[1] However, much of the theatre structure is in ruins due to architectural collapses and extensive quarrying in later epochs,[2] and only one-eighth of the site has been exposed so far.

[1] Situated along the western end of the decumanus,[3] the monumental theatre was built into a steep hill overlooking the Orontes River valley.

The theatre was expanded and remodeled in the early Roman period, during the reign of either Julius Caesar, Augustus, or Tiberius.

However, the theatre and its qanat continued to play an important role as a water resource during the Byzantine and Islamic periods.

It was abandoned in 1971 by the Belgian mission due to the expensive and difficult nature of the work needed to clear the large theatre.

[2] In 2007 a joint Syro-American team, from the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums and Brigham Young University, restarted the archaeological exploration of the site with a view to restoring and reconstructing the ancient theatre.