366 Johnson
was itself a part of the palace complex (Figure 14.11).48 These revealed a large
building with numerous rooms organized around a central peristyle courtyard
measuring 53 m from east to west and 32.5 m from north to south. Various
smaller rooms extended to the south of the courtyard, but no rooms were dis-
covered on its east side and the excavations did not reach to the west portico
and whatever rooms may have been there. The principal rooms of this building
were found on the north side, with their doors facing south. In the centre of
the north portico was the entry, through three arches, to a large audience hall
(room L). The excavations revealed that it had originally been constructed at
half its size with a much smaller apse and 48 cm lower, but then expanded with
a floor raised 48 cm into a room measuring 11 m × 27 m with a much larger apse
at its north end. This room was paved with opus sectile. The other significant
48 The account for the excavations published by Ghirardini, “Scavi”, was meant as a prelimi-
nary report, but no further publication followed. Recent studies of the palace and its finds
include Augenti, “Archeologia”; “Palace of Theoderic”; Baldini Lippolis, “Articolazione e
decorazione”; Cirelli, Ravenna, pp. 78–89; and Savini, Scavi del palazzo di Teoderico.
FIGURE 14.11 Plan of Theoderic’s palace, Ravenna
Plan by Mark Johnson