Very close to the city of Fier lies the Archaeological Park of Bylis, the largest city of Southern Illyria.
The earliest document mentioning Bylis is the writing of the Greek geographer Pseudo-Scylax from 380 AD, in which it is said, “The people of the Land of Amantia, the people of Amantia who live here are Illyrians from the Bylliones”.
The ancient city was built based on the architectural plan of Hippodamus. From the 3rd century BC, the city was equipped with numerous important monuments, such as the theater, with a capacity of 7,500 spectators, which served not only for various theatrical and musical performances but also as a meeting place where important decisions were made for the city. In addition to the theater, the city had its own stadium, two promenades, a water reservoir, a prytaneion, a gymnasium, altars, and residential buildings, the ruins of which can still be seen today.
Besides important public buildings, the city had its own pottery, construction, sculpture, metalworking, and coin-minting workshops.
The dominant position on the hills of Mallakastra, the landscapes of the Vjosa River, and the greenery surrounding the Archaeological Park of Bylis prove that it was not in vain that one of the epigrams discovered in the area reads: “O foreigner, do not overlook the beauty of Bylis.”
