An Illyrian Town in the 4th Century BC. Albanian-Polish Archaeological Excavations at Bushat (Northern Albania)

A previously unknown Illyrian town, situated between the historically-attested localities of Scodra and Lissos, in present-day northern Albania, has been excavated since 2018 by a team of archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology in Tirana (Albania) and the Antiquity of Southeastern Europe Research Centre of the University of Warsaw (Poland). This paper aims to present the latest insights on the topography of the site, its fortifications, and several monuments discovered intra and extra muros. The new archaeological findings from Bushat prompt a comprehensive reconsideration of the urbanisation process in the tribal territory of the Labeates, as well as of the chronology of the Illyrian town in general. At the same time, determining the original ancient name of Bushat remains an open challenge, inspiring a range of competing hypotheses. These are discussed in this paper and contextualised within an existing historical framework.