For centuries, layers of earth and vegetation have covered the ancient city from view and have protected it from the ravages of time. Since 1928, archaeologists have been carrying out excavations that are helping to recover this ancient city. They have uncovered historically significant structures, dating from ancient times to the nineteenth century, that testify to Butrint's long-lasting commercial and military importance.

In the process of discovering these architectural works, archaeologists have pieced together most of what is known about the city today. These archaeologists have come to regard Butrint as an extraordinary "microcosm of Mediterranean history"¹ because their discoveries have made it possible to experience the city's continuous, almost 3000-year-long, evolution.

There are other classical sites with equally long histories in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and elsewhere; yet Butrint stands alone as the most complete archaeological site of Mediterranean history since its hinterland remains intact. Within a century of the arrival of the Greeks, Butrint had become a fortified trading city, with its own acropolis and theater. In the first century B.C.E., the Romans extended the city to accommodate the population of the new colony. They established a new suburb, port facilities and built an aqueduct to provide the city's inhabitants with fresh water. In the late Roman period the city was divided in two by the construction of a defensive wall around the shores of the Vivari Channel and the spread of Christianity was marked by the construction of a magnificent baptistry and basilica.

Although archaeologists hold up Butrint as an exemplary Mediterranean site, it holds a very important place within Albania's national identity as well. Since 1912, the year Albania gained its independence from Turkish rule, the archaeological site of Butrint has come to represent the resilience of Albania, which has survived thousands of years of conquest and occupation.

With many archaeological sites within the Mediterranean robbed and looted, Butrint stays remarkably well-respected with few instances of damage or theft. In the civil unrest in 1997 in Albania, however, a small amount of damage occurred on the site. The Albanian Ministry of Culture strongly condemned the action: "There has been both theft and vandalism, which is an outrage since Butrint is the most important archaeological site in Albania and of great international significance. The continuity of our culture since 800 B.C.E. is in evidence here as at no other location."² UNESCO likewise reacted strongly and sent an assessment mission to the site as a response to the damage. As a result a new management structure was set up for Butrint and a buffer zone was created around the site.