The 6 weeks of excavations (25th of July – 5th of August) undertaken in the Roman amphitheatre of the ancient city of Durrës, brought new data on the dramatic consequences of the earthquake of the year 1273, which destroyed the monument, at this time transformed into a habitation area, as well as the entire city. Among the fallen limestone blocks of the amphitheatre, the excavations revealed traces of a palace built of solid masonry which was located in the area occupied previously by the magnificent Roman monument to show the power and status of the inhabitants, and guarantee their protection. It was a palace in the arena (_palatium in arena_), built at the end of the Antiquity, like that at Parma, or the few other examples of Mediterranean cities. The excavation in the area of the palace, apart from the large number of ceramic wares, revealed a pottery bottle decorated with medieval painting, where a bronze and silver coin hoard was preserved.
This year’s excavation expanded the surface area (app. 1000 m2 and 2, 40 m deep), aiming at the finalization of the constructive geometry, and the delineation and the understanding of the transformation and abandonment phases of the palace.
The excavations revealed the large gallery of the southern side, which was also the main entrance to the arena and 6 of the radial rows of the _cavea _ of the Roman amphitheatre. Apart from the excavations, the other micro-gravity, geo-seismic and geo-radar researches brought new data on the unexposed ancient and medieval structures.