Leon Rey, a French archaeologist, was born in Faremoutiers, France. He served as the head of the French archaeological mission established under the Albanian-French agreement of 1923, which granted the right to conduct archaeological research and excavations for a period of 30 years in the prefectures of Shkodër, Durrës, and Vlorë. Rey conducted only limited surveys in Durrës, but from 1924 to 1938, he led excavations in Apollonia, uncovering many significant monuments. He worked diligently to exhibit the discovered artifacts and aimed to establish a museum in Fier, but this initiative did not receive support from the government at the time. In 1936, with the assistance of patriots, he transformed the historical building that had housed the national government after the Declaration of Independence in 1912 in Vlora into an archaeological museum. The findings from the excavations and further studies in archaeology, history, and art were published by Leon Rey and his collaborators in a special journal titled “Albanie, Cahiers d’Archeologie, d’Histoire et d’Art en Albanie et dans les Balkans,” which produced six issues. Leon Rey passed away in 1954. (In the photo: Leon Rej)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3, Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 2227.
Photo: © https://pashtriku.org/
Graphic processing: AHCF
