251-264

A burial mound at Ayios Athanassios, Thessaloniki : the completion of the investigation

• Τσιμπίδου - Αυλωνίτη, Μαρία

The spring of 1993 saw the completion of the investigation begun in 1992in the burial mound NW of the community of Ayios Athanassios. A further 19graves were uncovered, 13 dating to the 6th c. BC and the rest to the 4th c. and later. The archaic graves presented the same general picture as the one we had formed in 1992, with regard to both their construction and the type of grave goods they contained. The major exporting centres of the time are represented in the pottery, with Corinthian ware much in evidence. The commonest vesselsare exaleiptra and cotylae, which, together with Ionic and Attic black-figure ware, form groups that are chiefly characteristic of the 3rd quarter of the 6th c. BC. Again, imported ware exists side by side with local production, the most common of which is an open lebes of grey clay. The 4th c. BC is represented by all types of built graves: in the W part of the mound a second built tomb (Til) was located, with the remains of the funeral pyre heaped on the slabs that covered it. Unfortunately, having remained untouched since antiquity, the grave was plundered by thieves in the early days of the excavation; but possibly the most valuable of the grave goods were salvaged —a pair of gold earrings with lions' heads (late 4th - early3rd c. BC).An inviolate cist grave (T16) contained countless fragments of gilded clay figures from the decoration of an ornate wooden mortuary couch inside. These are particularly interesting compositions, reminiscent of mythical themes that were popular in the 4th c., such as griffins battling Arimaspians. The E section of the mound, which has been repeatedly broached by treasure seekers, yielded a large cist grave (T19) with a horizontal roof and an entrance. One interesting architectural feature is the creation of a false façade of unbaked bricks painted with a Doric entablature, evidently in an attempt to imitate a Macedonian tomb

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

τάφοι, Θεσσαλονίκη, συνέδρια

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