Illyrians *
The Illyrians were an ancient people who occupied the northwestern region of the Balkans, which included a large portion of the eastern Adriatic Sea coast. As usual there is controversy regarding their origins, although there is some agreement that they came from the east, with the region of Troy (Illium) a possibility. It being noteworthy that there is one other ancient city called Illium on the Adriatic coast, today called Epirus(b).
There is a minority view that the some of the Illyrians had connections with the Sea Peoples, or more particularly the Sherden and Shekelesh.
In 1982 the Austrian historian Fritz Schachermeyr promoted this idea, noting that the similarly sounding Sardiotae and Siculotae occupied part of the later Roman province of Dalmatia(a). The same link adds additional information on other possible Balkan links with the Sherden.
(a) Origins of the “sea peoples” – The Sherden, the Shekelesh, the Peleset | COGNIARCHAE (archive.org) *