Kratul
# Kratul

Kratul was an Illyrian settlement and fortification located in the territories of the Illyrian tribe of Labeates. The archaeological material indicates that life at the settlement was active from the early Iron Age (beginning of 1st millennium BC) until the 1st century AD. In the modern era it is the name of a city situated in Albania, north of Boks.

## Fortification

Kratul fortification represents a good example that sheds light on the typology of military architecture among Illyrians. The fortification wall encloses an elliptical shape area (which is uncommon among other fortifications but adopts well to the terrain) and covers about 0.5 ha. The wall was built using large blocks on both curtains, while the core is filled with smaller stones. The blocks are unworked and no mortar has been used. The walls' width goes up to 3.35 m while the height is 2.55 m. Three gates which served for communication have been identified. Two of them are across each other respectively on the north and south side, while the third one is on the east side. From a typological point of view the Kratul fortification is similar to that of Gajtan, although there are substantial changes in plan such as towers and the regular elliptic shape, which make it an interesting site. So far, there have been no trace of houses found inside the settlement.

## Location

The Kratul fortification ruins are situated on the hill with the same name, at an altitude of 143 metres (469 ft) above sea level. They lie over the nowadays village of Boks, part of the municipal unit of Postribë in Shkodër County. On the plain south of the village's outskirts, near the left banks of Kir river, are located 160 tumuli of Shtoj, which date back to the early Bronze Age. Kratul itself is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the northeast of Shkodër city center and only 600 metres (2,000 ft) north of Mes Bridge, a cultural monument.

