The remains of the theatre were one the most significant discoveries of the 2010 archaeological season carried out in the ancient city of Dimal. During the survey undertaken in the western side of the acropolis hill, some artificial pits containing a curved lined of in situ and dislodged squared blocks of stones, were identified. Thereupon a new 4 × 4 m trench was opened at the place. The excavation uncovered 6 rows of the theatre’s seating section, which due to the erosion appeared to have been slightly moved down the hill. The curving of the seats clearly denotes their use. Almost the entire structure of the theatre was buried at the slope of the hill, due to a thick colluvium layer eroded from the hilltop. In addition another new test pit (trench 4) was opened at the slope of the hill. It revealed a new and large foundation wall extended toward the north and south direction. At a distance of 13 m, the wall turned eastward in a rectangular angle. In particular, the part around the southern corner of the foundation seems to have been badly damaged, probably since the ancient times, as the building trench of the previous wall of this side was covered in small stone fragments. The massive foundation seems to be part of the analema wall, which protected the southern side of the theatre’s seats. The incorporation in the foundation of the analema wall of spoliated stone blocks, taken from other monuments of the city, indicates that its construction belongs to a later phase of the settlement.
A helpful approach for understanding the theatre’s size and orientation might be obtained by its reconstruction, which was made by following the plan of the theatre of Apolonia.
The reconstruction showed that the monument is likely to have had a diameter of 34 m, which makes it part of the smaller types of the theatres of the Hellenistic period. Another third trench (test pit no. 7), was opened in the theatre’s area, aiming to delineate the extension of the scaena. At the middle of the trench a destruction layer was identified, and above it a structure, which belonged probably to the theatre. The artifacts uncovered in trench 4, mainly the ceramics, came from the colluvium of the eroded hilltop and the abandoned layer found above the theatre’s seats. The theatre was perhaps abandoned sometimes by the middle of the 1st Century AD, as suggested by the discovery of a terra sigillata fragment of this period, which represents an infrequent find for the city of Dimal.