Keeping the demons out of the house: the archaeology of apotropaic strategy and practice in late antique Butrint and Antigoneia

The mosaics of the so-called Triconch House in Butrint (p. 281-287, figs 5-8) contain a number of elements that can be interpreted as apotropaic symbols, including the so-called knots of Solomon, the Evil Eye and cross-shaped motifs, all in the arm of the peristyle adjacent to the house's main entrance. An inscription referring to the owner of the house, situated in the pavement of the vestibule, may also have had a protective function rather than simply greeting the visitor. Apotropaic imagery appears also in the mosaic pavement of a church at Antigoneia (p. 298-304, figs 13-14).