Barbarian invasions forced the residents of Nicopolis to seek shelter elsewhere and the city was abandoned a thousand years after it was founded. In 1436 Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli visited the ruins, but soon nothing remained visible. Alexandros Philadelpheas supervised the first organized excavation (in 1913) and discovered many important features and movable objects. The finds were taken to the old mosque in Preveza, where they suffered extensive damage as a result of Italian aerial bombardment in WWII. The archaeological site of Nicopolis is extensive so excavations continue to the present day.