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Dimal in Illyria - Investigations on the Ancient Settlement History

Dimal (or Dimallon) was a city in the mountains of Illyria in the hinterland of the Greek port city of Apollonia in modern day Albania. The hilltop settlement might have existed since the Iron Age and formed one of the main sites of the people of the Parthini. It flourished between the 4th to 1st c. BC. It was heavily fought over in the 1st Macedonian War because it is situated on the mountains overlooking the Myzequija plain with the Via Egnatia coming from Apollonia and continuing to the south. It came under Roman rule in 205 BC. It had two phases of structural expansion: the settlement of the 4th / 3rd c. BC was mostly contained to the acropolis, which was heavily fortified. The city expanded after the Roman annexing and got a larger city wall and several public buildings. The city remained abandoned after a violent destruction towards the end of the 1st c. BC until it was partially resettled in the 5th/6th c. AD.