In general outline the Early Christian houses brought to light in the cities of Macedonia (Thessalonike, Stoboi, Philippi) kept the plan of earlier Hellenistic and Roman domestic buildings. The rooms -- outstanding among them the 'triclinium', the formal chamber of the house -- auxiliary areas and storerooms were arranged around a courtyard, frequently columned (peristyle).
The wealthier houses had mosaic or inlaid marble floors and mural decorations. The country dwellings were simpler structures (e.g. Terpyllou, Kilkis) with stone-paved or beaten-earth floors, and also included farm facilities. Of special interest are the rural houses in the settlement of Herakleia Lynkestis, which were built of river pebbles and mud.
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