VILLA WITH MOSAICS
This Villa with Mosaics has been partially excavated uncovering only a section of 30.60x10.15 m (Fig. 1); it comprises two rooms with mosaic paved floors, one room with lime mortar flooring, one room with brick flooring, one latrina and an apsidal hall. Three phases of use have been identified (Fig. 2). Based on archaeological evidence uncovered the villa was first built in the Late Hellenistic – Early Roman period. The remains visible on the surface belong mostly to the fourth-fifth centuries AD.
Rooms 1 and 2 with mosaic pavement were built in the fourth century and remained in use as the lounge of the villa also in the fifth century. Room 3 and those further west, Room 4 and the Apsidal Hall, which was used as an oratory, were built in the fifth century.
That there is a small latrina in the east and some rooms are paved with mosaics indicate that the owners were people of some means.
ROOM 1
The room at the very south end of the villa measures 7.75x6.65 m on the inside and it should have been the lounge of the residence called the Villa with Mosaics (Fig. 3). The mosaic pavement features two repeating designs of floral and geometric decorations applied in cream, red, orange, pink and dark blue (Fig. 4). Along the borders runs a continuous composition of lozenges with colourful circles within.
ROOM 2
The room to the north of Room 1 measures 3.30x6.10 m on the inside. This
room too has mosaic pavement on its floor and it should have served as another
lounge of the villa. The stairway in the north should have led to the timber
upper floor.
The mosaic pavement features a border in cream, dark blue and red; the
main field is embellished with a geometric pattern of circular motifs in red,
orange, pink, dark blue and cream (Fig. 5).
Rooms 1 and 2 with mosaic flooring were covered with a portable roofing
system for protection purposes (Fig. 6).
ROOM 3
Measuring 4.50x4.50 m on the inside Room 3 is located to the north of
Room 2 and has a lime mortar flooring. It was built in the second phase of the
Villa with Mosaics, i.e. in the fifth century, and it has a third phase of use
in the sixth century, during which the doorways in its north and west walls
were cancelled entirely while the one on the east wall was blocked only
partially. In this phase, lime was slaked in this room to use in the
construction of nearby structures; some of this slaked lime was used and the
rest was left by the southern wall of Room 3.
In the north of Room 2 is a stairway leading up eastwards (Fig. 7).
These stairs of travertine blocks should have led to the upper floor of the
room.
North of the stairway and west of Room 3 is a corridor-like room measuring
3.23x0.96 m opening eastward. Its lime mortar flooring has survived at places
and it opens into Room 3 on the east. Along its south side is an area arched
with bricks under the stairway and it should have served as a pantry.
Another room to the west of Room 3 measures 3.10x1.70 m on the inside
and extends east-west.
LATRINA
A small latrina measuring 3.75x1.75 m is located to the east of Room 2
and southeast of Room 3.
The sewage channel with brick pavement has a discharge westward at the
north end and one eastward at the south end. A channel-like installation was
uncovered before the west side of the wall extending before the sewage. This
installation may have been the clean water channel of the latrina and it is
connected to the pipe in the east-west wall just to the south. The excavations
brought to light the clean water and waste water channels of the latrina and the
seating probably of wood has not survived.
ROOM 4
This room is located between the Room 3 and the Apsidal Hall and it
measures 7.55x4.33 m on the inside (Fig. 8). This hall with brick paved
flooring was built in the second phase of the villa.
APSIDAL
HALL
The structure to the north of Room 4 terminates in the east in a round
apse with a diameter of 5 m (Fig. 9). In the north and south parts of
the apse wall are two niche-like recesses, which may be the architectural
reflections of pastophoria (Fig. 10).
The Apsidal Hall uncovered should belong to the eastern part of a church
or chapel. Thought to belong to the Villa with Mosaics this small oratory was
built in the second phase of the monument, i.e. fifth century.
A wall stretching north-south was uncovered before the apse and it lies
on the same line as the east walls of Rooms 1 and 2, the north-south threshold
block in Room 3 and the door jambs in the north of the Apsidal Hall; therefore,
it should belong to a structure of the fourth century right here.
Door
jambs uncovered to the north of the Apsidal Hall and the room extending
westward from them should have belonged to another house or structure of the
fourth century built to the north of the Villa with Mosaics.