The Fortress of Bashtovë is a medieval quadrangular fortress located on a fertile flat ground east of the mouth of the Shkumbin River.
Previously in the Middle Ages, the region of Boshtovë was known as a trade harbor and otherwise centre for the export of grains. The origin of the fortress has been for some time a matter of dispute among historians. The initial fortress was constructed during the time when the region was part of the Venetian Empire as according to Gjerak Karaiskaj. However, Alain Ducellier has asserted that the Venetians have built over an existing former structure, which dates back to the 6th century, when the area was under the Byzantine Empire during the Justinian dynasty.
The fortress is a rectangular structure oriented to the north-south direction. There are three entrances, from which there still are well-preserved archaeological traces they were placed at the northern, western and eastern walls. The walls are 9 metres high and comprise a roughly 60 by 90 metres interior. In the north and east, there stands round towers each of them 12 metres high.
References:The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.