In front of Terrace Houses 1 and 2 on the south side of the street, the so-called Alytarchus stoa was laid out in…

In front of Terrace Houses 1 and 2 on the south side of the street, the so-called Alytarchus stoa was laid out in late Roman times with a lavish mosaic. It was formerly a Hellenistic well house and an honorific monument which was converted into a workshop.,

The Stoa, 4.70 to 5.50 m in depth, is divided into two sections, because steps in the eastern section were needed to compensate for a 2.50m difference in street level. The polychrome mosaic is largely composed of geometric patterns and is enriched by fields of birds and flowers, as well as one field with two bowls (canthari) and pairs of doves.

An architrave-frieze block with a building inscription naming a certain Alytarchus as the sponsor, has been ascribed to the colonnade. the hall and mosaic floor were probably restored during the same building phase and must have been finişhed prior to 440/441 AD because a letter of this year to proconsul Flavius Heliodorus is made public on one of the columns.

Tabernae 2 and 2a, whose use in late Roman times is still uncertain, lie at the end of the stoa on the lower street level. Originally, the south wall and the adjoining portions of the east and west walls, formed part of a Well House.

#travel #traveltips #travelphotography #traveling #ephesus #turkey #turkeytravel #turkeytours #tourist #tours #tourist #tourist #holiday #holidays2014 #holidays #EPHESUS #ephesustours #ephesusport #ephesustourskusadasi #ephesusbreeze