Dardana_Fortress
Dardana Fortress
Archaeological site Kosovo
The Dardana Fortress (known locally in Albanian as Kalaja e Dardanës or Kulina) is an archaeological site of the Bronze Age, Iron Age and late antiquity in present-day eastern Kosovo.[1] It is located on a hill to the northwest of Kamenica. It was a hilltop settlement and fortress of the Dardani in classical antiquity. It was rebuilt in the late Roman era as part of the fortification system in the Roman province of Dardania. The site was discovered in the 1970s, but excavations did not start in earnest until 2012.[2] One of the very earliest finds at the site is a funerary stele found accidentally at the foot of the hill in 1992.[3] Its interpretation has helped shed light on Illyrian burial customs, and excavations at the site have contributed to knowledge about the trade patterns between Dardania and the Mediterranean region.[4] Similar sites have been discovered in recent years in the Kamenica region.