ΧΑΪΔΑΡΙ ΧΑΪΔΑΡΙ - ΣΥΝΑΝΤΗΣΗ ΜΕ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ | Page 150

150
daily life of the convent. Refectories are spacious
rectangular areas with an apse on one short side. Monks
were seated at long tables and the abbot sat at a
special table in the apse. The walls were decorated with
Old and New Testament scenes. At Daphni the refectory
is 28.7 m long and is situated north of the catholicon,
with which it shares the same orientation. Both buildings
display similar masonry and thus the refectory may be
dated to the 11th century.
Monks entered through three double doors on the west
side. The room was barrel vaulted and had windows in
the long walls. A round building attached to the north of
the refectory was probably used for cooking. It features a
central hearth and chimney, as well as niches for utensils.
The baths. Monastic bath complexes are a rare
feature suggesting prosperity. They were constructed
accoding to the Roman tradition. They had four areas,
namely a dressing room, two hot rooms and one room
with water pools, either cold or hot. The water was
heated with air produced by fire under the floor and
distributed with clay pipes. Only the foundations of the
baths are preserved at Daphni.
The cistern. An underground rectangular cistern
13.3x4.95 m has been traced underneath the 16th century
cells. It has a capacity of 300 cubic meters. It had two
barrel vaulted aisles and circular openings on the roof
for water collection. It is similar to cisterns at Hosios
Lukas and S. Sophia at Mystras.
The rectangular room. A rectangular room, 23x6.5 m
with Middle Byzantine masonry but unknown function lies
south of the catholicon.
The sepulchral church of St Nikolaos. In the
forrest east of the monastery lies the deserted chapel of
St Nikolaos. It is contemporary with the catholicon and
may have been the cemetery church. It is a small barrel
vaulted basilica with stone and brick cloisonne masonry.
A mausolium crypt lies underneath the church.
Grand plan of the Daphni Monastery.