Ο μακεδονικός τάφος στους Πύργους Εορδαίας
Part of : Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στη Θράκη ; Vol.9, No.1, 1995, pages 25-38
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Pages:
25-38
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The Makedonian tomb at Piryi, Eordaia
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Abstract:
The Macedonian tomb at Piryi was located in 1983 and excavated in 1995. It had been looted in the Ancient period and all the voussoirs in the barrel -vault are gone. It is the 2nd example of its kind to be excavated in Eordaia, after the undespoiled tomb in the village of Spilia, with the monumental facade and multiple burials, dating to the early 2nd c. BC.The tomb at Piryi has a single chamber and measures 2.83x2.55 m; the façade is plain, flat, and coated with buff-coloured plaster. The entrance has no structured jambs or lintel and was sealed by two stone doors, one of them stillin situ. The section of wall on the viewer’s right indicates that a built dromosled to the tomb. The surfaces inside the chamber are uniform and coated with buff plaster, with a dark grey band 0.13 m wide running around the four walls 0.72 mabove the floor. On the basis of its humble architectural form and its distinctive features, and bearing in mind the monumental late Macedonian tomb discovered at Spilia, one might be tempted to assume a late dating for the Piryi tomb, were it not for the finds, which take us back to the beginning of the last quarter of the4th c. BC. They were grouped on the floor just inside the entrance, in the NE corner, and the scattered bones indicate that they were a secondary burial. They include a bronze coin of Philip II and a red-figure pelike of the Kerchtype, decorated with the bust of an Amazon and a griffin on one side and two himation-clad men on the other. Such vases date to the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the 4th c. BC and herald the end of red-figure vase painting. The Piryi pelikedates to 330-320 BC. Conclusions relating to the new Macedonian tomb at Piryi are as follows:i) The discovery of a second Macedonian tomb in Eordaia is significant, following the excavation of the undespoiled Macedonian tomb at Spilia in 1986-7. We believe that more will follow if we continue with the systematic archaeological investigations that have begun in the last decade in Western Macedonia in general and Kozani prefecture in particular.ii) It is one of the earliest Macedonian tombs. iii) It presents interesting distinctive features in its architectural construction and confirms that each Macedonian tomb is a special case.iv) Monumentality of form does not necessarily go hand in hand with an early dating. v) It confirms the identity of burial customs and practices in Lower and Upper Macedonia, which latter has ceased to be regarded as a culturally and socially isolated country in the wake of the large numbers of finds that have come to light in recent years. It has been confirmed that both rock-cut and Macedonian tombs are found near major arterial roads linking the city with the rest of the world. Although the archaeological map of Piryi has not yet been fully compiled, we may easily conclude that an important road went past the tomb in the Ancient period —as indeed it does today, the tomb being on the road from Edessa to Ptolema'ida, Fiorina, and elsewhere. Piryi is located precisely at the flattest point of access from Bottiaia and Lower Macedonia to Eordaia and Upper Macedonia. Thereis only one other flat point of entry to Eordaia, and that is at the southernmost end, at modern Polymylos. We therefore consider it certain that the tombindicates the presence of an ancient road, which linked N and S Eordaia. That the Piryi area in general was a major nodal point and a crossroad is also attested by the presence of two well-constructed bridges, which may well have been built in ancient times and been repeatedly repaired ever since. We do not at present know the name of the city to which the Macedonian tomb belonged, nor the wealthy family which used it and which we believe must have been a prominent one, with members of high social and military rank. An organised city with traces of habitation from the Late Bronze Age to the Byzantine period has been located at Kastro; at the same time, remains of houses and sites of sanctuaries and cemeteries have been found at many points. Systematic archaeological and topographical investigations will enable us to make a detailed record of these and reach some valuable conclusions. However, the finds to date already provide evidence of a robust economy and a high standard of living and of culture over a long, unbroken period
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Keywords:
Τάφοι, συνέδρια
Notes:
Περιέχει σχέδια και εικόνες
