The excavation of 2006 undertaken in the acropolis of Butrint, revealed evidence of an early imperial residential building, with fine frescoes, marbles and fine ware pottery. This structure may be associated with a bath-house identified in the 1990s excavations. The building was perched on the side of the acropolis looking southwards and was systematically demolished, perhaps as late as the 5th or 6th centuries. The debris from this building was incorporated into a terrace at the top of the acropolis slope and may be related to the erection of a large, well-appointed tower house. The tower house may belong to the same period as a major residential building below the acropolis basilica to the north-east.
There is no new evidence for building during the 7th-12th centuries, which may indicate contraction in the acropolis settlement at this time. The fortifications generally seem to have been allowed to fall into a ruinous state. In the 13th century, however, there is evidence for entirely new fortification walls including a substantial projecting bastion which housed a prominent gateway into the acropolis. Masonry exposed at modern ground level to the north of the excavations indicates that the acropolis was densely built on into the Venetian period.