3rd century and systemic pilfering have caused most of the structure of the buildings from this period to be lost, but the floor mosaics have been preserved. The Late Roman-Byzantine Period from the 4th–7th century saw massive amounts of rebuilding. Instead of large villas, Kom el-Dikka was occupied by simpler but more standardized houses. The trend of regular houses was contrasted by the fact that many houses were built upon and using older structures. Older walls were often used as foundations for new ones, though where houses weren’t defined by the foundations they were built on top of, they often showed regular patterns. Shops in the fronts of houses became much more common, and workshops often appeared in the parts of houses that didn’t face the street. As demand for more living space went up, buildings began to expand into the street, causing large streets to turn into narrow alleys. Villa of the Birds The Villa of the Birds was a villa in the Early Roman Period. It is known for its well preserved mosaics, which are the only mosaics that can be viewed in their original environment in Alexandria. The villa was likely built some time in the 1st century AD, and was destroyed by a fire some time in the late 3rd century. Although it was subsequently plundered for materials and occupied for a long period of time, the mosaics survived in relatively good condition. Four mosaics, totaling almost 110 square feet, have been preserved, with two fully preserved and two partially preserved. One of them, α-5, features nine different birds in nine separate squares, and gives the villa its name. The art of birds is Egyptian in style, but also draws influence from other western provinces and Pergamon. See also Neighborhoods in Alexandria References Grzegorz Majcherek. Alexandria. Kom el-Dikka. Season 2017. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 27/1 (2018), 35–56 Grzegorz Majcherek. Crumbs from the table – archaeological remains of Hellenistic Alexandria. In Hellenistic Alexandria. Celebrating 24 centuries. International Conference, Athens, 12–15 December 2017, Acropolis Museum (pp. 71–85). Oxford: Archeopress 2018. Wojciech Kołątaj, Grzegorz Majcherek and Ewa Parandowska. Villa of the Birds: The excavation and preservation of the Kom al-Dikka mosaics (=American Research Center in Egypt Conservation Series 3). Cairo: American University in Cairo Press 2007. Zsolt Kiss, Grzegorz Majcherek, Henryk Meyza, Henryk Rysiewski and Barbara Tkaczow, B. Fouilles polonaises à Kôm el-Dikka (1986–1987) (=Alexandrie 7). Warsaw: Centre