini was inherently aware of the role that archaeology played in the geopolitical objectives of Italy and was always careful to promote the Fascist myth of cultural continuity. The French threat was finally overcome in 1939, when the Italians barred them from further excavations in Albania, following their occupation of the country.
In 1928, following the excavations at Phoenicê, Ugolini and the mission established themselves at Butrint, the great classical and Byzantine city situated close to Albania's southern frontier. As his political and publicity commitments grew, Ugolini assembled a faithful team of specialists to undertake much of the archaeological research and technical recording of the mission's excavations (Fig.1 below). These experts included Claudio Sestieri, a student of classical sculpture who later continued Rey's excavations at Apollonia; Dario Roversi Monaco, an engineer and surveyor who carried out many of the early surveys, succeeded by Carlo Ceschi; Luigi Morricone studied the inscriptions from the excavations and Igino Epicoco, a talented Albanian painter and draughtsman was employed by Ugolini to record many of the mosaics and buildings uncovered at Butrint. The classical archaeologist Pirro Marconi carried out excavations in Butrint's hinterland, including the Hellenistic and Roman fort of Malathrea. Marconi briefly succeeded Ugolini as director in 1937, following the leader's untimely death in October 1936 at the age of 41, from kidney failure. Tragically, Marconi also died two years later in a plane crash at Formiae near Naples, in which all of the excavation documentation for 1937-8 was also lost (Mustilli, 1941: 677). Domenico Mustilli was briefly handed the directorship in 1939, although his achievements on the ground were few.
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| Figure 1. Ugolini and members of the Italian mission in the theatre at Butrint, 1931. Reproduced with permission of the Museo della Civiltà Romana |
The appointment of
Cardini
Prehistory had always been
Ugolini's special concern and during his excavations at Phoenicê he had
recovered Palaeolithic and Bronze Age stone tools and found similar material at
the nearby hill-forts of Kalivo and Çuka e Aitoit (Ugolini, 1927).
Ugolini had been aiming to supplement his research into the Virgilian origins
of Butrint with evidence for the earlier prehistory of the region and in 1930,
possibly with this in mind, Ugolini enlisted the services of an accomplished
Florentine archaeologist, Luigi Cardini. After an initial career as a
schoolteacher, Cardini had attended courses of specialisation at the University
of Florence, where he pursued his interest in vertebrate anatomy and osteology.
From 1923 he trained as a researcher at the Istituto di Antropologia ed
Etnologia at the University of Florence, under the direction of
Aldobrandino Mochi, Professor of Anthropology (Segre, 1972: 6). Five years
later, at the age of 30, Cardini was promoted by his mentor to the position of
Comando at the newly founded Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia
Umana, in his native city - a post he was to hold until his retirement. The
institute, established in 1927 as a reincarnation of the Comitato per le
Ricerche Preistoriche, comprised an inter-disciplinary research alliance of
palaeontologists, anthropologists and ethnologists, as well as palaeobotanists
and osteologists (Skeates, 2000a). Besides Cardini and Mochi, the specialist
team at the institute included Ferrante Rittatore Vonwiller and Alberto Blanc,
with whom Cardini was to form close professional alliances that lasted many
years and produced a wealth of scientific research (Skeates, 2000b: 222-227).
It was in his new role as Comando of the institute therefore, that Cardini was seconded to the mission in Albania. His first visit in 1930 is recorded on the list of April arrivals at the southern port of Santi Quaranta (Saranda) (Archivio Storico Ministero degli Esteri (ASME) AP Alb. 1919-1930: 1929, 795\15). Cardini was appointed at a time when the Italian mission's reputation was at its highest in Rome, following two years of great discoveries at Butrint (Gilkes, 2000). The Pacts of Tirana of 1926 and 1927 had increased the political and economic standing of Italy in Albania and brought the two countries into a defensive alliance, culminating in the crowning of Ahmet Bej Zogu, the son of a clan chieftain, as King Zog I (Fischer, 1984: 90-100). From Cardini's perspective, his appointment as the mission's prehistorian must have been a prestigious event. From his existing notebooks, we know that he made at least five visits to Albania on behalf of the mission - in the summers of 1930, 1931, 1936, 1937 and 1939, under the successive directorships of Ugolini, Marconi and Mustilli.
