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| Dardanus gravestone in Macedonia |
A gravestone inscribed with the name "Dardanus," one of Epikrat's children, is triggering the emotions of Albanians in North Macedonia. They fear that their ancient genesis is deliberately being destroyed and distorted and that they will be unable to preserve the traces of their ancestors due to mistaken historical interpretations and scant material evidence classified as Illyrian by Macedonian authorities. Doubts about the concealment or distortion of historical facts about the Illyrians in today's Macedonia have been brought to Skopje by Albanian archaeologists from Kosovo. The largest Illyrian material heritage is concentrated in Skopje Castle. But in recent years, there have been clashes and denial of Illyrian elements here too. Historian Skender Asani insists on creating a special museum of Albanian ethnoculture. The director of the Directorate for the Protection of Archaeological Heritage, Arian Asllanaj, is also convinced of the mistaken interpretation of Illyrian material evidence and states that every artifact must be examined to reveal the truth.
Doubts about the coverage or distortion of historical facts about the Illyrians in today's Macedonian territories were raised in Skopje by Albanian archaeologists from Kosovo. Euronews Albania brings exclusive footage during the inspection they conducted at the site where a Dardanian plate was found.
Arben Hajdari, one of the Kosovar archaeologists, said that Illyrian traces in Skopje are undeniable.
"It is a known fact, it is not necessary to say it because it is known that the Dardanians lived here...
It is the same situation in all eastern and western provinces, as evidenced by the remains and artifacts of the local population, in this case the Dardanians, but in other provinces, we have a different population because they coexisted," says Arben Hajdari, an archaeologist.
However, doubts about the destruction of Illyrian evidence date back a long time and in different locations.
"The largest Illyrian material heritage is concentrated here in the Fortress of Skopje."
But a few years ago, there were clashes and denial of Illyrian elements here too.
One of the most outspoken opponents, as he calls it, of Albanian ethnocide is historian Skender Asani, who insists on creating a special museum of Albanian ethnoculture.
"One of the most argumentative cities of Illyrian-Arbëroro-Albanian continuity is the city of Skopje because the first materials of settlement in Skopje, the formation of Illyrian ethnoculture, we have during the Bronze Age or the transition between bronze and iron during the 12th and 10th centuries. During archaeological excavations in the Fortress of Skopje, houses and other artifacts of Illyrian ethnoculture have been found... But also, in the Skopje locality where excavations are currently being carried out during the 12th and 10th centuries, urn graves belonging to the Bronze Age and the transition towards iron have been found, showing that the old city of Skopje was inhabited by Illyrians from the Fortress of Skopje to ancient Skupi," says Asani.
The director of the Directorate for the Protection of Archaeological Heritage, Arian Asllanaj, is also convinced of the wrong interpretation of Illyrian material traces and says that every artifact must have a precise explanation of who it belongs to.
"The overwhelming part has been the Dardanians, but the trend is that they are not mentioned at all in the museum, so it is a trend, a great concern of the public because they want to mention who those tribes were in addition to the Roman period, at this moment the Dardanians and the tribes in general", he says.
There has been a tendency to distort the history of the Albanians over the centuries in North Macedonia, both in school books and in various scientific books by Macedonian academics, who call the Albanians who came to Macedonia. There was even a publication of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences in which it was claimed that "Albanians in Macedonia came from northern Albania. They colonized the villages in Macedonia in the 16th century, evicting the Macedonians from their homes." Similar narratives are also used in history and geography books, in which Albanian and Macedonian students learn.