The graves of Selca, which show the ancient human settlements in our land and the tradition of Illyrian life of the IV and III centuries BC, have been described by the "OrhidLake" blog as Albanian cultural heritage, reports Mapo.al.
The tombs of Selca are royal and belong to the princes and princesses of the ancient city of Pelion. They are two-story monumental tombs embedded in the rocks on a beautiful green hill in the village of Selcë e Poshtme, Pogradec. For the first time they were discovered in the 40s and were fully excavated in 1971. The findings of archaeologists in the graves of Selca were very interesting and exciting at that time.
There are a total of 5 graves in the area, four of which are inside the rock and another is isolated and located in a nearby field. The first grave belonged to a princess, who was buried with her golden accessories, such as earrings and a crown. All the elements found inside the graves are displayed to the public in the National Historical Museum of Tirana. One of the most interesting finds in these graves is the belt buckle. This original paper is silver, protected behind a display case in the National Museum.
A copy of it, in bronze and enlarged 17 times, is placed at the central entrance of the National Museum, because of its importance in showing our early roots of one of the oldest Illyrian civilizations. The belt buckle is decorated with battle scenes, where two knights collide with a footman and put him down to show the triumph of the Illyrians over the enemy. The object is decorated with mythological elements such as dragon, griffon, fish and bird. This scheme has been interpreted as the legend of Cadmus, who, after helping the Enkelei tribe to win over their enemies, turned himself into a dragon.
Other jewelry includes several elements made by local Illyrian craftsmen, among which a fibula - brooch, earring and diadem. They were the ornaments of the time and were made of gold and silver. Their decorations were special with the figure of Athena and other filigree ornaments. Among the objects found are a series of Illyrian weapons, including helmets, shields, iron shirt, handcuffs, but also a bronze pan. There were also copper amphorae and other vessels, all carefully placed in the National Museum in Tirana.
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The helmet of the Illyrian military aristocracy
The architectural quality of the Illyrian tombs of Lower Selce is still visible, despite the damage of time. One of the monumental tombs has the shape of an amphitheater, which represents a rare example. The amphitheater with stairs in the tomb is something unusual, and it was said that the stairs were used for people to sit during the burial ceremony. Columnar tomb architecture is of the Ionic type, found in ancient Rome and Greece.
Some preliminary excavations carried out by archaeologists have concluded that the ruins of an entire ancient city are hidden beneath Selca and the hills of Gradishta. The history of an important ancient civilization is about to be revealed. The tombs of Selce have been nominated to the UNESCO Tentative list since 1996. An investment in their complete discovery would pave the way for the full UNESCO listing of this ancient civilization.
