The ancient tumulus of Lofkënd lies in the general area of the Mallakastra hills, which rise to the southeast of the modern regional center of Fier, near the modern village of Lofkënd (sometimes Lafkënd), which is at an altitude of some 318 meters above sea level.
During the first season in 2004 a total of 28 burials were uncovered in the uppermost metre of the tumulus, including a cluster of early Modern infant graves and inhumed animals on the East side of the mound. The largest number of tombs belonged to the Early Iron Age. The majority of the burials were in the characteristics flexed position and several tombs contained more than one individual. All the burials revealed in this season of excavation were inhumations. Finds included whole vessels of the handmade matt-painted style, several fibulae of a type familiar from sanctuaries and tombs in Greece, Italy and the Balkans in the 10th through 8th Century BC, and various other bronze, iron and bimetallic small finds. A particular focus of the 2004 season was the physical anthropology of those buried in the tumulus and the nature and composition of the fill. One of the most interesting aspects to have emerged was the large number of Prehistoric stone tools re – deposited in the tumulus fill, including Neolithic and Bronze Age types and also some Paleolithic examples.