An examination of Cardini's notebooks has shown that in 1930 he explored the area around Butrint (the Italian Mission’s headquarters and principal excavation), in order to familiarise himself with the local environment and its archaeological potential. This first year Cardini also made a concentrated effort to recover as much information as possible relating to the locations of caves and sites of archaeological interest. The information he gathered relates purely to the south-western part of the country. Cardini makes only a single reference (of a visit to Dragot and Vajza caves), to research in Albania in 1931. His next well-documented visit was in 1936, when he first explored Velcia and carried out a preliminary survey of the ten caves there. In 1936 Cardini also made an excursion to the remote Karaburun peninsula, including the caves of Ravena and Belos, which he recorded in detail. In 1937 Cardini returned to Velcia where he carried out systematic excavations within the most ‘fertile cave’ (cave 2) - now identified as Maçi cave, as a result of the 2001 survey. His excavations revealed stone axes, flint tools and a previously unknown type of Eneolithic painted pottery (Mustilli, 1941: 685).
Cardini's impressive bibliography shows that when not in Albania, he continued to work on his Italian projects, in collaboration with other scholars (Skeates 2000b). Between 1928 and 1942 he continued his research at the institute's excavations at the Barma Grande cave in Liguria, where he became the first archaeologist in Italy to recognise stone tools made using the Levallois technique (Cardini, 1938), first identified in France. In the early 1930s he worked on numerous prehistoric sites in Tuscany with Nello Puccioni and Paolo Graziosi and in the latter half of the decade he excavated the Grotta Santa Croce in Puglia (Cardini, c.1939).
Cardini's 1939 season took place over ten days and, as far as we know, was his last visit to Albania, although it was also his most productive in terms of research. In June of that year, just two months after Mussolini's troops had invaded Albania, displacing King Zog, Cardini explored much of the east coast where he made some of his most important archaeological discoveries. His notebooks show that he travelled extensively in the area between Saranda and Vlora and was still following up information that had been reported to him nine years previously. During these last ten days in Albania, Cardini discovered the Palaeolithic surface site at Xarra; the caves of Himara and Shën Marina and Kanalit rockshelter. One month later, Cardini eagerly relayed the results of his expedition to Mustilli:
'It honours me to deliver to your excellency a brief report on the results of the palaeontological research carried out on behalf of the Italian Archaeological Mission to Albania, directed by yourself...... This research enabled us to ascertain the existence of a vast Palaeolithic surface deposit in the vicinity of the village of Xarra; a rockshelter on the slopes of the Kanalit mountains and a complex of five adjacent caves in the immediate vicinity of the village of Himara, with abundant relics of an Eneolithic culture at their base.....These Palaeolithic facies, which for the first time are signalled in the Balkans, confer great importance to the Xarra site. The findings call for a systematic study of the area, which should be complemented by the opening of a number of excavation trenches. These would certainly provide secure data for the deposit and might also reveal faunal data, beneficial for a more exact interpretation of the deposit' [Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana (IPU) Cardini Report, 4th July 1939].
Cardini's report and notebooks of 1939 suggest that he had intended to return to Albania to carry out detailed excavations. However, one year later, the Italians had launched their attack on Greece and by December of 1940 the Greeks had captured Saranda. These events signalled the end of an era for both Cardini and the Italian Mission in Albania. Cardini's lasting regret is discernible in a letter he wrote to a colleague in 1947,
'....given that by now in Albania, there is no more hope of being able to return for that extra research that I would have like to have carried out for a more complete study' [IPU letter 6].
In 1940 Cardini resumed his Italian research at various cave sites in the provinces of Liguria and Savona. Although he was never to return to Albania, he stored his valuable field notebooks safely within the archives of his institute, where they remained after his death in 1971.
The discovery of Cardini's
notebooks
In
November 1966, when disastrous floods struck the city of Florence, Luigi
Cardini had to escape his house by boat. As a consequence, many of his
treasured belongings and books were lost (Segre, 1972: 9). However, in 1999, a
small collection of Cardini's Albanian field notebooks from the 1930s, as well
as valuable photographs and maps were found to have survived within the
archives of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana in Rome.
Cardini's notebooks form the majority of the collection and the notes, which
are broadly separated chronologically within each book, date from 1930 to 1939,
with those from the latter year being the most complete (Francis, forthcoming).
