the work were published by Albanian archaeologists Bace and Bushati in 1989, reporting Hellenistic domiciles, Roman houses, and other finds dating from the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD. The authors identified three distinct structures, it has been suggested by them that this whole complex comprised a Prytaneion, serving visitors to the town, outside the principal enceinte. Those Albanian archaeologists found also the opportunity to strengthen the nationalistic paradigm of Illyrian-Albanian continuity by reporting similarities of these houses and the medieval Albanian ones. They also found an "egalitarian" nature among the excavated dwellings, in line with the philosophy of communist "self-reliance" promoted by the Albanian state during that period. 2012 looting incident In June 2012, looters broke into a Hellenistic-era tomb located on the road that connected Phoenice to its hinterland. The looters reportedly used heavy construction equipment to dig a trench several meters deep through the hillside, scattering the stones of the tomb in the process. Looting of archeological sites remains a widespread problem in Albania. See also List of cities in ancient Epirus Treaty of Phoenice References Citations Sources External links Italian Excavation Mission in Phoenice Chaonia Cities in ancient Epirus Populated places in ancient Epirus Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Albania Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Medieval Epirus Albania in the Roman era Roman sites in Albania Buildings and structures in Vlorë County Former populated places in Albania