Kourion Complex Palace

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The building tentatively called the palace was discovered and about three quarters cleared in the spring of 1935. The northeast wing was trenched in the autumn of the same year. The excavation was then interrupted pending the expropriation of the site; it will be resumed as soon as other work permits.

The palace stands in a commanding position above sheer cliffs at the southeast end of the Kourion plateau. From its lofty site it enjoys a magnificent view over the Kourion plain and the sea which surrounds it on three sides. It adjoins the theatre and overlooks the main entrance to the city.

It is an irregular rectangular mass with its greatest preserved extension from northwest to southeast. It is over sixty meters long, not counting the semicircular terrace facing the theatre.

The preserved building is the product of two main and several intermediate structural periods. The first palace, dating to the first century A.D. or earlier, is represented by the northeast wing, as yet not fully excavated, and by traces of walls under the central part. The early palace has a somewhat different arrangement and orientation from the larger building which superceded it, in the third century A.D.

The preserved building is mainly of the third century, with alterations in the fourth. The mosaics in the two southeast rooms are of the third century, the others of the early fourth. The building survived the earthquake which destroyed Kourion at the end of the fourth century, but was abandoned and collapsed soon after.

The palace is composed of five fairly distinct units: 1) The main entrance, at the northwest, opens on to a large court which was the center of the business wing. The small rooms which open on to its northeast side appear to have been used for service and storage. 2) A small raised vestibule with mosaic floor connects the service court with the central part of the palace. Broad flights of steps lead up to it at either end and there was probably a wooden staircase