A large part of the archive collection relates to the Velcia caves near Vlora, which Cardini examined in 1936 and 1937. The Velcia notebook contains careful sketches of the artefacts from his excavations in cave 2, as well as clear descriptions of the stratigraphy and deposits. Other material relating to the excavations in cave 2 includes photographs, technical drawings and a report on the human dental remains, as well as photographs, sketches and a detailed petrological report by geologist Alberto Pelloux on seven stone axes. During the 2001 survey a number of unidentified cave photographs from the archive were recognised as images of the Velcia caves.
One of the most informative parts of the archive, in terms of reflecting Cardini's personality, concerns a series of correspondence between Luigi Cardini and Alberto Pelloux, dating from 1940 to 1952. The letters follow Cardini's and Pelloux's plans to publish their work on the stone tools from Velcia cave and Xarra. Unfortunately, the Second World War, followed by the unexpected death of Pelloux in 1948 meant that their plans were never realised. The letters show that after the death of Pelloux, Cardini, through much perseverence, managed to be reunited with his artefacts in May 1952 (Francis, forthcoming). With the exception of a small assemblage of pebble choppers from Xarra, most of Cardini's Albanian artefacts are now lost, although evidence of the first Aurignacian tools found in Albania (Harrold et al., 1999), survives as a collection of original drawings and photographs. These artefacts, which date to the Early Upper Palaeolithic, are crucial to our understanding of early human occupation in Albania and indeed, Europe (Runnels, 1988; Runnels and van Andel 1993; Kozlowski, 1999).
While Cardini's reports and notebooks contain no explicit references to the mission's geopolitical cause, the covers of two 1939 notebooks depict Italian tanks advancing under the slogan, 'L'Italia fascista ha tali forze di ordine spirituale che può affrontare e piegare qualunche ' (Fascist Italy has such spiritual and material force that it can confront and shape any destiny) (IPU). This is an unfortunate statement, given that the subsequent events of 1939 were to prevent Cardini from ever returning to Albania to complete his research. His notebooks not only provide a wonderful illustration of the enthusiasm of a dedicated archaeologist, they provide valuable evidence relating to the prehistory of Albania, where such research is still in its infancy.
Re-locating the caves of
Luigi Cardini.
The first expedition to try and
re-trace Cardini's caves took place in June 2000, directly as a result of
the discovery of his notebooks in Rome. The survey, conducted close to the
ancient city of Butrint in Southern Albania, was a success and, using Cardini's
own notebooks as guides, managed to locate many of his southern-most caves and
surface sites (Fig. 2). The second survey took place over 12 consecutive days
in June 2001 and was designed to search for the remainder of the caves,
situated further north, between the towns of Saranda and Vlora, both on the
coast and inland (Fig. 3).
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Figure 2. Cardini sites located close to Butrint in June 2000 Institute of World Archaeology archive |
Figure 3. The route taken by the 2001 survey Institute of World Archaeology archive |
As was Cardini's experience,
the help and information obtained throughout the survey from local people,
particularly shepherds, was paramount to success. Their knowledge of local
topography and place names enabled many caves to be re-located with ease - a
task that would have otherwise proved impossible, due to the inaccessibility
and invisibility of many sites. During the search for Cardini’s sites,
many previously unknown surface scatters and caves were discovered, including a
flint quarry, where large flint nodules had been tested and exploited for stone
tools. In total, the two surveys were successful in re-locating and
examining around 50 caves and rockshelters, most of which had first been
discovered by Cardini (Francis, 2001).
Himara cave
Of the caves
examined during the survey, one or two revealed exciting evidence of
prehistoric occupation. Of particular interest was a large cave at the coastal
town of Himara, where Cardini had Albanian workmen carry out trial excavations
in 1939:
'The Himara caves: these appear in the locality of Spilë, close to the Adriatic coast.....An initial trial trench carried out on the 4th June was widened and deepened on the 8th and 9th........ I did verify the highly interesting nature of the site, which will require a long campaign of excavations -very promising in terms of results due to the enormity of the deposit; the abundance of archaeological and faunal remains and the rare stratigraphic clarity- and I thought it better not to disturb the deposit, which could be explored directly at a more opportune moment, using the means and the devices suggested by science' [IPU: Cardini, 4th July. 1939 notebook].
