Illyria is the name given to the ancient region of the Balkans on the Adriatic coast from which most historians of the Balkans believe modern Albanians descend. This illuminating work by the celebrated archaeologist, Arthur Evans, examines the lives of the ancient Illyrians and contains many penetrating insights into the region. Drawing on his extensive travels in the area in the 1880s, Ancient Illyria presents for the first time Evans' original analysis of the diverse archaeological sitesof the region to construct a full and fascinating history. Never before published as a single volume, this classic work is still the best account and contains the most detailed research into the subject. Fully illustrated and including pictures of some Roman inscriptions which were later destroyed during the Serbian occupation of Kosovo, this invaluable guide to the archaeology and history of ancient Illyria is an essential text for all historians and everyone interested in the Balkans.

Arthur Evans' profile page

Arthur Evans was born in 1851 and educated at Harrow School, Brasenose College, Oxford and the University of Gottingen. He is most famous for his work on the palace of Knossos in Crete, which he identified as the centre of the thriving civilisation he dubbed 'Minoan', but he was also passionately interested in the history and archaeology of ancient Illyria and travelled extensively in the area as Balkan correspondent for the Manchester Guardian in the 1880s. From 1884 to 1908 he was Curator of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford and his numerous books include The Palace of Minos, Scripta Minoa and The Adriatic Slavs and The Overland Route to Constantinople.