Near the city of Fier, there is the archaeological park of the largest city of southern Illyria, Bylis.
The earliest document that talks about Bylis is the writing of the Greek geographer Pseudo-Skylaks, 380 BC, where it is said: “The Oriks live in the province of Amantia, the Amants that extend here are freed from the Bylins”
The old Bylis was built on the basis of the Hippodamnus architectural plan.
Since the century III. B.C. the city is equipped with numerous and important monuments, such as: the theater with space for 7500 spectators, which served not only for various theatrical and musical performances, but also as a meeting place where important decisions for the country were made. In addition to the theater, the city had its own stadium, two promenades, the water reservoir, the prytaneon, the gymnasium, altars and houses, the ruins of which can still be seen today.
In addition to important public buildings, the city had its own workshops of pottery, construction, sculpture, metalworking, as well as its own mint.
The dominant position on the hills of Mallakastra, the landscapes of the Vjosa River and the greenery surrounding the Archeological Park of Bylis, prove that it was not for nothing that one of the epigrams discovered in that area was written: “Dear stranger, do not avert your gaze from the beauty of Bylis“.
