The hill of Kalivo, lies to the east of Butrint and it has a 2km circuit of walls enclosing an area of 18.5 hectares. Despite earlier investigations of the site the dating and the nature of its occupation was unclear. Thus for in July 2004 two small-scale excavations were carried out on Kalivo. The excavations were principally aimed at the recovery of datable material to assist interpretation of the defenses and the low structural remains within the walls. The recovery of Iron Age pottery from beneath the walls show that they certainly date to after this period, although comparison with Hellenistic walls in Kephallonia and Ithaca suggests that Kalivo’s walls may date from as late as the 4th century BC. Hellenistic material was also recovered from buildings on the acropolis. Post-Hellenistic ceramics found elsewhere on the acropolis, including Roman and medieval wares, suggest that occupation of Kalivo endured in one form or another and the hill remained an important element within the post-Classical countryside around Butrint.

The excavations of 2007 in the prehistoric site of Kalivo were undertaken to ascertain the dating and interpretation of the walls and interiors enclosures. Five test pit trenches were opened within the defended area: four on natural terraces along the southern flank and another on the hill summit. The trenches were dug through topsoil and homogeneous red-brown silts to bedrock at depths varying between 0, 40-1,10m. Significant assemblages of pottery were recovered which consisted in several examples of so-called “imitation of Corfiote ware”. Residues of bitumen, used inside pots as a sealant, were found, identifying these pots as storage vessels. Bitumen use is a signal characteristic of the southern Albanian Bronze-Iron Age transition. Hellenistic and early Roman wares, and a few possible terracotta figurine fragments, may lend weight to earlier hypotheses of a Hellenistic temple and other structures being located on the summit of Kalivo.