On arriving at Himara, we crossed over the rocky spur of Gjiri i Spilesë and into what was a small harbour, described by Cardini:
' The village lies on the small hills, which to the north close off the tiny harbour that is confined by two rocky spurs reaching out into the sea. The spurs also form a small beach, which has a few houses and a small hotel. Three of the caves open within the southern spur and these are so close as to form a single talus deposit at its base, 20-25 metres wide. Two caves, which appear to be ample but somewhat buried, open at a higher level, a little more than 100 metres from the others. The cave that was sampled has an entrance eight metres wide, is 32 metres long, six to seven metres high and is the largest of all' [IPU: Cardini 1939 notebook].
To our dismay, the tranquil scene described by Cardini was no longer visible. The beach that contained only a small hotel and a few houses had become a busy sea-front town and the caves that held so much potential for Cardini were no longer discernible from the water’s edge. By examining the rock face within the southern spur of the developed beach, we were able to locate three of the five caves illustrated on Cardini’s map, caves 1, 2 and 3 (Fig. 4). Cave 1, the largest cave where Cardini carried out successful trial excavations, was still intact but lay hidden behind the concrete foundations of a partially constructed hotel (Fig. 5).
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| Figure 4. Cardini's 1939 map of Himara beach showing the caves Reproduced with permission of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana |
Sadly, it appears that the cave will be inaccessible in the future, after the completion of the new building. The cave had a large entrance and extended for about 30 m into the hillside. Inside, the atmosphere was damp, with moss and algae. Although the cave floor still appeared to contain the rich, deep deposits that Cardini sampled, the surface was littered with rubbish. As a result of this debris it was not possible to observe Cardini's trial trench, from which he recovered animal bone, flint tools, pottery and hearths, from over two metres of stratigraphy (Mustilli, 1941). This material was dated to the Eneolithic, Hellenistic and Roman periods. Although Cardini concluded that cave 1 was worthy of future scientific investigation, he was never able to return there and today the caves and their deposits are greatly endangered by modern building development and tipping. The Himara caves now require a detailed re-evaluation, before Cardini's valuable archaeology is destroyed forever.
Kanalit rockshelter
One of
Cardini's most promising prehistoric cave sites in terms of archaeological
deposits was that of the Kanalit rockshelter, a prominent limestone outcrop
situated within the Acroceraunian Mountains, overlooking Vlora Bay:
'At Capa Petrusit there is a cave which Sinan calls Kanalit, small but where there are pot fragments on the surface........A trial trench carried out close to the rock face revealed the following stratigraphy...As a whole, the artefacts from the lower part of the deposit, even though scarce due to the small size of the trial trench, provide secure evidence of the presence of an Eneolithic industry. The site, which presents an extremely vast and explorable surface, promises to be able to procure an abundance of securely stratified and interesting material, as a result of systematic excavation' [IPU: Luigi Cardini, 1939 notebook].
In June 2001, as a result of information acquired from the residents of the modern town of Orikum, we learned that a large rockshelter fitting the description of Kanalit was located on the north-east facing, lower slopes of the long Kanalit Mountain. After reaching the western edge of the Dukat plain and the area known as Rrëza Kanalit, we began to climb the moderate north-east facing slope of the Kanalit Mountain, from where the large rockshelter was clearly visible from below, contained within a prominent limestone outcrop (Fig. 6).
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| Figure 6. Kanalit rockshelter photographed in June 2001 Photograph by the author |
Once at the rockshelter, we examined Cardini's plan of Kanalit and were able to relate it immediately to the feature before us, such was the accuracy of his drawing (Fig. 7).
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The most recognisable feature on the ground was the large fallen block (4a), situated in front of the outcrop, which had obscured a large portion of the ground surface and the rockshelter’s deposits. Behind the rock, where Cardini had excavated his primary trial trench (5a), lay the actual rockshelter. This consisted of a substantial hollow in the rock face containing the largest cavity (1), and the two small ‘tunnel’ cavities, (2) and (3). |
| Figure 7. Cardini's 1939 plan of Kanalit rockshelter Reproduced with permission of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana. Adapted and renumbered by J Williams. |
At the south-eastern end of the rockshelter was the smaller, isolated outcrop (6), that Cardini had hoped to explore in more detail at a later date and behind this, the low outcrop (7), and another detached block (4b) - the site of Cardini’s smaller trial trench (5b). The rockshelter, which was east facing, provided a spectacular view of the Dukat plain and the river Gjimares below, as well as of Pasha Limani, Vlora Bay and the Karaburun peninsula. The whole of the terrace in front of the rock face was enclosed by a wire fence and the site was occupied by a goatherd, Mr Salo Jazo, 60, who had only been there with his goats for the previous 10 days, having moved from Dukat. Mr Jazo knew the Dukat area well and proved to be a valuable source of information regarding caves.
