The Lion Gate is the main entrance through the inner circuit of Butrint's city walls, dating in its current form to the 5th century AD when Byzantine engineers rebuilt the fortifications. It takes its name from the large relief sculpture above the lintel — a lion bringing down a bull, carved in a forceful, archaic style that suggests the stone is considerably older than the gate itself.
The gateway is a palimpsest of Butrint's long history. The walls around it incorporate worked stone from at least three different building phases, and the gate itself was blocked in later periods when the settlement contracted. Walking through it gives a palpable sense of the city's compression — the ruins of multiple eras layered directly on top of one another.