Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (7.1995(1996))

Fig. 2. Limestone found in house FA.
Drawing by G.Majcherck
a female figure resembling the Aphrodite Anadyomene type
(inv. 4387). The sculptures are most probably of 2'^ century date,
except for the portrait head of a child which seems to date to the
late Ptolemaic period. An excellently preserved limestone
o/77/77o7c>A' decorated with a wreath in relief was discovered close to
the centre of the court (Fig. 2).
Outside the oera/v and court (loci nos. 2 and 4 ) the original
floor level was not preserved anywhere, having presumably been
destroyed by the later transformations and rebuildings of the house.
The house in its primary shape suffered extensive destruction
m the late 3^ century AD., although it is difficult to be sure about
the actual cause of the damages. A tremor of considerable force is
a distinct possibility.
The exploration of House FA has provided new evidence for
an earlier hypothesis concerning the origins and development of
Alexandrian domestic architecture, ft is only natural to assume that
in a city like Alexandria the housing pattern would be strongly
rooted in Hellenistic tradition and would reflect the civilizational
and cultural heritage of the Graeco-Roman period. It has been
argued in the past that a great many hypogea discovered in the
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