Les routes de circulation du verre en Illyricum (VIe-XIe s.). Une étude préliminaire sur deux sites en Albanie du Nord : Lezha et Komani

After a brief review of the research on Late Antique and Early Medieval glass in Illyricum, the paper discusses the preliminary results obtained from the typological and archaeometric study (trough LA-ICP-MS) of glass vessels and beads from Lezha and Komani. These sites are located in the north-west of Albania: Lezha (ancient Lissos, situated on the Adriatic coast) and Komani (ancient Dalmace, in the nearby inland), both in the valley of the Drin. Although Komani and Lezha have inherited a very different past, they reflect comparable phenomena of transition between Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, both in terms of the settlement pattern and the social structure of the inhabitants. The archaeological research carried out on both sites reveals a particularly rich medieval contexts from the funerary and ecclesiastical domains, dating from the 6th to the 12th century. The study thus aims to analyse production and trade in the Western Illyricum between the 4th and 11th centuries and then compare the commercial dynamics of the two sites. At Lezha, the typology and chemical signature of the beads, found mostly in 7th-8th century contexts, reveal a western or local supply route. Komani beads, found in 9th-11th century graves, were mainly imported from the Abbasid Caliphate. On the other hand, glass furniture, lamps and unguentaria, found in churches, are probably produced within the Byzantine Empire and are particularly close to examples from Northern Greece. Beads and vessels, used respectively by the civic and ecclesiastic elites, follow two different commercial circuits within the same site. In conclusion, the differences between the commercial networks of the two sites, one turned to the Adriatic and the other to the steppes through a river network, testify the economic changes that took place between the 7th and 9th centuries.