429-438

Rescue excavations of graves and hydraulic works in Thessaloniki

• Μαρκή, Ευτέρπη
• Κομμάτας, Δαμιανός

Most of the excavations carried out by the 9th Ephorate in Thessaloniki and thesurrounding municipalities every year relate to graves and water supply facilities. Fromthe rescue excavations of graves that were carried out in 1997, two interesting groups arepresented here, one of them excavated in the west cemetery and the other in the Christiancemetery in the Ayia Triada area (east necropolis).Two groups of double graves and one single burial were uncovered in a plot in MargaropoulouSt. and Plapouta St. The graves may be dated on the basis of their typology tothe late fourth or early fifth century. The first three belong to urban Thessalonianfamilies, who, although they had embraced Christianity, customarily held funeral banquetson the graves, which is why the top surface of the barrel-vaults has been levelled. Theother two, which belong to a larger complex, may, we think, have something to do withthe Goths, owing to their trapezoidal shape. When the natural gas pipeline was being laid,a group of three barrel-vaulted graves was uncovered under Trikoupi St., two of them wilhpainted decoration. One preserves a red band with a red cross with triangular terminalson the arms in the middle of the north side; and two crosses on the south side, one in redand green at the east end and one in red in the middle, the latter with the letters alphaand omega inscribed at the junction of the arms.In the second grave, there is a brown cross on the south wall with flaring terminals,apices, and droplets, flanked by two bushy plants with green leaves. An identical cross inthe middle of the opposite wall is flanked by similar plants. On the west wall, the upperpart of which has been destroyed by grave robbers, there is a green band decorated with along-stemmed plant, a bushy shrub, and, barely discernible, the lower arm of a browncross, flanked by plants. The same motif is repeated in the middle of the south side.Though desecrated, these graves may be dated by their decoration to the sixth century.Two open public water cisterns of the Early Christian period and one private cisternof a later date were excavated in Thessaloniki in 1997. One, square and open, was uncoveredduring development work in the courtyard of the Byzantine bath between TheotokopoulouSt. and Akropoleos St.. The second was located during development work onthe ground floor of the building housing the 9th Ephorate’s offices at the Rotunda. It isshaped like a square with amputated corners (Fig. 5), and the west side was located in1986 during work in Apostolou Pavlou St.These cisterns were irrigation tanks, which collected rainwater for the garden. Thethird was excavated in the courtyard of a house at 20, Poliorkitou St.: square in shape, itwas for private use, was covered with wooden boards, and dates to the modern period.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Θεσσαλονίκη, συνέδρια

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