Rahovec Castle

Rahovec Castle is located east of the town of Rahovec; this fortification is known by local inhabitants as Durman Castle (Kalaja e Durmanit). The castle has a very important geostrategic position. It commands a wide view of the geographic area and has mutual lines of sight with other surrounding fortresses, such as Zatriq and Cërmjan on the northern side; Vraniq and Korisha on the southeastern flank; and Karashëngjergj and Vlashnja on the southwestern side.
The fortress is situated on two hills with elevations of 722 and 702 m above sea level, and has an elongated shape that often adapts to the configuration of the terrain. The longitudinal part of the fortification, oriented east-west, is about 200 m, while the width varies from 44 m at the northwestern extreme to 55 m at the southeastern one. Within this perimeter of walls an area of about 0.60 ha is enclosed.
The walls of the castle are well preserved above ground. This is best seen on the southern and eastern sides, where their height reaches up to 1.10 m. In the other parts, northern and western, the walls have the form of a trace above the ground surface, while at the southwestern extreme there are places where they are missing.
The surrounding walls preserve the same construction technique throughout the fortification.
The flank of the southern wall of the fortress is fortified with 5 towers, which represent different types of plans: horseshoe-shaped (towers no. 1 and 5), square (no. 2 and 4) and rectangular (tower no. 3).
The fortification of the southern part with 5 towers provided active defense in the least protected part of the hill, exposed to the plain and hilly territory of today’s Municipality of Suharekë, which is very rich in traces of settlements from the Roman and Late Antique periods.
Based on the construction technique of the surrounding walls, the planimetric form of the towers and other elements, we believe that the castle of Rahovec belongs to a fortification with a military observation character in this part of the route that connected the mountainous areas with the important center of Ulpiana. The numerous settlements around this fortification, dating from the 3rd-4th centuries, speak to the importance this area had in this period. The existence of communication routes, such as the Lissus-Naissus route along this region, certainly brought about the need to build this fortification with a military character for the purpose of observing the area and protecting this connecting economic artery. The dividing wall inside the fortification testifies to a continuity of life of this fortification, at least into the following two centuries, the 5th and 6th.