The archaeological excavations of 2004, at the monastery of Santa Quaranta (40 Saints) were carried out under the direction of the Albanian Institute of Archaeology. The uncovered areas of the monastery included: parts of the narthex; the interiors of the naos; and the northern side of the monastery along with the area that surrounds the underground chamber - the crypt. A study of the remained frescos of the crypt was also initiated. The revealed pottery materials consist mainly of fragmented wares (parts of the bodies, handles, rims, etc.), all dated to the Late Roman and Medieval periods. Moreover, several architectonic fragments and liturgical elements of local production became part of the artefact collection found during this season.

During the excavations of 2010 carried out at the Late Roman and Medieval monastery of Santa Quaranta (40 Saints) other structures of the early Christian church were uncovered, including the ambon, the baptistery and the sanctuary. Simultaneously, several water cisterns of the monastery were also revealed. The ambon, as is the other early Christian churches, is located to the south of the east-west axis of the church. Its structure is a monolithic rounded block built of stones bonded with lime mortar. A part of it (¼) is cut and reused for building the stair case. The sanctuary constitutes quite a large area of the church; its chancel is of a straight type with a simple entrance and is lacking the _prostoon_, similarly to that found in the basilica of Saranda. The sanctuary floor has been paved within stone slabs, arranged within a rectangular frame in a networks or stripy shape. Outside the church, a rounded monument built with the same construction technique of the other parts of the monastery (stones bonded with mortar) was uncovered. Its function and shape cannot be defined due to the low preserved height of the walls. Research in the baptistery area continued at four of its rooms, by digging down to their lowest floor level. The same situation was obvious at all the excavated baptistery areas: a rich archaeological material covered by a destruction layer of roof tiles. The walls, the floor levels and the piers are badly preserved. In addition, two small conches, situated to the west of the largest conch of the monastery were also excavated. Their excavation up to the floor level revealed the same situation as in the others, previously excavated northern conches. It was showed that the architectonic elements (slabs and columns) of the excavated parts of the church had been removed during their later phases of reuse. The excavation on the western part were undertaken in order to uncover the staircase that gave access to the western portico. The investigations revealed the limiting wall of the northern side of the staircase, as well as a ceramic deposit, consisting mainly of amphorae fragments. The excavation within the water cisterns uncovered ancient pottery materials and modern objects, suggesting a prolonged use. The communication of the cisterns in the lower part is enabled through the use of lead pipes, and in the upper (for the discharge) with ceramic tubes.

TDuring the 2012 excavations in the church of the 40 Saints, carried out between August 8 and 27, the work was focused on three different sectors. The first sector was located outside the western walls of the monument. The second sector where the excavations were concentrated was in the south. While the third sector where excavations took place was in the area of the Baptistery. The surroundings of the baptistery are located inside a building that was used by the army between 1930 and 1997. In one of them, after removing the concrete floor and its cobblestone bedding, the presence of two rooms separated by a wall along the north-south axis was revealed. In the northern part of this room, a layer of roof tiles was discovered and a layer of mixed brown soil came out below it. Inside this layer was noticed the presence of ceramics, lamps and coins (mid-6th century AD), as well as some iron nails. The second room was filled with stones up to a depth of 1 m, which also served as a leveler for the floor of the army building. Also, in the other room inside the baptistery, was removed firstly the concrete floor as well as the filling of large dry-laid limestone to raise the level of the floor and then the tiles. After the stones were removed, the floor was laid with large limestone slabs. In the north-west corner of the compound was a rectangular structure built of stone slabs bound with mud and laid with bricks, which were burnt. At the end of the excavation of the baptistery complex, it was observed that it had a large number of different niches, most of them equipped with piers. Excavations outside the western gallery revealed the southern retaining wall of the stairwell as well as the stepped structure of the gallery wall in the southwest corner. The material discovered during the excavation of this space consisted of clay lamps, glass lamps for chandeliers, window panes, coins, etc. Excavations outside the southern portico were carried out to reveal the road that originally communicated with the underground space and had been in the form of a tunnel, just like that of the eastern wing. In a second phase, the door that communicated with the underground ensemble was closed. The floor of this former alley was paved with stone slabs, using the same technique as the underground rooms. The archaeological material discovered consisted of ceramics: amphorae of Eastern, African and Italic productsion the same as those found in other environments, together with few pieces of candlesticks, which together belong to the VI century AD.

The 2013 excavation on the church of the 40 Saints was carried out between August 8 and 27, and the work was mainly focused on the baptistery area, as well as the southern and western parts of the church. In the western part, the excavations were concentrated on the side of the staircase, and the excavation of the pits located between the limestone rocks was also continued, where a large part of the archaeological find was discovered. Sherds of amphorae and jars stand out among the archaeological finds. There are also other finds such as a glass lamp, an altar table leg, an iron nail and a coin. Excavations in the southern part of the church yielded mostly only ceramic material, where fragments of amphorae, lamps and jars, can be distinguished. Also in this area, alongside the ceramic material were discovered iron scraps, a fragment of a glass lamp, a coin etc. While in the surroundings of the baptistery, the excavations and cleanings carried out this year gave us new data regarding its many rooms. Thus it was discovered that the baptistery consisted of 9 individual or collective baptismal bathtubs, two pools and some other rooms. The baptismal bathtubs are positioned mainly in the side naves, porticoes and also in one of the underground galleries. Due to the presence of the walls built in the XX century by the army, it was impossible to continue the excavations in the northern part of the baptistery. As for the other rooms, they have a quadrangular shape, with two floors paved with stone slabs and in almost all cases they are equipped with a bench.