A roman mansion found in the City of David

The large peristyle building of the Late Roman period exposed at the Givati site in the City of David features solid dates marking both its phase of foun-dation and its demise. While its construction is dated to no later than the third century CE, the scores of coins found buried under the collapse point to its actual date of destruction, early in the second half of the fourth century CE. The archaeological evidence suggests that this might be due to the earthquake that occurred in Palestine in 363 CE. The dates of construction and destruction of the Roman peristyle building have farreaching consequences, for they reflect the spread of the Roman occupation over the southern part of the city in the time of Aelia Capitolina. The discovery of this building testifies that the southern hill witnessed new building and occupation activities during the third century CE.