155-163

Excavation in the northern cemetery of Pydna, 1989

• Μπέσιος, Ματθαίος

114 graves, dated to the Early Iron Age, the Classical and the early Hellenistic periods were excavated in field no. 947 of the rural zone of Macrygialos. The Early Iron Age burials were found in cist-graves with lateral sides of small stones or vertical schist-stones, or more rarely in pit-graves with wooden cover. In one occasion the relics were removed in a small round pit. The floor of most graves was covered with a layer of sand or pebbles. The area was also used as a cemetery from the beginning of the 5th century B.C. Groups of pit-graves with wooden sarcophagi were excavated. One or two sides of many graves were equipped with stairs cut-into the ground to facilitate the deposition of the sarcophagus. The group of graves excavated in Sector B yielded rich finds: bronze helmets, iron weapons, bronze, clay and glass vessels, gold, silver and bronze pieces of jewellery etc. The graves of Sector A were smaller and the finds not as rich as the previous. The use of the cemetery stopped by the end of the 5th century B.C., probably because the inhabitants of Pydna were forced by king Archelaos to move to the hinterland after their revolt in 410 B.C. The cemetery was used again in the second quarter of the 4th century. A cist-grave made of mud-bricks, a big pit-grave and three cremations in two bronze hydriae and a red-figure crater dated to this period, were discovered in the area of Sector B.A new type of pit-grave appeared and became very common in the second half ofthe 4th century B.C. It was equipped with a large chamber and wooden cover, supported by steps cut-into the ground which ran the four sides of the grave. Shallow deepening sin the floor for the legs of the kline where the deceased was placed are visible in many graves. Small pit-graves with wooden sarcophagi and a small number of tile-covered graves were also discovered.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

νεκροταφεία, τάφοι, Πύδνα, Πιερία, συνέδρια

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