Palokastër ( sq-definite, Palokastra), is a village in the administrative unit of Cepo,

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...

, southern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. The village is well known because in its vicinity is the Paleokastra castle. The site was first discovered by British Major

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake FRS (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English soldier, spy, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British Army, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

, who said that locals called the site Drinopol. Albanian archaeologist Apollon Baçe worked on an expedition from 1974 to 1976, highlighting the size of the site. He dug into the Castle in the shape of a trapezoid with an area of about 1 hectare. During the excavations of 1974, mainly in the western part, in August of that year the foundations of the soldiers dormitories, a Paleo-Christian basilica and 8 tower premises were discovered. A year later in August 1975, the east and south sides were cleared and 16 graves were discovered. In August 1976, the north side was cleared and consolidation and conservation works for towers, churches and tombs began. The castle had four entrances and 14 towers. The main entrance was discovered in the middle of the Castle where the main road passed during Roman-Byzantine rule.

References

Administrative units of Gjirokastër Villages in Gjirokastër County {{Gjirokastër-geo-stub