Over 30 years of excavation have uncovered many Roman
remains including this well-preserved theatre with galleries, sections of
mosaic-flooring, and marble seats for up to 800 spectators. In Ptolemaic times,
this area was the Park of Pan and a pleasure garden. The theater at one point
may had been roofed over to serve as an Odeon for musical performances.
Inscriptions suggest that it was sometimes also used for wrestling contests.
The theater stood with thirteen semi-circular tiers of
white marble that was imported from Europe. Its columns are of green marble
imported from Asia Minor, and red granite imported from Aswan. The wings on
either side of the stage are decorated with geometric mosaic paving.
The dusty walls of the trenches, from digging in the
northeast side of the Odeon, are layered with extraordinary amounts of
potsherds. Going down out of the Kom, you can see the substantial arches and walls
in stone, the brick of the Roman baths, and the remains of Roman houses.