103-112

Palace of Galerius : area Δ and the South Stoa

• Καραμπέρη, Μαριάννα
• Χριστοδουλίδου, Ε.

The importance of the Roman phase, which preceded the Palace, in the areaof the Galerian complex has been apparent since 1995. i) A thick and extensivedestruction fill produced by fire has been located under the Galerian mosaics,ii) Re-used masonry, underlying rooms with a different ground plan, post-holesand plastered fronts in underlying foundations, and re-used architecturalmembers have been discovered, iii) A hoard of 35 denarii of the lst-2nd centuryAD (a rare find in a residential area) has been collected from under the floorof the N stoa. iv) A well-known public figure, the “splendid consul” SilvanusNicolaus II, one of a long line of Macedonian officials, is mentioned on tabletsfrom honorary altars, v) High-quality imported pottery of the Roman periodcomes from the layers underlying the Palace.In 1998, “area Δ” was investigated, between the Octagon and the Nymphaionin front of the monumental steps of the Palace, and successive phases ofthe Hellenistic and Roman periods were uncovered. Frescoed areas and a pre-Galerian mosaic floor with marine motifs and geometrical ornamentation werelocated in 1996 under the substratum of the mosaic, covered by a thick destructionfill from a fire. In 1998, when a layer 0.30 m thick was being removed inorder to replace the Galerian mosaic, the ground plan of further adjoiningfrescoed areas was uncovered. A small vertical trial trench brought to light afresco in excellent condition featuring hareskins suspended against a purpleground. The excavational data suggest that a luxurious official residence liesunder the Palace, and was destroyed in the mid-3rd century AD, as is indicatedby coins of the 1st and 2nd Pythian games and from the periods when the citybecame neokoros for the 1st and 4th times.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)
• Κλασσικές αρχαιότητες

Θεσσαλονίκη, συνέδρια

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