Summer ’25 with the Centre, II

Dear Readers,
With this update, we can officially confirm that the Bushat 2025 excavation mission has come to an end. The dedicated efforts of our spirited and highly committed team of Albanian workers, guided by a group of experienced archaeologists, have yielded truly gratifying results. Thus, we consider the first stage of this year’s summer peregrinations through the Balkans successfully completed — and, if we may say so ourselves, completed with flying colors!

Where does this high self-assessment come from? It’s enough to briefly mention the results of our work. We had been eagerly awaiting the start of the excavation season, not least because this year marked the first time we would begin exploring the so-called Lower Town — the part of the site that was likely the most urbanized in antiquity.
The systematically expanded trench yielded truly promising results: in a relatively small area, we uncovered the remains of at least two sizeable buildings, possibly separated by a narrow street. Although the buildings have been preserved only at the foundation level — something we have, unfortunately, come to expect in Bushat — the quality of the stone fitting and workmanship is indeed more than respectable. Even more importantly, both inside and outside these buildings, we encountered typical cultural layers indicating regular use, clearly pointing to the fact that we are indeed uncovering part of a residential sector

In the second part of the season, the team’s main efforts were focused on the hilltop overlooking the city — the presumed acropolis. Our goal was to complete the trench that had been opened in 2019. At that time, we managed to identify the remains of two parallel walls of a mysterious structure. This year, however, we set ourselves the ambitious task of clarifying its shape and function.

That goal, after considerable effort, was finally achieved in the final week of the campaign: we found the two long-sought corners of the building. As a result of this year’s investigations, we now know that we are dealing with a rectangular structure measuring 9 meters in width and at least 16–18 meters in length. Combined with its distinctive location and NW–SE orientation, this discovery can only fire the archaeological imagination — and whet our appetite for what lies ahead.

Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, Bushat continues to present itself as a place full of secrets and rich with potential for many years of future research. One can only hope that, thanks to the efforts of the Institute’s team, this fortunate streak will carry on — and that next year, archaeologists will be able to add yet another important piece to this intriguing Illyrian puzzle.

We will remember Albania fondly, but as the saying goes, every ending is also a new beginning. The next stop on the Institute’s route is, as tradition would have it, the picturesque town of Risan.
Stay tuned for updates from the shores of the Bay of Kotor — coming soon!