Mosaic of Tirana

The Mosaic of Tirana is the pavement of a rural estate of the first century AD, the earliest structure known within the modern city, uncovered by chance in 1972…The Mosaic of Tirana is the pavement of a rural estate of the first century AD, the earliest structure known within the modern city, uncovered by chance in 1972 while foundations were being dug for a housing development west of the centre. In the third century the farm was rebuilt as a two-part complex with living quarters and working ranges, and in the fourth or fifth an early Christian church was inserted into its central hall.

The patterns are geometric and floral with early Christian motifs among them, a stylised braid, rosettes and fish, and bricks stamped with crosses from the reign of Constantine survive from the conversion. It is fenced, modest and municipal, but it is the one place in the capital where Tirana's antiquity is visible in the ground.