Shurdhah Island () is an island in northern Albania in the Vau i Dejës Reservoir. It was formed after the flooding of the Drin river valley during the construction of the HPS. It is the largest island in the reservoir with an area of 7.5 hectares. From the most northern tip of the island to the most southern tip of it, it has an estimated length of .It is accessible by tourist boat in summer from the Vau i Dejës dam or Rragam. Shurdhah attested in medieval sources as Sarda and its submerged area were an early medieval settlement in Albania linked to the Komani-Kruja culture. Name The name of the original Illyrian settlement was Sarda (Albanian Sardë). Later, the name was changed to Shurdha which means 'deaf' in Albanian. The name changed while Albania was an Atheist Communist state, when due to the strong religious connection of the island, it was forgotten. History Sarda was founded between the 6th and 7th centuries and is linked to the development of the Komani-Kruja culture in northern Albania. The town was strategically located on the old road from the Adriatic Sea to Dardania and served as a resting point along the trade route. The settlement originally had a wall encircling the entire hill it was built on. Encircled on three sides by the Drin river, Sarda had 12 defensive towers of various forms. Sarda seems to have been a modest settlement from its foundation to the 9th century when it saw rapid expansion. From the 9th to the 12th century Sarda developed continuously. Two rings of walls were built and fourteen churches were constructed within the site which covered at that time no more than 6ha. Sarda is attested as a bishopric since the 9th century. It may have become the new seat of a bishopric which was previously seated in Koman. In the 12th century, it became the seat of joint bishop of Sapa and Sarda. In the 13th century Sarda had territorial disagreements with Scutari. The island was the original settlement of the feudal Lekë Dukagjini patriarch, famous for the rules of the Kanun. It was ravaged by the Ottomans in 1491. In 1973, when the dam was completed, the city of Sarda became an island on the left bank of the river Drin. Ecclesiastical history Around 1100 a Diocese of Sarda was established on the island. No residential incumbents