Antigonea

Antigonea was founded around 295 BC by Pyrrhus of Epirus and named for his wife Antigone, laid out on a long ridge above the Drino valley with walls of about four kilometres, a grid of streets, an agora, houses with mosaic floors and a stoa. It lasted about a century and a half: Roman forces destroyed it in 167 BC in the campaign that devastated Epirus, and it was never reoccupied, which means the plan is uncomplicated by later building. Excavation has exposed streets, house foundations, mosaics under shelters and stretches of wall, in an archaeological park on open ground with pine planted through it. The ridge position gives a long view down the Drino valley toward Gjirokastra.

What you actually see

• A Hellenistic street grid - streets and house plots on the ridge.
• Mosaic floors under shelters - pavements from the houses.
• Four kilometres of wall - the circuit around the ridge.
• The Drino valley view - the plain toward Gjirokastra below.

When to go

April to October. Two hours. Mornings are cooler for walking the ridge, which has little shade. The site is quiet at almost any time. The final road is rough.

Honest expectations

The site is at foundation level and needs interpretation, which is limited. There is very little shade on the ridge. The access road is rough and there is no public transport. Mosaics are covered outside the main season.

Nearby

Gjirokastra is south-west; the Drino valley runs below.