merchants in the town, which would eventually lead to the First Illyrian War. In 205 BC, a peace treaty was signed there between the Kingdom of Macedon and the Roman Republic that ended the First Macedonian War. During the Third Macedonian War (171 BC–168 BC), Epirus was split into two states with the Molossians siding with the Macedonians and the Chaonians and Thesprotians siding with Rome. The latter were centered in Phoenice under the leadership of Charops. After the Roman conquest (167 BC), the region of Epirus was devastated except for the pro-Roman supporters in Chaonia. During the following centuries, Phoenice and nearby Antigoneia did not reveal strong traces of Roman presence. Medieval period In the early Byzantine era, Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) constructed fortifications on a hill adjacent to Phoenice. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the city was listed as a see of a bishopric and hosted a number of religious buildings including a baptistery and a basilica, which were influenced by the architectural style of the great basilicas of Nikopolis. Phoenice was one of the main settlements in Epirus Vetus together with Nicopolis, Dodona, Euroia, Andrianoupolis, Anhiasmos, Vouthroton, Photike, Corfu and Ithaka. However, the city vanished after the 6th century and the urban center of the area moved to nearby Mesopotamon. 20th century excavations Formal excavations in the area started in 1924 by an Italian Archaeological Mission as a political tool for Mussolini's nationalistic ambitions to the east of the Adriatic. During 1924–1928, French and Italian archaeologists found a few artifacts in Phoenice. In fact, the Italian mission headed by the fascist prehistorian, Luigi Ugolini, hoped that the prehistoric graves that would be discovered could be attributed to the Illyrians in order exploit Albanian nationalist sentiment, but the finds themselves were hardly stunning. Ugolini also stated that materials found there were related to the Iron Age culture of southern Italy. Ugolini's thesis was later politically exploited by the totalitarian regime of Fascist Italy. After 1928, excavations moved to the nearby archaeological sites of Kalivo and Çuka e Aitoit (or Mount Eagle) and continued until 1943. After the war, excavations resumed in 1958 by a joint Albanian-USSR archaeological team, which included a thorough topographic survey and mapping. After 1961, when a political rift occurred between Albania and the USSR, excavations continued under Albanian authorities. A complete report of these excavations has not been published. Some parts of