Butrinto. Relazione preliminare dello scavo presso il Pozzo di lunia Rufina

This article presents the preliminary results of the excavations conducted at the well of Junia Rufina, inside the ancient town of Butrint (Albania). By analysing the data collected during the archaeological season and comparing them with similar situations found in other parts the city, the article illustrates the development of the area near the Lion Gate and its history during the Late Antique period and the Early Middle Ages. The area of the Lion Gate at Butrint was used starting in the 2^nd century B.C. when it was fortified with a city-wall perimeter, and then monumentalized in the 2^nd century AD with the construction of a well by a Roman matrona, Junia Rufina who dedicated it to the nymphs. In Late Antiquity, a small building was erected, probably a church, related to the Christianization of the well. After 300 years of almost complete abandonment of the area, a church and a cemetery were built. The discovery of this two-phased cemetery sheds new light on the social life and the political and economical aspects of the town at the beginning of the 11 ^th century, and reveals further details about how the revival of the city took place at the start of the new millennium.