Digital Inventory of the Ethnographic Fund of the Pre-Alps Zone

The Albanian Institute of Science has started to implement the “Digital Inventory of the Ethnographic Fund of the Pre-Alps Zone” Project. The project targets the villages of Iballa, MërturGuri, and Arsmiliska of Puka District, Region of Shkodra.The area is very interesting thanks to an entirely autochthone ethnography and culture. It contains the Early Medieval city of Koman (8th and 9th century). The assets of this area are currently being put at extreme risk with the local people leaving the area, and old objects not properly valued. There are still special buildings and ethnographic objects found in this area that represent culture and tradition, and a significant potential for proving the thesis of Albanians being an early European people, and for attracting cultural tourism to the area.

The purpose of the project is to identify architectural objects like tower-like houses or fortified workshops not recognized as monuments of culture, and therefore not registered as part of the National Cultural Assets Inventory Fund Centre. The project also intends to identify well-known ethnographic objects like folk costumes, handicraft tools for producing musical instruments or clothing; musical instruments like lahuta (a traditional type of flute) or flute older than 70 years. Each object shall be registered and entered in a digital inventory. The direct objectives of the project consist in identifying ethnographic and cultural values, but the projectis also expected to have an indirect impact on promoting an integrated tourism to specific areas for their nature and for their anthropological elements.

The program is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Cultures part of the Cultural Heritage initiatives. The Albanian Institute of Science has also implemented other similar projects, including “Digital Inventory of “Sotir” Phototek”, and the “Lahuta of the Albanian Epos” Exhibition.

Program Coordinator Ms. Besjana Hysa [email protected]