Paliochora Maroneias. I anaskafi tis palaiochristianikis vasilikis kai tou mesobyzantinou oikismou

In the centre of the middle Byzantine city of Maroneia (Paliochora) a three-aisled basilica with an atrium was excavated. The basilica bears rich and well-preserved mosaic pavements. The mosaics in the corridors of the atrium are organized in octagons connected with each other by means of Herculean knots, and wheels connected with branches, both of which frame birds, baskets, vessels, fruit, flowers, peltas, and the motif of the bird escaping from its cage. There are also panels with the fish-scale motif. In the outer band of the panel are depicted swans and other birds alternating with vessels. The mosaics in the aisles of the basilica have been partially preserved. In the south aisle is found a panel depicting a rosette within a rhombus surrounded by triangles decorated with a bead-and-reel motif, and another panel with octagons and hexagons of different sizes arranged around cross chains. In the north aisle there is a panel with Herculean knots framing geometrical motifs, a vase, wild cats, a human figure etc. The mosaic in the nave is organized in two panels framed by interconnected roundels which frame smaller geometrical bands. Its panel consists of concave-sided octagons formed with laurel wreaths and inside the octagons are shown baskets, vases, rosettes, etc. A votive inscription mentioning Varnavas, the patron of the church, survives too. The style of the mosaics is evocative of the workshops of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean in the late 5th or early 6th centuries.