Archaeologists in Orchomenos, Viotia, have discovered the largest Mycenaean-era carved tomb ever found in Greece.
Archaeologists in Orchomenos, Viotia, have discovered the largest Mycenaean-era carved tomb ever found in Greece.
Describing the discovery as “one of the largest Mycenaean carved chamber tombs ever found in Greece,” the Culture Ministry of Greece says that the construction of the chamber tomb dates back to the middle of the 14th century B.C. and the skeleton of only one dead was found in the tomb with all the grave goods.
The grave was found in the village of Prosilio, a Municipality of Livadeia, at the foot of Mount Akontio.
The tomb is said to be the size of a small house and belonged to a Bronze Age nobleman with an admiration for jewellery. According to the Culture Ministry, the 3,350-year-old chamber is an important center of the Mycenaean era, which belonged to a man who was 40 to 50 years old when he died.
“Specifically, the tomb is the ninth-largest chamber tomb out of roughly 4,000 excavated in the last 150 years,” the Culture Ministry said.
The 42-square-meter (452-square-foot) grave was only used once and the nobleman's tomb contained pottery vessels sheathed in tin, bronze horse bits, jewellery, bow fittings and arrowheads, the Ministry added.
The tomb includes a large death chamber measuring 42 metres square with a 20-metre carved ‘road’ leading up to it. On all four walls of the chamber is a carved ledge covered in clay plaster.
Discovering this burial site enables researchers the chance to discover more about the burial practices of the region during Mycenaean times.
