The basilica III
Basilica III was founded
on the ruins of older buildings, at
a short
distance
to the northwest
of
Basilica I.
The
church is smaller
than
the other early Christian basilicas
in Amphipolis
and
dates to
the late 5th
century.
It is a three nave basilica with a conch to
the east, a narthex to the west and an atrium with mosaic floors to the north.
The interior of the church
was decorated
with stunning
mosaics on both the floors
and the
higher
sections
of the walls.
The benches
for
the congregation
built along the long
walls
of
the church date to a second phase. The church was probably partially destroyed
in the late
6th
century,
after which the
spaces
between
the columns
in
the nave
and
the pillars
in
the atrium were blocked off. A little later,
probably
in
the seventh
century,
the east and
south
porticos
of the atrium were divided by
means of small walls into rooms, within which makeshift
hearths were built.
After the
basilica was abandoned for good, the single nave vaulted
chapel that
still stands
was built in the east side of the church.
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