Cardini had referred to the rockshelter as Shpella Kanalit (Kanalit cave) and during his visit there on the 7th June, 1939, he excavated two small trial trenches that revealed evidence of Eneolithic activity at the site:
'A trial trench carried out close to the rock face revealed the following stratigraphy:
- 20 cm of a blackish soil with dung on the surface, signs of recent fires and a few fragments of recent pottery.
- 10 cm of a yellowish, clayey, stony soil, at the base of which was a beautiful blade of whitish flint, 6 cm long and 2 cm wide.
- 30 cm of blackish soil with frequent stones, signs of hearths and non wheel-thrown pottery, slipped and burnished; some atypical flint flakes and the bones of domesticated animals including Sus, Ovis and Bos were found. The latter, of small dimensions, might well correspond with Bos brachyceros, common in Neo-Eneolithic deposits. Below is the unaltered bedrock' [IPU: Cardini notebook extract, 7th June 1939].
Cardini again proposed a future campaign of excavations that were also prevented by the outbreak of the Second World War:
'As a whole, the artefacts from the lower part of the deposit, even though scarce due to the small size of the trial trench, provide secure evidence of the presence of an Eneolithic industry. The site, which presents an extremely vast and explorable surface, promises to be able to procure an abundance of securely stratified and interesting material, as a result of systematic excavation. Any excavation should be carried out in winter or at the beginning of spring however, due to the site’s close proximity to the Pasha Limani swamps, one of the worst places in Albania for malaria' [IPU: Cardini notebook extract, 7th June 1939].
During our brief visit to Kanalit we made a preliminary examination of the ground surface to look for the two trial trenches excavated by Cardini and for any archaeological material. The area was mostly covered with grass and dung, but in places the deposits thinned out to reveal the limestone bedrock, which outcropped intermittently. We did not find evidence of Eneolithic material, although on the slopes below the rockshelter's terrace we recovered Iron Age and late Antique pottery, as well as an impressive collection of late Mesolithic flint tools - extremely rare in Albania (Francis, 2001). As Cardini concluded, the Kanalit rockshelter appears to have much archaeological potential and merits future detailed examination.
Velcia
caves
A visit to the remote mountain
village of Velcia in search of some of Cardini’s richest and best-recorded
caves was made in June 2001. After travelling east from Vlora along the
Shushicës river valley, we headed north into the Kurvelesh Mountains.
Here, the road became little more than a rough track carved into the bedrock,
where we climbed slowly through dramatic limestone and sandstone gorges,
overlooking the Shushicës river below. Many caves and crevices visible
within the rocks here were probably those seen by Cardini in 1936:
Below Velcia, whilst leaving for Vlora, I saw a number of imposing accumulations of the same formation. A stream incises the land there. The stream is low down in comparison with the limestone mass, and in certain places real caves are visible, apparently not devoid of earthy deposits. I have only seen them from afar. Small and large caves are visible everywhere in this area, where the limestone outcrops or projects in clusters from the ground. [IPU: Cardini notebook extract, 3rd July 1936].
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Large blocks of limestone were scattered in front of the caves, within a steep talus covered with grass and scrub vegetation, into which the road had been cut (Fig. 9). Immediately we began a systematic examination of the rock face and its caves, using Cardini's detailed notes as reference. The caves, aligned north west to south east (left to right) along the rock face, were numbered from 1 to 10 by Cardini in that direction. |
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| Figure 9. Velcia gorge looking north, in 2001 Photograph by the author |
In 1936, after making observations in the remainder of the gorge, Cardini returned to cave 2, where he carried out detailed excavations within the first and second chambers:
The whole of the cave, but especially the second chamber is cold and humid. In the area indicated (+) there is still active precipitation and the ground below is heavily cemented. The deposit is formed of soil and crushed stone from the weathering of the walls and includes pottery fragments and bones. This layer of heavily-carbonised soil is very thin. The bedrock is just below the soil in trench 1 [IPU: Cardini notebook, 3rd July 1936].
