Byllis

Byllis is an archaeological site in Fier County, Albania, representing an ancient Illyrian city that developed significant Hellenistic and Roman urban features. Excavations have revealed fortifications and public buildings that attest to its regional importance in antiquity.

Visitors can walk among ruined city walls, the acropolis and the remains of public buildings including a theatre and house foundations; interpretive signage and onsite pathways lead around the main exposed areas. The scale of the visible fortifications and urban grid conveys the former size of the settlement.

The site was an Illyrian settlement that was Hellenized and later integrated into the Roman sphere; archaeological work during the 20th and 21st centuries has excavated defensive walls, civic structures and burial evidence that span Hellenistic and Roman periods. The ruins illustrate the city’s evolution from a regional centre into the Roman era.

The ruins lie inland in Fier County in southwestern Albania, in the vicinity of the modern town of Ballsh and within the broader agricultural plain of the region.

• Archaeological highlights: The site contains visible Hellenistic and Roman-period remains including fortifications, public buildings and a theatre; many features are visible on guided walks around the excavations.

What to See #

• Acropolis and walls: The acropolis area with surviving stretches of defensive walls and terracing that mark the fortified core of the ancient city.
• Theatre and urban remains: An excavated theatre and residential sectors where archaeologists have uncovered foundations, mosaics and building remains from the Hellenistic and Roman periods.