Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (4.1992(1993))

later Nero. One should add that only about 150 m away from
LHH there are the remains of the Paphian amphitheatre.
The last project was a trench dug to identify the south-
western corner of LHH. Quite surprisingly, a great mosaic floor
of the Roman period appeared at a depth of 0.35-0.4 m below the
surface. Inside a geometric frame made up of a wide band of
losenges and a field of white-red-grey there was a central
frame containing a figural representation.(Fig. 2) On a light
creamy background three young women were depicted standing,
dressed in long and colourful robes, holding flowers or a sheaf of
lanceate leaves(?) in their hands. This is presumably a representa-
tion of the Greek goddesses personifying the changing seasons,
the three Horai that is, daughters of Zeus and Themis. They were
known under different names: Thallo, Auxo and Karpo (or
Hegemone) for instance, and were the patronesses of the ever
bountiful and ever resurrecting nature, goddesses protecting
agriculture.
The unexpected discovery of a Roman mosaic above the
southwestern part of the Hellenistic House indicates that the area
was at least in part inhabited in the later 2"* and 3"* centuries
A.D., similarly as in the northern part, where the Villa of
Theseus was constructed. The ruined walls of LHH served as a
source of building material for all these later structures and this
is why some parts of it have been completely robbed out. It is
fortunate that enough of the House has remained to permit the
plan of this building as well as part of its architectural decoration
to be reconstructed. Further excavation may yet lead to a more
precise identification of its function.

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