Butrint

Butrint, also known by the ancient name Buthrotum, is an archaeological site and national park in southern Albania. It lies on a hill overlooking the Vivari Channel, near the Ionian coast in Vlorë County, opposite Corfu. The site preserves the remains of an ancient city that was a significant Greek and later Roman urban center.

It was founded as a Greek settlement in the 7th-6th centuries BCE and rose to prominence as a fortified city with an acropolis, public baths, temples, and a theatre. Through the Hellenistic and Roman periods the city expanded, and the site shows evidence of continuous occupation into late antiquity and the early medieval era. The ruins include defensive walls and gates, the theatre, and other public and religious buildings, together with evidence of later Christian and medieval occupation.

Butrint was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 for its exceptional survival of a long, multi-layered urban site that spans Greek, Roman, and medieval periods, and for its setting within a regional landscape of marshland and coast. It is maintained as Butrint National Park under Albania's cultural heritage authorities, with ongoing archaeological research and conservation work. The site is a major destination for scholars and visitors seeking insight into ancient urban planning and the transition between civilizations in the southern Balkans.