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Two Geometric Tombs at Atsalenio near Knossos1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2013

Costis Davaras
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Extract

In the spring of 1962 workmen digging the foundation shafts for the construction of a house at Atsalenio hit upon two Geometric tombs. Atsalenio is a quarter outside Heraklion, midway between the city centre and Knossos. The site of the tombs, which is the property of the contractors, D. Ritsopoulos and D. Serdherakis, lies about 100 metres to the west of the road to Knossos and about 200 metres to the north of the modern graveyard of Atsalenio. As the tombs were just outside the Knossos area of the British School, although belonging to the Geometric cemeteries of Knossos, I undertook their excavation as Epimelete of the Archaeological Service.

The site of the tombs, like most of the adjacent area, was a vineyard before building began, and the soil was cultivated to a depth of c. 0·7 m. This had destroyed the roofs of the tombs. The digging of the foundation shafts for the building had also destroyed all but the beginning of the dromos of Tomb A and had just reached the upper level of its burials before work was halted. Nearly all Tomb B, too, had been destroyed; the sherds from it were recovered for the most part from the earth thrown out by the builders.

Type
Research Article
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 63 , November 1968 , pp. 133 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 1968

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Footnotes

1

I would like to thank Mr. M. R. Popham who kindly corrected the English text.

References

2 See a summary report in KretChron xvii (1963) 398; ADelt xviii B 2 (1963) 311 f., pl. 362a.

3 As is usual from the dromos into the tomb: cf. Brock, , Fortetsa 2.Google Scholar

4 Cf. the threshold of stones in the Geometric tomb of Haghies Paraskies near Heraklion: Platon, N., AE 1945–1947, 47 f.Google Scholar, which is a tholos tomb.

5 The drawings of the motives have been made by Mr. Thomas Phanourakis, draughtsman and painter of the Heraklion Museum.

6 The peculiarity of the raised wings is due to Euboeo-Cycladic influence. Cf. Hood, M. S. F. and Boardman, J., BSA lvi (1961) 17 n. 11.Google Scholar

7 On the probable liquid contents of oinochoae in the tombs see N. Platon, op. cit. 76.

8 Used for the fastening of the lid to the pithos with a string: cf. N. Platon, op. cit. 78.

9 A pattern which here has no religious significance: see Kunze, E., Kret. Bronzereliefs 147.Google Scholar

10 E.M. II: Seager, Mochlos, no. xix. 48, figs. 12, 44. Cf. Boardman, , Cret. Coll. 31 Google Scholar and n. 3. In general cf. Renfrew, C., AJA. lxxi (1967) 15 and pl. 11 (for distribution).Google Scholar

11 For this type see Payne, , BSA xxix (1928–1929) 233 Google Scholar and Fortetsa 147, nn. 2–3. On the general uniformity of type, cf. Desborough, , Last Mycenaeans 59.Google Scholar

12 Cf. Boardman, , BSA lv (1960) 142 f.Google Scholar

13 See a summary report in KretChron xii (1958) 460, 468.

14 KretChron iv (1950) 296 f.

15 Cf. also Brock, , Fortetsa 1 n. 2.Google Scholar

16 Alexiou. op. cit, 297

17 On this problem, see Boardman, loc. cit. 143. Cf. Fortetsa 4 f.

18 Cf. the Fortetsa Tomb X with 16 burials in the chamber, a number considered as unusually large (op. cit. 41) for its dimensions, which are larger than in this case.

19 Cf. Fortetsa 2.

20 Cf. Fortetsa Tombs XI (pl. 137), X (pl. 147), and II (pl. 159).

21 Cf. Fortetsa 152, B.

22 Kindly photographed for me by Mme. Tchazna Hassia, Paris. The pictures of the vases and other finds were taken by Mr. George Xylouris, Heraklion.

23 Cf. Coldstream, N., BSA lv (1960) 170.Google Scholar

24 Fortetsa 150 (v, c).

25 Fortetsa 187.

26 For Cypriot influence generally see Boardman, , Cret. Coll. 149 f.Google Scholar

27 Fortetsa 191. Cf. doubts of Hood, and Boardman, , BSA lvi (1961) 78 n. 20Google Scholar, whether this ware imported into Crete is really Cypriot or from the Syria–Palestine area.

28 Cf. Gjerstad, E., SCE iv. 2. 300.Google Scholar

29 Hesperia xiv (1945) 23 and passim.

30 Probably borrowed from metalwork: Fortetsa 144.

31 Cf. Fortetsa 143.

32 Hood, and Boardman, , BSA lvi (1961) 78.Google Scholar