The ancient city of Phoenicia received the status of National Archaeological Park in 2005. Phoenicia has an ancient history, which was the capital of the Kaons, while in the 3rd century it became the capital of the entire state of Epirus. According to Polybius, it was the most fortified city of Epirus. It stood on a hill in the shape of an overturned ship.
The Archaeological Park of Phoenicia is located on a hill 283 m above sea level, 9 km east of the city of Saranda. Today’s village is located at the foot of this hill. The park has three sections of walls preserved on the hill: the acropolis walls, the walls of the acropolis expansion period and the walls of the fortified city. These walls are dated approximately between c. IV and II BC. Inside the walls are the ruins of the Greek and Roman walls.
A small treasure has been discovered in the acropolis, which was converted into a baptistery in the Byzantine period. Three cisterns belonging to the period between c. V and c. III money. Kr. and some building ruins. The very large space of the theater, with about 17,000 seats, located in the middle of the hill with an opening in the direction of the monastery of the Forty Saints, served at that time as the meeting place of the “Public of the Epirotes around Finic”, in which decisions were made democratically. for peace or war or consideration of affairs.
The theater has been rebuilt three times, as three different constructions were discovered during the excavations. The first phase belongs to the beginning of the 4th century BC. The building material is local, especially the stage stone came from the same hill. The second construction phase belongs to the 3rd century BC. The expansion of the scene was dictated at the moment when Phoenicia became the center of Kaonia and the capital of Epirus. The theater that was built in this phase also exceeds the size of the theater of Dodon. Very large pedestals with footprints on them were found on the stage of the theater which also held very large statues of ancient gods or emperors.
In the basilica of the park there are remains of a Christian church, while in the place called “Palea Avli” there are still ruins of Paleo-Christian temples with varied mosaics. The episcopal temple of Finic in honor of the Virgin “Zoodochos Pigi” seems from the beginning to have been built on top of an older basilica and later rebuilt a new one with the same name in the center of the town located on the slopes of the mountain. Archaeologists’ excavations in Finiq revealed the characteristic dwelling with two peristyles of the 3rd century BC. The building had an almost quadrangular cross-section and covers an area of 700 m2. It consists of a large quadrangular courtyard with a peristyle, around which are lined several small rooms.
The extent and power of Phoenicia are shown by the Necropolis, with its rich pottery, but also by the numerous coins that were found with the inscription ΦΟΙΝΙΚΑΙΕΩΝ. The coin inscriptions testify to Phoenician trade exchanges with flourishing cities during the 4th-1st centuries BC.