Cardini referred to cave 2 as the 'fertile cave', because it proved to be extremely rich in terms of archaeological deposits and artefacts. During our visit we learned that the cave is known locally as Shpella Maçi (Maçi cave). Our examination of this cave was combined with the exciting revelation that it was one of the large caves photographed by Cardini in 1937- a cave previously unidentifiable to us and thought to be that of Dragot near Tepelena (Fig. 10 below). The most recognisable feature of Maçi cave was the heart-shaped rock that partially obstructed the entrance. This is just as it appears today (Fig. 11 below), although the talus visible at the far right of Cardini’s photograph has now been removed, possibly to use to repair the adjacent road.
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Figure
10. Cardini's cave 2 (Maçi cave) at Velcia, 1937 Reproduced
with permission of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana
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Figure 11. Cardini's cave 2 (Maçi cave) at Velcia, 2001 Photograph by the author |
The entrance to cave 2, which was south-east facing, was approximately 6.5 m wide, 8 m high and 6 to 7 m above the level of the road. Inside the cave, the first chamber was spacious- 6 m wide and 8 m deep -and quite well illuminated. Using Cardini’s plan it was easy to identify the positions of his two trial trenches, one behind the heart-shaped rock and one was close to the right-hand wall of the first chamber. The area of precipitation located just behind the second trench was still visibly active. The interior of the first chamber contained a number of large boulders, which formed a raised area at the rear of the chamber on the left-hand side. The floor, which still contained visible deposits, led almost horizontally to the entrance to the second chamber, which was located round to the right.
The floor of the second chamber, Cardini's ‘Dark Corridor’, was covered with substantial deposits of red soil, interspersed with stones and areas of flowstone. Fifteen sherds of late Bronze Age and Iron Age pottery were found here. The chamber, approximately 7 m long, was extremely dark and the atmosphere was quite dry. The floor sloped steeply upwards towards the rear of the chamber and there were many small crevices and tunnels leading off at ground level. At the rear of the second chamber was a low platform, where the cave narrowed and the entrance to the narrow tunnel illustrated by Cardini was visible, leading off into the mountain towards the north east. The first part of this tunnel was examined until it turned a corner around a protruding stalactite deposit, where it became an even narrower passage divided in two by a stalagmite column. This corridor was reported by Cardini to lead directly to cave 4, situated further along the rock face, a fact that was confirmed to us by local people.
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Cave 4 is known by the villagers of Velcia as Shpella Kalàla (Castle cave). Visually, it is the most impressive of all the Velcia caves, consisting of a huge, two-storied, south-east facing cavity, estimated as 18 to 20 m high and about 6 to 8 m wide at its widest point (Fig. 12):
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The entrance to cave 4 is sealed by the finely-built limestone wall that Cardini describes, about 8 m high and containing a door and a window. Above the wall was a 2 m high void, then a 4 metre-deep stone floor with a large overlying cavity. The upper cavity was estimated to be 7 or 8 m high, 6 m wide and appeared to be spacious inside. According to the villagers, the tunnel leading from cave 2 entered cave 4 at this higher level.
Cardini's excavations at Velcia recovered rich and varied assemblages of Eneolithic polished axes, flint tools, bone objects and inscribed and painted pottery. The artefacts have been referred to since, on account of their outstanding variety and quality (Hammond, 1967: 290). In his analysis of the Velcia finds, based on Cardini’s work, Mustilli (1941: 682), reported that it was not possible to assign any chronological divisions to the material. However, in light of subsequent discoveries of the same period (Prendi, 1982: 198), it may now be possible to reinterpret the Velcia material using Cardini's illustrated Velcia notebook and photographs of the artefacts. The 2001 survey found that the Velcia caves have remained virtually unchanged since Cardini’s excavations there. Although talus deposits had been removed from the exterior of Maçi cave, we saw no evidence of alteration or damage to the rich archaeological deposits inside.
Xarra
On June
1st 2000 (61 years to the day in which Cardini made his discovery),
a visit was made to the village of Xarra near Butrint, to try and re-locate
Cardini's Palaeolithic surface site:
The site, discovered during the visit to the cave of Shën Marina, comprises a large area which extends from the slopes of the small hill, on which the small village of Xarra is situated, to the right of the river Malck. A freshwater spring gives its name to the locality: Bregu i Croit (Spring hill)....The tools appear to be contained within their primary context in a red soil, which is probably wind-blown in origin. This deposit is exposed within the many gullies that have been eroded by the flow of water down the gentle slope. The remainder is covered by a thin layer of topsoil, a few centimetres deep, which supports a thin growth of rough vegetation. Such is the appearance of a large expanse of uncultivated land that constitutes the right of way to the village from the north west. And here, at a depth of approximately 20-30 cm. within the red soil, I recovered two tools, one of which was typical Mousterian. Many other flakes and worked flints were found scattered here and there on the surface, or at the bottom of the small gullies incised by the waters [IPU: Cardini notebook 1939]
After arriving in the village of Xarra and obtaining the help of some of the local people, we arrived at the place still known as Bregui i Croit (Spring hill). This is situated to the north-west of the village and the freshwater spring is now piped.
