Dimale

Dimale or Dimallum was a town in southern Illyria in classical antiquity which was situated in the vicinity or within the territory of the Parthini, an Illyrian tribe [1]. It was built on a hill of 450 m above sea level, in the hinterland of Apollonia, about 30 km from the eastern coast of the Adriatic [1]. The first walls of Dimale were built around mid-4th century BC when the Illyrians went through a dynamic development founding their own cities [1]. In the Hellenistic period (between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC) the town experienced its climax, during a phase marked by intense urban planning, including the construction of a new city wall and the building of several stoas, a temple, and a theater [1]. The identification of the site of Krotinë with the ancient Illyrian city became possible thanks to the discovery of ancient tiles stamped with the word DIMALLITAN [1]. The epigraphic material found at Dimale is mainly constituted by stamps on tiles datable between the 3rd and 2nd century BC, and by some stone inscriptions [1].