DESCRIPTION:

During the Roman period, Palaepaphos experienced intense building activity, as evidenced by the numerous ruins of Roman houses found in the area. Some of these houses were richly decorated with mosaics. Such dwellings were excavated, in close proximity west of the Roman sanctuary.

One of the houses near the sanctuary dates to the 1st century AD with several phases of reconstruction. It featured a colonnaded atrium at its centre, around which the rooms were arranged. The central hall, like other rooms in the house, was decorated with a mosaic floor.

Further to the northwest, other houses from the Roman period were discovered. These were eventually abandoned and gradually collapsed. In the 16th century, the small Byzantine church of Saint Nikolaos was built on their ruins. This simple, single-aisled church with a semicircular arch was destroyed by fire in the 18th century. Today, only the lower part of the semicircular arch and the nave survive. The altar table, likely located under the arch, was supported by Roman columns, one of which still survives.