Amphitheatre of Durrës

Start with your feet. The ground here is uneven, a mix of worn stone, packed earth and old brick. Around you, curved tiers of masonry rise in a broken bowl. Beyond the rim, you can hear the ordinary sounds of Durrës. A scooter passes, a door closes, someone calls across a balcony. You are standing inside a Roman arena, and the modern city sits right on its edge.

This is the Amphitheatre of Durrës. For many centuries, almost nobody living above it knew it was here. Houses, gardens and narrow lanes covered most of the structure. Families hung laundry and grew vegetables over buried tiers where crowds once sat. That is the first thing to hold in your mind as you look around. The arena did not survive as a monument. It survived by being forgotten.

To understand why a Roman arena stands in this port, it helps to know the city's long story. Durrës began as a Greek colony called Epidamnus, founded by settlers from Corinth and the island of Corfu. Later, under Roman rule, the city was known as Dyrrachium. It became one of the most important harbours on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Ships crossed from the Italian coast, and travellers landed here on their way east.

That connection gave the city real weight in the Roman world. Dyrrachium stood at the western end of the Via Egnatia, a great Roman road. The road ran across the Balkans toward Thessalonica and, eventually, Constantinople. Soldiers, officials, merchants and goods moved along it. A city with that much traffic and money wanted the same public buildings as other major Roman centres. An amphitheatre was one of them.

Most historians date the amphitheatre to the early second century, a period often linked to the reign of the emperor Hadrian. It was built for public spectacles, which in the Roman world often meant gladiator fights and shows with animals. Estimates of its capacity vary, but it is commonly described as holding many thousands of spectators. It is often called the largest Roman amphitheatre in the Balkans. Look at the curve of the seating and imagine every tier full.

Now look at how the builders worked. The structure uses a combination of stone and Roman brick, set in layers. Instead of sitting on a flat plain, the arena was partly built against the slope of the hill. This was a practical choice. The natural ground supported part of the seating, so the builders needed less heavy masonry. On one side the tiers rest on the hillside. On the other side, vaulted passages carry the weight.

Those passages are one of the best parts of a visit. Under the seating, curved corridors and arched galleries run around the arena. Spectators once used them to reach their seats, and they helped move large crowds in and out. Walk into them if they are open. The air feels cooler, the light drops, and sounds from outside become softer. You can see the brickwork of the vaults clearly here, row after row.

Here is a detail many visitors walk past. Inside the amphitheatre is a small early Christian chapel. After the age of the games ended, people reused part of the structure for worship. The chapel holds wall mosaics, which are rare survivors in this region. Scholars generally date them to the early Byzantine period, the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire. Seeing Christian images inside a building made for blood sports is a strong reminder of how the city changed.

After Roman times, the amphitheatre slowly lost its purpose. Earthquakes have struck this coast many times, and they damaged the city again and again. Stone from old buildings was often taken for new ones. Soil and debris filled the arena over the centuries. Over time, homes rose on top of the ruins. By the modern era, the great bowl had almost disappeared from view and from local memory.

The arena was rediscovered in the 1960s. Excavation then began to uncover parts of the seating, the arena floor and the passages beneath. But the work could not uncover everything. Some of the structure still lies under houses that remain on the site today. Look up toward the rim and you may see private homes standing right where the outer tiers once were. This is not a sealed archaeological park. It is a meeting point between an ancient building and a living neighbourhood.

That tension shapes the whole experience. Archaeologists would like to reveal more of the arena. Residents have lived here for generations. Questions about preservation, ownership and development have followed the site for years. As you walk, notice how close the modern walls come to the ancient ones. Notice the satellite dishes, the potted plants, the water tanks on roofs. They are part of the story too.

The amphitheatre also sits close to other layers of Durrës history. Nearby you can find sections of the old Byzantine city walls and a round tower from a later period. The seafront is only a short walk away. Together, these places show how many powers have held this harbour. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and later rulers all left marks on this small area. A walk of a few minutes can cross well over two thousand years.

Before you leave, stand still for a moment near the arena floor. Look up at the tiers, the brick arches and the houses above them. Listen to the city around you, the traffic, the voices, perhaps the sea wind. Thousands of people once sat here and shouted at what happened on this ground. Today the place is mostly quiet. As you walk back into the streets, look at the ground and the old walls you pass. In Durrës, the past is often just under your feet.