Season Director

• AIAC_1128 - Tumulus of Lofkënd - 2004
  The ancient tumulus of Lofkënd lies in the general area of the Mallakastra hills, which rise to the southeast of the modern regional center of Fier, near the modern village of Lofkënd (sometimes Lafkënd), which is at an altitude of some 318 meters above sea level. During the first season in 2004 a total of 28 burials were uncovered in the uppermost metre of the tumulus, including a cluster of early Modern infant graves and inhumed animals on the East side of the mound. The largest number of tombs belonged to the Early Iron Age. The majority of the burials were in the characteristics flexed position and several tombs contained more than one individual. All the burials revealed in this season of excavation were inhumations. Finds included whole vessels of the handmade matt-painted style, several fibulae of a type familiar from sanctuaries and tombs in Greece, Italy and the Balkans in the 10th through 8th Century BC, and various other bronze, iron and bimetallic small finds. A particular focus of the 2004 season was the physical anthropology of those buried in the tumulus and the nature and composition of the fill. One of the most interesting aspects to have emerged was the large number of Prehistoric stone tools re - deposited in the tumulus fill, including Neolithic and Bronze Age types and also some Paleolithic examples.
• AIAC_1128 - Tumulus of Lofkënd - 2005
  Excavations were continued at the burial tumulus of Lofkënd in during the summer of 2005. In the field 34 new graves were uncovered, primarily of the Early Iron Age, containing exciting new finds of pottery, bronze, iron, and even gold. The total number of tombs excavated in the course of the 2004 and 2005 seasons was 62, and at least four additional tombs were uncovered during the later stages of the campaign, but not yet excavated. A few early modern graves were also encountered in the northeast portion of the tumulus. Aerial photography from a machine-powered para-glider was carried out at the end of the season, and provided the first aerial photographs of a prehistoric tumulus in Albania.
• AIAC_1128 - Tumulus of Lofkënd - 2006
  Excavations continued in the summer of 2006 at the prehistoric burial mound of Lofkënd. The new burials excavated in this season yielded a broad array of finds, primarily pottery, including the characteristic local handmade matt-painted pottery of the Early Iron Age, and items of personal adornment: beads of semi-precious stone, glass compound, and terracotta, as well as many different types of bronze, iron, and bimetallic items of jewelry, including fibulae and dress. A pattern seen in earlier seasons was repeated in 2006: the richest burials were consistently those of younger females, several of whom wore bronze diadems around their heads. The most enigmatic tomb was discovered late in the season, comprising a larger and deeper than normal pit with the bones of several individuals, in total disarray, together with animal bones. This combination was found in no other grave and, more importantly, this one tomb was centrally located in the tumulus and appears to have been the first of all the tombs laid out. A project to rebuild the tumulus to its original appearance, using locally made mudbricks to reconstruct the baulks, was initiated this season.