Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (15.2003(2004))

NEA PAPHOS

CYPRUS

LOCATION OF THE TRENCHES

The first project design called for supports
to be placed in three rows in and along the
three wings of VT3) and in two rows around
HA, the grid roof structure being inde-
pendent for each of the wings and the
house. The modular distance between
supports was 14.4 m (maximum 18.0 m).
The outer row was situated immediately
outside the structures to be sheltered, i.e.,
inside the Hellenistic and Roman houses to
the south (Fig. 1), in the outer courtyard on
the west, in the Late Roman street to the
east and in street B, south of HA. Inside the
peristyle, the supports were to be placed
along the east, south and west porticoes.
The northern limit of the roof was defined
by structures of the Early Roman villa
underlying the northwestern part and the
edge of the excavation in HA. The eastern
end of the HA extension did not coincide
with the uncovered remains, leaving several
floor mosaics (in R.17, R.20 and R.22)
unprotected. The same was true of a group
of mosaics in HH, immediately south of
VT (R.l-3, R.10). In the three wings of the
Roman villa an effort was made to limit the
number of supports wherever structurally
possible, hence the single supports in the

east and west wings. Their number was also
reduced in the south wing where a central
support K 9/10 was designed at the eastern
end. On the other hand, designing four
separate roof structures resulted in the
doubling of supports where the west and
south wings and the south and east wings
of the villa met, making them only 5.74 m
apart. Another junction was necessary
between HA and the east wing of VT,
where the distance between the rows of
supports measured 7.8 m.
A critical review of this roofing project,
presented separately by the Department of
Antiquities and the Polish Archaeological
Mission, led to it being dropped. A new
architectural design of the shelter was pre-
pared, covering a wider area of the ancient
remains; it will require more roof supports,
but the pits excavated under these supports
will be smaller. The project was approved
by the relevant authorities in 2004.
The trenches were designated from A 3 to
A 14 and from H 3 to A 11 using letters of
the Greek alphabet and Arabic numerals (all
height measurements are related to the datum
level at the door between vestibule R.69 and
atrium 71-72, if not stated otherwise).

VILLA OF THESEUS
TRENCHES IN THE WEST WING

A (alpha) 3
Trench situated north of tower 80. Close to the
bottom, two floor layers 0.2 m apart (lower
one situated at 0.75 m below the datum) and
a robbed-out N-S stone wall in the west part.

The upper of these floors corresponds to the
pebble floors encountered previously to the
north and east of the tower (trench of 1994)
and found to precede its construction. The
floors date to the 1st century BC.4)

3) The following abbreviations have been used throughout the text of this report to designate architectural complexes
excavated by the Polish Mission: VT = Villa of Theseus, HA = House of Aion, HH = Hellenistic House, ERH = Early
Roman House, RH = Roman House, NEH = Northeast House, R = room(s).
4) W.A. Daszewski, “Fouilles de Nea Paphos (Mission polonaise)” in: V. Karageorghis, “Chronique des fouilles et
decouvertes archeologiques a Chypre en 1977”, BCH 102 (1978), 928; id., “Nea Paphos 1977”, EtTrav XII (1983), 311;
id., “Nea Paphos 1994”, PAM VI Reports 1994 (1995), 12-1A.

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