The House of Polycharmos and the Synagogue Basilica are closely connected by sharing the south wall of the Basilica. There is also an entrance at the west end of the house from which one can enter the atrium of the church.
The Porticus at the south side is the main entrance of the house and it leads to several rooms and halls, which surround the central peristyle. The peristyle is formed by eight columns and in its interior it has a pool and a well. The mosaic floors of some of the corridors have geometrical motifs represented. Next to the peristyle there is an apsidal room or a triclinium with a fountain in the middle. The mosaic floor is divided in a couple of zones ornamented with birds, vessels and other objects. Most significant of all is the zone where psalm 42 is illustrated. It is a representation of two fawns separated by a kantharos with flowing water. This mosaic is the main reason why the house is also called the House of Psalms. On the western side of the building there are stairs which suggest that there was a second floor.
The House of Polycharmos was excavated in 1931 – 1933 and later on, during the conservation in 1965 and 1970. The name Palace of Polycharmos was applied due to the relations with the synagogue i.e. the possibility that the perystyle and the triclinium are the rooms which Polycharmos built for himself, as he informs us in the inscription from the atrium of the Basilica. This thesis implies a conclusion that the House was erected in the 2nd century during the period of the Synagogue I and was still used during the period of the Synagogue II. Finally, in the 5th century it became ownership of the Christians, in the period of the Basilica, and that is when the beautiful mosaic was applied in the triclinium.
In the 6th century, modest houses were built on top of the palace and they employed most of the older walls in their structure. The floors of the houses were made of beaten earth. In the western end there were storage vessels dug in the floor.
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