SARAQINISHT CASTLE (Antigonea)

The Castle of Jermë entitled Cultural Monument of first category in 1963 is situated in the Archeological Park of Antigonea, Municipality of Gjirokastra. There are three construction periods, the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC), the Late Antiquity and the middle Ages.
The city was founded by Pyrrhus of Epirus in honor of his wife Antigone at the beginning of the 3rd century BC and is thought to have been burned by the Roman general Paolo Emilio in 168 BC. The fortification wall around 4000 m long encloses an area of 45 ha. The wall thickness is around 3.5 m and the highest preserved point reaches a height of 3 m.