The floors were decorated with mosaics made of tiny uncut natural sea pebbles, outlined with lead or clay, with semi precious stones, now missing, for the eyes. The mosaics on display here are floors from the houses over the road, dating 325-300 BC, most of them in excellent condition. The magnificent lion hunt is from the central part of the andron (banqueting room) in the House of Dionysos, and is thought to represent the scene when Alexander was rescued from a lion during a hunt at Granikos. The two young hunters, naked apart from flowing capes, stand either side of the lion with their weapons raised poised to stab the lion; one has taken his sword from its scabbard, the other, who wears a petasos (a Macedonian style hat), has a spear in one hand, his sword, still in its scabbard, in the other. (The wonderful lion looks somewhat bemused, poor thing!). The outlines of the figures are shown in fired clay.
