In the northern part of Lesvos and at a distance of 1.2 km from the settlement of Ypsilometopo are the remains of a three-aisled basilica, which was brought to light during the Turkish occupation by local people. In 1954, a chapel named after St. was built on its ruins. Dimitriou, in which there are built-in architectural members of the basilica, while fragments of the mosaic floor can be seen at the same time.
The temple and its mosaics date back to the second half of the 6th century. AD, as the architectural features testify. The official excavations were carried out in 1928 led by Professor A. Orlandos, who also made the official publications.
The basilica, rectangular in shape, is built with granite stones. The communication of the temple with outside was possible through the four doorways of the narthex and the two entrances on the north and south sides of the temple.
The floor of the temple was covered with mosaic, part of which has been revealed in the pre-alcove part of the sanctuary. In a later phase, due to the deterioration of the mosaic, the floor was covered with paving, from which traces of the bases of the columns of the iconostasis can be seen. The mosaic section is a closed and symmetrical whole. The show consists of individual partitions and presents a wide variety of decorative shapes , geometric designs and animal representations. The mosaic was made when Pappikios was a bishop of the temple, as the relevant inscription “For the soul of Pappikios presbyteros” informs. A second inscription “by the wish of Anatolius and his symbiote Trypheni and all of this house voted for the altar” is problematic in terms of its dating.
In 1956, another inscription was discovered further south of the temple: “Valanion was built under the authority of Flavius Loukius, despot Evlogius of Lalagrion, commissioner Auxentios”. Ruins of buildings were also found in the surrounding area. S. Charitonidis assumes, according to the inscription and the surrounding buildings, that the basilica might have been a catholicon of a monastic complex.
