In 1806 the British surveyor traveller W.M. Leake recognised a large embankment outside the ancient city, as the site of the theatre of Dion, where the Bacchae of Euripides sang enchantingly before King Archealos about Pieria and Olympos with the words «there it is lawfull of the Bacchae to celebrate their rites».

The archaeological research began in 1970 and continued thereafter for a number of seasons. It revealed that the cavea (orchestra) was constructed of earth fill built up in repeated layers. Its back was positioned to the west. The stepped seats built by large slabs in Hellenistic times, and had been repaired many times. The identification of eight rows of plinths was crucial for the reconstruction of the theatre.