Book Review: Corpus of the Mosaics of Albania, Vol. 1, Butrint intramuros, Balkans’ Mosaic

Abstract

Scholars will welcome this new contribution to art and archaeology of the Balkans documenting mosaics at Butrint, a major site on the Albanian coast of the Adriatic near the island of Corfu, in the ancient province of Illyricum. Other volumes are expected to follow in an ambitious project to record all of the mosaics of Albania, an effort directed by a Franco-Albanian team led by Marie-Patricia Raynaud and Agron Islami. The present book’s publication in English makes its contents easily accessible to the scientific community and to others with a more general interest in its subject. The volume has 25 mosaic entries, mostly pavements in addition to a few wall mosaics, all of which are described and analyzed thoroughly and illustrated beautifully with photographs and drawings. The format parallels that used by M.-P. Raynaud in Vol. I, 1 of the Corpus of the Mosaics of Turkey, dealing with mosaics of Xanthos, specifically of the East Basilica there.