Excavations have brought to light many objects - plates, vases, ceramic candle sticks - as well as sculptures, including a remarkable "Goddess of Butrinti," which seems to completely embody, in the perfection of its features, the Greek ideal of physical beauty. For centuries, the walls faithfully defended Butrinti, but no wall is invincible, and these huge blocks of stone finally ceded to the assault of the Roman legions which landed on the Adriatic and Ionian shores in the 2nd century B.C. Under the rule of the occupiers, Butrinti was to fall slowly into decadence. In spite of this, three monumental fountains, three public baths, a gymnasium decorated with mosaics, and especially the aqueduct constructed during the reign of Augustus, prove that the site was not completely abandoned. Augustus also oversaw the reconstruction of all the ancient city walls and the erection of new fortifications As a result of political instability in the region, looting of artefacts, and the threat of coastal development-hotels, golf courses, commercial operations-that would encroach on the ruins of this ancient settlement, UNESCO recently included Butrint on its list of sites in danger. As early as the eighth-century B.C., trade developed between Epirus and Corfiot colonies in southern Italy, and Butrint was established as a base of operations between the regions. The settlement became a stop along the merchant trade routes for successive waves of Romans, Goths, Byzantines, Venetians, and Turks.