Google translated:
Prehistoric research was long burdened by Pan-Illyrian ideas.
Richard Pittioni, for example, assumed that the Central European urn field culture of the late Bronze Age was borne by the Illyrians and spread by them in the course of an "early Illyrian migration" to South Eastern Europe (Pittioni 1961, 280-281). These and similar theories, also in connection with much older cultures, are not to be pursued further here. Rather, modern linguistic research and prehistory are today in a position to paint a more reliable picture of the early Illyrians and their development, if not final.
The ancient sources give sufficient clues for the habitat of Illyrian voices between the Sava in the north, the Morava in the east, the Adriatic in the west and Macedonia and Epirus in the south. An important approach to researching the early culture of the Northern Illyrians presented itself early on with the almost innumerable burial mounds and fortresses on the Glasinac plateau between the upper reaches of the Bosna and the middle reaches of the Drina in Bosnia.
Road works in 1890 prompted the discovery of the first tumuli. Between 1888 and 1897 around 1450 grave guards were uncovered by Truhelka and Fiala, curators at the State Museum in Sarajevo (Hoernes 1889). In the 1950s, several revision excavations were carried out, which brought new insights into the methods of burial and other finds.
Finally, selected grave inventories, especially from the late Bronze and Iron Ages, were presented in catalog form (Benac / Covic ’1956 and 1957). On the basis of this material, the authors created a breakdown into time levels, which is still largely valid today (b Fig. 2). Nora Lucentini tried to arrange these and other previously unpublished grave finds from Glasinac again in a relatively chronological order (Lucentini 1981). Unfortunately, the previous catalogs are still not complete. Rastko Vasié also contributed to the temporal penetration of the Iron Age grave finds in western Serbia and Bosnia, who analyzed richly stocked inventories and hoard finds (Vasic '1977).
A real breakthrough for the ethnic description of Illyrian culture in all its variations and in an already larger area was finally achieved by Hermann Parzinger. The method he used was decisive.
He recorded equipment groups from Glasinac, in Kosovo / Kosova and in northern Albania, which he compared with those from Gréiberfeldern in northern Bosnia and south-eastern Albania. At the same time, he dealt with relevant findings from ancient and linguistic research and came to the conclusion that the results not only complement each other, but also hardly contradict one another (Parzinger 1991).
Fig. 2: Relative chronology in the Central and Western Balkans and in Greece.
The early settlements have not yet been adequately explored. For a long time it was not possible to get beyond the outline sketches of some of the ramparts. The high settlement of Klausura was examined more closely for the first time (Covié 1975 a; Govedarica 1982). Of greater importance, however, are the excavations carried out between 1953 and 1983 on the terraced settlement of Pod near Bugojna on the upper Vrbas (Covic ’1975 b).
The systematic excavation and evaluation of the two giant tumuli Veliki Gruda and Mala Gruda in the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro make an important contribution to the basics and the emergence of Illyrian culture. Burials from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age have been made accessible here (Primas 1996; Della Casa 1996).
Some more recent analyzes enable important insights into the social structures, especially on the basis of cler, Furstengréiber (summarized: Babic ’2002; Krstic’ 2004). Trade and trade routes are also increasingly the focus of archaeological research (Palavestra 1993; 1995; Jasarevic '2015 a). The excavation of a giant tumor in Lofke'ndi in central Albania, carried out in recent years, was also a great enrichment for the knowledge of Illyrian funeral customs (Papadopoulos et al. 2014).
In Albania, during the communist era, national interests were linked to Illyrian research. Some Albanian archaeologists and historians left no doubt that the early medieval Kuman culture was Illyrian. From the bearers of this culture are then in the 7th century the Arbians and from these in the 11th] h. the Arvanitai and ultimately the Albanians emerged.
In Albania, during the communist era, national interests were linked to Illyrian research. Some Albanian archaeologists and historians left no doubt that the early medieval Kuman culture was Illyrian. The bearers of this culture were then the Arbians in the 7th century and the Arbians in the 11th century. the Arvanitai and ultimately the Albanians emerged.
With this doctrine of descent, the Albanians should be portrayed as a thoroughly autochthonous people (cf. Zindel et al. 2018, 20). Of course, there was usually a clear rejection of this thesis not only among archiologists and ancient historians, but also in linguistics (D Section C.1).
A major German-Albanian exhibition on the history and culture of Albania in Hildesheim in 1988 marked a turning point in this question. In the corresponding catalog you can already read a more cautious and differentiated formulation by the Albanian archéiologists. Also, the South Albanian area in the Korca plain, in Kolonja and in Epirus was no longer necessarily counted as part of the Illyrian habitat (Eggebrecht 1988).
Thereafter, Illyrian research received new impulses from two further exhibitions in 2004. These were the presentation of the cultures of the Celtic Skordisker and Northern Illyrians in Hochdorf an der Enz (Bader 2004) and a traveling exhibition that started in Asparn an der Zaya (Lippert 2004).
In addition to archaeological subjects, the volumes accompanying these exhibitions also deal with the ancient sources of the Illyrians.
The Illyrian culture has long been the focus of several international symposia in Albania and in former Yugoslavia. It started with a conference in Sarajevo that dealt with habitat and chronology (Benac 1964). This was followed by a conference in Tirana in 1972 on general questions (premiere colloque 1976). In 1974 one then devoted oneself to the settlements in Mostar (Colloque Agglomerations 1975).
In Zlatibor, Serbia, cult and religion were topics of the symposium in 1976 (Rites d’inhumations 1979), while in Herzeg Novi 1982 intellectual culture, art and ornamentation were discussed (Covic ’1982).
