Lissus, the city of 12 gates

Lezha as an ancient town is registered in the historic resources since the IV century BC, where it is spoken for its colonization by the Elder Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse. Hypothesis for the establishment of Lissus is ambiguous; one side ranked researchers Ljubic, Bauer, Ippen, Scranton, Beaumont, Flus, Maeyer, Hahn, Praschniker-Schober and Braccesi etc, who support the thesis that Lissus is a syracusian colony founded by Dionysius of Syracuse in 385 B.C. But on the other hand other researchers as Lucius, Novak, Myler, Fortis, Zheku and Prendi try to argue that Lissus was a native Illyrian city, which was formed at the end of the IVth century. This city was studied sporadically since Qiriako of Ancona, Hahn, Praschniker of Schober, Ugolini, etc., but for the first time in Lezha a scientific excavation was undertaken only in the 60s by Albanian archaeologists, Prendi Frano, Zheku Koco and Prof. Ass.Dr. Hoxha Gezim, who contributed greatly to the reconstruction of the history of the old town and in the study of the publication of archaeological material. Lissosi its cultural heritage is like icebergs, where the most is expect to be discovered in the underground museum of Lezha.