|
|
|
Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 14-07-29
CONTENTS
[01] Irrigation project reveals unsullied tholos tomb, the first in
Fokis prefecture
[01] Irrigation project reveals unsullied tholos tomb, the first in
Fokis prefecture
ANA-MPA -- A tholos tomb dated to the Late Bronze Age, was uncovered
during near Amfissa, in central Greece, during work on a project to
provide irrigation for the region's protected and historic olive grove
valley near Delphi.
The tomb is typical of tholos or beehive tombs, with a long corridor of
built sides (9 metres long), a recessed entrance and a burial chamber
with a maximum internal diameter of 5.90 metres. The upper register
of the tomb, of undressed stone, has collapsed but the tomb walls have
survived to 3 metres in height.
The site appears mostly unlooted, while objects found on the floor
indicate it was used from the 14th down to the 12th centuries BC. Findings
include 44 inscribed pots, two broken bronze statues, gold rings,
bronze buttons, pieces of semiprecious stones, two short bronze swords,
statuettes of female or animal forms, and a large number of seal stones
with animal, plant and geometric motifs.
The tholos is a unique monument, the first found in the prefecture
of Fokida and one of the few found in mainland Greece; the best-known
examples are found in the Peloponnese. Its study is expected to reveal
important information about settlements in the area during the Mycenaean
period and the historic evolution of the greater area, which includes
the Delphi oracle.
[File photo showing the best-known example of a Mycenaean tholos/beehive
tomb, that of Atreus in Mycenae. ANA-MPA/Symela Pantzartzi]
|
