Prishtina, 15 August 2023
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, accompanied by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Hajrulla Çeku, and the minister’s advisor, Nora Arapi Krasniqi, has received at a meeting the leading team of excavations at the archaeological site “Ulpiana”, composed of Christophe Goddard from the Ecole Normale Supérieure University in Paris, Arben Hajdari, professor at the University of Pristina and archaeologist, and Milot Berisha, archaeologist at the Archaeological Institute of Kosovo.
Prime Minister Kurti thanked for the work and dedication in the project “Excavations at the Ulpiana archaeological site” which is being developed in close cooperation between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, the University of Pristina and the French “Ecole Normale Supérieure”, while he was informed about the work so far and the last discovery of historical importance in this locality.
It was pointed out at the meeting that the monumental inscription represents a very rare piece of evidence, an imperial dedication by Emperor Justinian (527-565) of the city Justiniana Secunda, described as the city of Dardanus, in the province of Dardania (founded by his predecessor Diocletian at the beginning of 4th century AD) and his church. The discovery proves the closeness of the emperor to the province of origin, while the Church presents a world-class architectural structure like the constructions of S. Sophia in Constantinople and S. Vitale in Ravenna. This church also presents one of the greatest discoveries of the late Roman Empire and its most important emperors.
The project “Excavations at the Ulpiana archaeological site” is being carried out in close inter-institutional cooperation between the Ministry and the Archaeological Institute of Kosovo, the University of Pristina – Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Anthropology, and the University of Paris, “Ecole Normale Supérieure”. In July last year, the continuation of the initial cooperation agreement from 2017 was signed. The project has a three-year time span and originates from the law on the ratification of the “Financial Agreement for IPA 2020 between the Republic of Kosovo and the European Union”, and is financed by the IPA II funds of the European Union in the amount of 1 million euros. Through it, technical, scientific and financial support has been provided for the development of the Archeological site of Ulpiana as an asset with important historical, artistic, scientific and economic values. In addition to technical and scientific support, this cooperation affects the development of scientific professional capacities, through the exchange program of researchers, professors, archaeologists and students, and joint trainings.
Last modified: August 16, 2023