A visit to the remarkable rock cut tombs of Selcë e Poshtme
January 09, 2022
The rock cut tombs of Selcë e Poshtme are well worth a visit. They share some similarities with the stone tombs of the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE usually known as ‘Macedonian built tombs’ that are found in Greek Macedonia and elsewhere, including in Albania (such as at Amantia), but in many ways they are quite different.
The archaeological site of which the tombs are a part has been identified by some scholars as Pelion, an important city in Illyrian history. Literary sources relate that the city was a settlement of the Chaonian tribe of the Dassaretae that was taken and fortified by the famous Illyrian/Dardanian king Bardylis, thorn in the side of the Macedonians. After Bardylis’ defeat by Philip II, the settlement became an important border fort for the Macedonians. In 335, when Alexander III of Macedon (later the Great) ascended to the throne, a coalition of Illyrian tribes rose in revolt and occupied Pelion under Bardylis’ son Cleitus and King Glaucias of the Taulantii. Alexander laid siege to the city and defeated the Illyrians.
However, some scholars place Pelion at other locations such as Zvezde and Gorna Gorica (I’ll be visiting those places soon). With regard to Selcë e Poshtme, although some excavations have taken place on Gradishte, the hill on which the tombs are situated, which have brought to light material from the 5th to 2nd century BCE, there are very few visible remains of a fortified city.
Four of the tombs (known as tombs 1 – 4) are cut into the steep slope on the east side of the hill, more or less on the same level, and one (tomb 5) is located further down the slope, a little to the south. Careful examination of the rock face between tombs 1 to 4 reveals various features such as surfaces which have been flattened, rock cut steps and drainage channels. These features occur in other hilltop settlements such as Amantia and Zgërdhesh.
On arrival at the site you will see a small wooden ticket kiosk (it was not open when we were there). It is possible to park by the kiosk and then you follow a track up to the site. There is also a sign to a café bar which was closed when we were there as it is out of season. The track leads to the upper tombs, tomb 4 is the first one that you will come to.
Tomb 4
Tomb 4
A great deal of work went into the construction of these tombs, which are hewn directly into the cliff face. Tomb 4 shows this really well: the doorway is extremely deep and the quality of the finished surfaces high. Slots for the stone doors can be seen in the threshold although the doors are no longer at the site. The curved roof has been carved in the shape of a barrel vault and the back of the tomb where the rock was uneven and split has been filled in with worked stone blocks. The interior has been carefully prepared for plaster and would have been painted, and part of a stone funerary couch was carved into the wall. The exterior of the tomb was also plastered and painted, and niches for inscriptions flank the tomb and continue along the cliff face. The tomb has been dated to the 2nd half of the 3rd century BCE, while some of the inscriptions (no longer visible) were dated to the 1st century BC.
Tomb 3, which has been dated to the mid 3rd century BC, has two levels and is notable for the quality of the grave goods found during excavation, many of which can now be seen in the National History Museum in Tirana. The tomb has two chambers, one above the other, and archaeologists speculate that the upper burial chamber was abandoned due to fissures in the rock, and the lower chamber added in order to accommodate the burials. Indeed, the upper chamber is not very deep and does not have the carefully finished interior surfaces of the other tombs.
Tomb 3
The façade has a central concave section and is highly decorated with ionic columns. There is a carved niche topped by a relief of a helmet to the left of the door, and a shield of the Macedonian/Illyrian type carved in relief to the right. The stone door is missing. The ground directly in front of the façade was once decorated by a mosaic, but this is now missing.
Tomb 3
The square burial chamber below contains two stone sarcophagi carved to imitate wooden funerary couches. This part of the tomb had not been robbed, and multiple burials were excavated from the sarcophagi and the chamber floor. The burial goods included ceramics, weapons and precious metal jewellery including intricate gold pieces. The quality of the grave goods has led some archaeologists to assume that the graves were of a royal family.
Tomb 3
Tomb 1 is the next tomb you will come to. It is a simple rock cut burial chamber and a levelled area in front of it, dated to the 4th or 3rd century BCE. The façade is again emulating temple architecture and has Doric and Ionic columns flanking the doorway, under an entablature. As with the other tombs, the façade would have been painted.
Tomb 1
Inside, the ceiling is carved to emulate a barrel vault and two couches, now broken, have been carved from stone in imitation of wooden funerary couches – look out for the lion’s paw feet.
Tomb 1
Tomb 2 is also composed of an upper and lower element. The rectangular burial chamber is below and was originally sealed by stone slabs. Above, two hemispherical banks of seats would allow people to sit above the area of the burial chamber which was reached via stone stairs. It is assumed that space would be used for funeral rituals and family visits to the tomb. The tomb arrangement is unique and has been dated to the middle of the 3rd century BCE.
Tomb 2
Tomb 5 is in a different area of the site, at a lower level on the south slope. It is also a different type of tomb, constructed with blocks of stone in the Macedonian built tomb type and consists of a burial chamber and antechamber. The stone from the antechamber is partially missing, presumably robbed. Three sarcophagi were set around the sides of the burial chamber, and both chambers were originally sealed by stone doors.
Tomb 5
The Macedonian type tomb is characterised as a stone-built chamber tomb with a barrel-vaulted roof. Sometimes the tombs are built partially underground and subsequently covered by artificial earth tumulus. They first appear in the later
4th century BCE.
Plato in his Laws (947D) describes the ideal tomb for Custodian of the Laws “Their tomb shall be constructed underground in the form of an oblong vault of spongy stone, as long lasting as possible, and fitted with couches of stone set side by side; in this when they have laid him who is gone to his rest, they shall make a mound in a circle round it and plant thereon a grove of trees, save only at one extremity.” Such a tomb requires considerable resources to build, decorate and furnish, and they were reserved for royalty and the elite. This has added weight to the theory that the assemblage of tombs at Selce e Poshtme were for a royal dynasty, and Albanian archaeologists have suggested that some of the Illyrian Kings, and in particular King Monunius, were buried there.
Whoever the occupants of the tombs may have been, the tombs themselves are fascinating and the archaeological site is a unique insight into the burial practices of the elite of the region in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. In view of this, the site well deserves its inscription on the UNESCO tentative World Heritage list since 1996.
How to get there
As usual, I went with licensed guide Dorian Disha (+355 69 822 8244). From Elbasan we took the SH3 and turned right after the village of Qukes Shkumbini. You will pass through the village of Berzeshta (where there is an Ottoman bridge). The new road, from Qukes to Qafë Plloça has not been finished, but can be driven along and takes you through the village of Selcë and past the site.
Further Reading
Ceka, N., The Illyrians to the Albanians, 2005, Migjeni, pp 84-90 Gilkes, O., Albania: An Archaeological Guide, 2012, I.B. Tauris. p. 263 Wilkes, J., The Illyrians 1992, Blackwell, p 123 https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/909/