Archaeologists from the University of Cincinnati have discovered two Bronze Age tombs containing a trove of engraved jewelry and artifacts that promise to unlock secrets about life in ancient Greece. These are two funerary monuments in the shape of a tholos , which have been officially named Vaulted Tombs VI and VII.
Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker, archaeologists in the UC department of classical archaeology, found the two tombs in Pylos, Greece, last year while investigating the area around the tomb of the Griffin Warrior, discovered in 2015. The tombs were filled with flakes of gold leaf that once papered the walls. The first has a diameter of approximately 12 meters and its walls remain at a height of approximately 4.5 meters above the ground. The second is smaller, only about 8.5 meters in diameter, while its walls reach a height of about 2 meters. Both date from the 15th century BC
The Griffin Warrior It is named after the Griffin, the mythological creature – part eagle, part lion – engraved on an ivory plaque in his tomb, which also contained gold armor, weaponry and jewelry. Among the valuable art objects was an agate stone depicting mortal combat in such detail that it was considered a masterpiece of the Bronze Age.
Artifacts found in princely tombs tell similar stories about life throughout the Mediterranean 3,500 years ago Davis said. Among them, a gold ring in which two bulls are represented flanked by sheaves of grain, identified as barley by a paleobotanist. It's an interesting scenario of animal husbandry:livestock mixed with grain production. It is the basis of agriculture according to Davis. As far as we know, it is the only representation of the grain in the art of the Cretan or Minoan civilization.
Like the tomb of the warrior Griffin, both tombs contained artwork emblazoned with mythological creatures. An agate stone features two lion-like creatures called jinn that stand upright on clawed feet. They carry a vase and incense burner, a tribute to the altar before them with a small tree sprouting between the horns of consecration Stocker said. Above the jinn there is a 16-pointed star. The same 16-pointed star also appears on a bronze and gold artifact in the tomb .
It's weird. There are not many 16-pointed stars in Mycenaean iconography. The fact that we have two objects with 16 points in two different mediums (agate and gold) is remarkable , according to the researchers. The problem is that we do not have any writings from the Minoan or Mycenaean era that talk about their religion or explain the importance of their symbols .
The team also found a gold pendant bearing the image of the Egyptian goddess Hathor. The discovery of her is particularly interesting in light of the role she played in Egypt as a protector of the dead.
The tombs indicate that they belonged to people of affluent status and wealth. They contained amber from the Baltic, amethyst from Egypt, imported carnelian, and much gold. They are located with panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea, in the place where the Nestor Palace would later rise and fall into ruins.
This abundance of wealth and imported goods in the tombs of tholos they indicate that people were competing for power at a time that would be the germ that would give rise to the Classical Age of Greece. They also indicate that the Pylos coast was once an important destination for trade and commerce.
If you look at a map, Pylos is a remote area now. You have to cross mountains to get here. Until recently, it hasn't even been on the tourist trail Stocker said. But if you're coming by sea, the location makes more sense. He's on his way to Italy. What we are learning is that it is a much more central and important place on the Bronze Age trade route .
The tombs were protected from the elements and potential thieves by some 40,000 watermelon-sized stones. The boulders had lain untouched for millennia where they had fallen when tomb domes collapsed. And now, 3,500 years later, the UC team had to remove each stone one by one.
It was like going back to the Mycenaean period. They had been placed by hand on the walls of the tombs and we were removing them by hand Stocker said.
At each step of the excavation, the researchers used photogrammetry and digital mapping to document the location and orientation of objects in the tomb. This is especially valuable due to the large number of artifacts that were recovered , Davis assured.
We can see all the levels as we excavate them and relate them to each other in three dimensions , she said. The UC team will continue to work on Pylos for at least the next two years as they and other researchers from around the world unravel the mysteries contained in the artifacts.
It has been 50 years since significant tombs of this type have been found at any other Bronze Age palatial site. That makes it extraordinary Davis said.