Yet, the rebuilding project came to a sudden halt when it was nearly complete. The columns had been erected, the roofs tiled, and the windows installed but construction was abandoned. Why this happened remains a mystery. Flooding may have made the site difficult to use. Or the construction of the new city wall blocked the views and access to the channel that the owners had intended. Whatever the reason, the family's ambitious plans were never fully realized, and they may simply have chosen to settle elsewhere. The unfinished palace was eventually put to practical use. Workshops were set up in simple wooden buildings within the abandoned structure, and later the area became a cemetery.