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| Figure 13. Cardini's map of the Palaeolithic surface site Xarra Reproduced with permission of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana |
Figure 14. Cardini's
Palaeolithic surface site at Xarra in 2000 Photograph by the
author
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With the spring located, it was possible to orientate Cardini's map (Fig. 13), and to observe the incisions he described in the terra rossa, which were still in existence, some of them quite substantial (Fig. 14). Palaeolithic flint and chert tools visible on the ground seemed to be eroding from the gullies. The site appears to be part of a fossil dune complex from a palaeo-shoreline, with at least two palaeosol horizons, associated with interglacial Middle Palaeolithic and late glacial Epipalaeolithic \ Mesolithic industries (Runnels, pers. comm.). Future investigations at the site, in order to clarify the relationship between the geomorphology and the stone tool assemblages are required.
Conclusion
Luigi
Cardini was truly excited by his Albanian discoveries, particularly at Xarra,
Kanalit and Himara. Mustilli's 1941 publication announced Cardini's important
discoveries of 1939 and brought the prehistory of Albania to the fore. However,
the Italian invasion of Albania and the outbreak of the Second World War in
1939 meant that Cardini was never able to fulfil his aim to carry out future
survey and excavations at the prehistoric sites he had discovered.
Since Cardini's work, research into the early prehistory of Albania has been limited (Korkuti, 1983; 1995). Recent studies have suggested human occupation in Albania from the first half of the Middle Pleistocene onwards (Darlas, 1995:57). The earliest evidence is provided by the sites of Barani, where Clactonian and proto-Levallois material has been found (Korkuti, 1995); and at Gajtan in Shkoder, where the earliest cultural levels have revealed a Lower Palaeolithic Acheulian industry associated with Middle Pleistocene fauna (Darlas, 1995; Korkuti, 1995). Evidence for the Middle Palaeolithic in Albania was first reported in the north of country where, in 1939, stone tools were discovered at the open-air site of Rreza e Dajtit (Richtofen, 1939) -the location of which is now unknown. The same year heralded Cardini's discovery of Xarra. The most recent Middle Palaeolithic discoveries include levels in Gajtan cave (Fistani, 1989), and Palaeolithic surface sites at Kryegjata in Apollonia (Korkuti and Davis, 1998; 1999) and at Diaporit near Xarra (Francis 2000).
The two surveys to re-locate Cardini's sites were largely successful and suggest that his work may be of value to modern researchers - many of the caves and surface scatters he discovered still contain some of the richest and untapped prehistoric deposits known in Albania today. The discovery of Cardini’s notebooks not only provides us with a fascinating insight into Cardini's methodology and research, it has re-opened the door to the past and enabled his valuable work to be recognised and continued, as he would surely have wished.
Acknowledgements
All
Cardini extracts included in this report are derived from Luigi Cardini’s
original Albanian notebooks, stored within the Istituto Italiano di
Paleontologia Umana in Rome, and reproduced with the kind permission of
Professors Aldo and Eugenia Segre. The two surveys were made possible by grants
from the Institute for Aegean Prehistory, with additional support from the
Butrint Foundation. The surveys were carried out by the author and by Ilir
Gjipali of the Albanian Institute of Archaeology, Tirana; assisted by Rovena
Kurti of the University of Tirana. Since 1999, the Cardini Project has been
helped in various ways by many specialists, including Professors Richard
Hodges, Curtis Runnels, Muzafer Korkuti, Jack Davis and Michael Galaty; Doctors
Robin Skeates, Andrew Chamberlain, Lorenc Bejko and Neil Croston and by
colleagues Oliver Gilkes, Sally Martin, Barbara Polci, Felicity Booth, William
Bowden, Louise Schofield, and Valentina Vulpi.
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