Late Antique tombs with mosaics in ancient Halikarnassos

During excavations and restorations of the Myndos Gate in 1998-2000, an extensive late antique necropolis was revealed with at least 22 monumental tombs, some decorated with mosaics. The imagery of the mosaic floors includes a hunting scene, a crater with emerging vine scrolls and birds pecking at bunches of grapes, in addition to adjacent thyrsoi and various geometric designs. The style and iconography of these floors are related to the mosaics of a late antique domus in Halikarnassos, the so-called House of Charidemos, dated by various means to the mid-5th century A.D. The decorated tombs, along with other local structures and mosaics of the same period, indicate that Halikarnassos (Bodrum) was a wealthy town in Late Antiquity. (Excerpt from the author’s abstract.)