The construction works undertaken during the first half of 2007 within the city-centre of Elbasan, revealed the remains of a mosaic floor, approximately at a 3m of depth from the ground level. Following this discovery, the Albanian Institute of Archaeology initiated a series of archaeological excavations at the mosaic area.
The excavations, which were located in a surface area of 11, 8 m x 5, 5 m, showed that the mosaic floor is part of the central nave of an early Christian basilica, situated app. 50 m to south of the southern gate of the existing roman castrum, and 25 m east of the cardo line of the Roman city of Scampis. The site was divided into quadratic excavations grids; trench K1 was opened within the central nave, K2 in the southern nave, and K4 to the east of the central nave, which corresponds to the sanctuary area.
To the south-eastern corner of the basilica, the foundation levels of a later (1932) building were found. The foundation remains go as deep as the mosaic floor, though, there is not yet any obvious damage on the mosaic. Excavations in trenches K1 and K2 enabled the recording of the stratigraphic layers in the transversal profiles of the basilica.
In the central nave area, below the alluvial stratum (US [0003], a layer of app. 3 m thick extended in the entire area of the monument), the wall ruins US [0004] (40 cm wide) of the basilica were discovered. Another compact and thin layer US [0005] was found beneath the walls and above the mosaic floor US [0006]. Near the modern building, these layers are cut by the opening of the building’s foundation channel. Therefore, at this area the ruins appear higher US [0061] then in the other excavated sections. Near the southern wall of the nave, the destruction layer reaches the highest level of the preserved walls, at app. 127, 50 m.
The excavations undertaken in the central nave of the basilica revealed details of the mosaic floor. It is a polychrome mosaic made of stone, marble, terracotta and glass tesserae, smaller then 1 cm x 1 cm and painted with different gradation of green, black and red colours.
In the area between the central nave and the sanctuary, various architectonic elements were discovered, such as: black marble slabs of the sanctuary gate; fragments of a Roman sarcophagus and stelae, perhaps reused on the construction of the stylobate wall of the sanctuary gate; and remains of the legs and top of the altar table .
The excavation revealed that the floor of the southern nave was paved with limestone slabs. In a later phase, perhaps after the destruction of the basilica, several graves were placed in the southern nave. Two of the graves, which belonged to infant individuals, were constructed with the lime stone slabs of the nave’s floor. In the southern wall of this nave, (preserved at 1, 80 m of high), two fresco layers of geometric motives were found. A column (US [0008]), probably part of the southern arcade of the basilica was found at the lower layer of the southern nave.
During this season, at the same time with the excavation, conservation works of the mosaic floor and of the mural paints were also carried out.