The first formal archaeological excavations began after the First World War under the Italian Archaeological Mission, continuing until 1943. The work resumed after WWII under the direction of Albanian institutions, including a brief collaboration in the 1950s with scholars Tatiana Blavatskaya and Dhimosten Budina. With the opening of the Albanian borders from 1989 onward, a new era of international partnerships began, paving the way for the extensive research and discovery that continues to this day.