In the field
Archaeologist specialist at the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Berat: excavations, expeditions and dozens of monument restoration projects.
Biography
From pencil to excavation
Archaeologist, artist and author from Berat: Dritan Çoku's story in a few steps.
Dritan Pëllumb Çoku
Archaeologist, cultural heritage researcher and painter from Berat, author of six monographs devoted to Albania's architectural and cultural heritage, two of which were co-authored.
- Berat · 1974
- Archaeologist
- Graphic artist
- Author of 6 books
Four sides of Dritan
Pencil in hand
Hundreds of black-and-white sketches of Berat's monuments and houses, plus a solo exhibition on clock towers (2017).
On the page
Six monographs on clock towers, churches, historic houses and the city of Berat.
Always learning
Training in mosaic restoration (Tirana, Apollonia) and in the digital cataloguing of cultural property.
The journey
The key moments, from Berat to his books.
Born in Berat, the “city of a thousand windows”.
Starts as an architectural draughtsman at the Regional Directorate of National Culture, Berat.
Graduates in History from the University of Tirana.
Master's in Archaeology with top marks, with the thesis “Traces of a synagogue in the Berat castle”.
Specialist for the management of the Historic Centre of Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
AIITC Award (second place) for “Sahat kulla e Kavajës” and the solo exhibition “Art and Heritage”.
DocumentationCertificate of meritView the certificate ↗Archaeologist specialist at the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Berat.
Named “Ambassador for Peace” by the Universal Peace Federation.
DocumentationCertificate of the titleView the certificate ↗
Fields of interest
Read the full biography
Biography and academic education
Dritan Pëllumb Çoku was born on 4 June 1974 in Berat, Albania. His education combines visual arts, history, archaeology and the study of cultural and architectural heritage.
After the “Ajet Xhindole” Secondary Art School (Easel Painting, specialising in Artistic Graphics), he graduated in History at the University of Tirana (2008–2012). In 2013–2015 he completed a Scientific Master's in Archaeology with top marks, with the thesis “Traces of a synagogue in the Berat castle”, supervised by Prof. Dr. Iris Pojani.
Professional and institutional career
From 2006 to 2011 he worked as a draughtsman in the architecture sector of the Regional Directorate of National Culture, Berat. From 1 September 2015 to early 2017 he was specialist for the Management of the Historic Centre of Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Since then he has served as archaeologist specialist at the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Berat.
He has contributed to dozens of conservation and restoration projects of “Cultural Monument” status buildings in the Berat region and has taken part in archaeological expeditions and projects, often in cooperation with foreign institutions.
Training and specialisations
Training in mosaic restoration (the Tirana Mosaic and the mosaics of the Apollonia Archaeological Park) and training at the National Centre for the Inventory of Cultural Property, where he qualified as an IT cataloguer.
Awards and recognitions
- 2017 — AIITC Award, 10th edition, second place for the book Sahat kulla e Kavajës (The Clock Tower of Kavajë). Jury motivation: “Perpetuating the Albanians' care for preserving Islamic material culture in the Albanian environment – Kavajë.”
- 25 April 2026 — Title of “Ambassador for Peace”, Universal Peace Federation.
Visual art and graphic documentation
Trained in artistic graphics, he has created hundreds of black-and-white sketches documenting the monuments, traditional architecture and cultural memory of Berat. The solo exhibition “Art and Heritage – The Clock Towers in the Albanian Lands” (2017) accompanied the related publication.