Kourion Complex Palace

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staircase, are a row of plain circles.7 Inside these outer borders is an entwined rope pattern which is, as it were, a frame for the rest of the mosaic.8 In the southernmost panel, there is a floral pattern with triangles;9 in the next, in the center, a bird,10 possibly a partridge; in the following, a complex of meanders, and in the last a [handwritten: KTiGiS] mosaic.12 [handwritten: The word KTIGIS] is not complete, as most of the kappa is missing. However, the restoration is certain, because enough of the kappa is preserved to make any other suitable letter almost impossible and because the lady in the medallion is similar to other such figures in Antioch and other places where the whole word is preserved. The inscription is best interpreted as the "Founding Spirit" and it was probably purposefully located at the head of the room into which nearly all the baths open in order to emphasize the fact that the baths were in reality the raison d'être of the building.

The mosaic in its southern part where it was lying either exposed or else covered with only a thin layer of black earth, is not well preserved. Further north, where there were three layers of soil over it, the state of preservation is better. The hole visible in photograph19 was caused by a tree. Moreover the whole mosaic was covered with a thin hard coating which was very difficult to remove.

As it was impractical to lift the mosaic in December because of the frequent rains, I decided to leave it in situ but to place soft cement around the edges. The men who from time to time appear in the photographs are engaged in applying this cement.13 Although it does not show in any of the photographs, the northern part of the [handwritten: KTIGIS] mosaic has sunk down. Before leaving the mosaic for the winter, it was ascertained that the mosaic here was resting neither on earth nor on rock but on a floor made of vertical tiles suspended in the opening of a cistern below. A neighbouring wall had fallen across this mosaic and broken the suspension of the tiles. However, by the time this break had occured, enough earth had accumulated below so that the tiles, since they had only a short distance