Roman Edifice with Mosaic

When ancient Tomis (today's Constanța) was a major Roman port on the Black Sea, this commercial hall stood at the heart of its economic life. The complex was a three-story structure built into the cliff face, connecting the upper city with the harbor below. Goods came up from the docks through this building and into the Roman city's markets. The hall was built in the 4th century AD and operated for several hundred years before being destroyed, probably by an earthquake. Excavations in 1959 revealed the mosaic floor — 2,000 square meters of geometric polychrome patterns in red, white, green, and black — preserved almost completely. Today the entire hall and its mosaic are protected under a modern glass-and-concrete shelter that you walk through on a raised platform. Below you sit the storage rooms (the substruction), the harbor walls, and original Roman amphorae found on site. The exhibition signs are in Romanian, English, and German. The neighboring archaeology museum holds related finds.