Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (4.1992(1993))

- 4* century B.C.) and a Late Hellenistic House ("LHH" - 2°^
century B.C.-l" century A.D.).^
Of importance for establishing the chronology of buildings
preceding the construction of VT and HA was a stratigraphic
trench dug on the Roman longitudinal street running along the
eastern fa$ade of the villa. The tracing of this street, whose
direction (but not location) was in agreement with the orientation
of the Hellenistic street network in Nea Paphos, was connected
with the development of the villa and was presumably dictated by
the wish to separate the structure from the surrounding habita-
tions. At a later period the street partly lost its character of a
passage when it was blocked with debris from the walls of
buildings situated along its eastern side, destroyed in two success-
ive earthquakes. To judge by pottery and lamps found in the
debris, the first tremor took place in the second half of the 4^
century A.D.; this was presumably the same quake which
destroyed Kourion in A.D. 365. The epicentre of the earthquake
was located just off the southwestern shores of Cyprus. The next
earthquake came in the early 5"* century A.D., once again judging
by the late 4^ and early 5"* century pottery found in between the
fallen blocks and directly under them.
The trench opened west of HA and continued down to
bedrock revealed phases of earlier habitation in the form of stone
walls which were later levelled down to accomodate the street
level. The space between the walls, down to a clay floor about 1
m below the street surface, was filled with a homogeneous fill of
stones and soil to judge by the pottery and coins found in it.

^ For a plan of the whole area see A4M III, 1991 (1992). p. 60.

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