NEWS

Preserving mosaic floor

Significant sections of the temple of Karneio Apollo at Ancient Thera must undergo conservation and stabilization work, the Central Archaeological Council (KAS) decided in late June. The temple has been identified by inscriptions found in the area and dating to the middle of the third century BC, as well as from the Hellenistic and Roman eras. The cult of Karneio Apollo is believed to go back to the foundation of the city in the eighth century BC. German archaeologists discovered it during excavations carried out from 1896 to 1902. It was built in a small natural basin, with one side of the building carved out of the rock, and the others buttressed by strong supporting walls. At the entrance are the ruins of a small vestibule with two columns. In the entrance, about half of the mosaic floor has survived, but no conservation work has yet been done on it. Tiles have subsided, come unstuck, or been broken and plants have grown up among them. KAS voted in favor of work to clean, stabilize and replace the mosaic and to cover it over with special fabric and gravel in winter to protect it from damp and salt.

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