Casa Romana

Casa Romana (inside) in Kos

Floor mosaic

restored space

The Casa Romana ( Greek Ρωμαϊκή Οικία Romaikí Ikía ) is an important archaeological site in the city of Kos on the island of Kos . The rebuilt Roman villa, which can be visited, is particularly attractive for those interested.

location

The ancient building from Roman times is located almost 500 m south of the port of Kos to about 9 meters above sea level, on the edge of the settlement area of the city. The main street Grigoriou E ' passes directly in front of the excavation site . Close by lie to the west several visitor parking, the Catholic Church and the cemetery (memorial to the massacre of Kos ), the Orthodox chapel of Agios Ioannis and the Odeon and across the street from the Western Excavation Site ( Western Archeological Site ) with the Acropolis , Decumanus , Nymphaeum and the gymnasium with a formerly covered sports facility ( Xistós drómos ).

At the time this Roman villa was built, it was on the southern edge of the Roman part of the city of Kos.

Plant / building

The excavations on this object were carried out after the great earthquake of 1933. Much of the old town of Kos was destroyed. This destruction of the previous buildings also offered the opportunity to carry out extensive excavations and subsequently the Archaeological Museum was set up and this Roman villa was built as a display object. The excavations and construction work for the villa were completed in 1940 by the Italian occupying forces under the direction of the archaeologist Luciano Laurenzi ( Italian occupation of the island from 1912 to 1943).

The complex consists of a rebuilt Roman villa and an excavation field. The historical parts of the villa itself date from around the 2nd or early 3rd century AD. The villa is in the style of similar buildings in Pompeii of that time and has an area of about 1800 m². The excavation field covers a total of about 6000 m². The Roman villa has 36 rooms, two pillared courtyards and an atrium . There are special mosaics in the building. The villa itself is built on top of an older Hellenistic building. Some of the statues and decorations found here are in the Archaeological Museum of Kos.