Ambelakia (Agios Vasilios)
Ambelakia ( Greek Αμπελάκια ( f. Sg. ) = Vineyard ) is the current name of an ancient cemetery on the hill of the same name about 1.3 km west of the Greek town of Agios Vasilios in Corinthia . The archaeological site of Zygouries is about 500 m to the east .
description
The Ambelakia hill rises south to the Arachneo Mountains . The American archaeologist Carl Blegen discovered the ancient cemetery on its east side in 1921–1922. He found a total of 53 graves from different times: three or four from the Early Helladic , two from the Middle Helladic , three from the Late Helladic , 40 from the Roman period and four with an uncertain date. Another grave from the Geometric Period was discovered about half a kilometer west of the railway line. The Bronze Age tombs were very likely connected to the settlement of Zygouries. It is not known where the later place was. Blegen assumed that the Roman settlement was located above modern Agios Vasilios, although no Roman finds there so far indicate it.
Early Helladic
The graves from the early Helladic period were more like ossuaries . They were very simple pits, some of which made use of small natural caves (graves XX and XXIII). Possibly these two graves were older than the two graves VII and XVI, which did not include a cave.
Grave vii
The grave was oval, 2.60 x 1.85 m and was 1.25 m deep. The poorly preserved bones of 12-14 adults were scattered in it. Only the middle was free of bones. However, it is not known if this was caused by later disturbance or if the area was kept free for a later burial. There were only a few grave goods: gold ornament with a spiral made of silver wire (earring?), Small piece of silver foil, small, flat silver disc, bronze needle, two beads made of carnelian , a bead made of soft green stone, an amulet in the shape of a foot, a thin obsidian blade , a shell, and shards of four ceramic vessels: sauce boat , flat bowl, unpainted jug, unusual vessel in the form of a tobacco pipe .
Another grave was later dug over the grave at an unspecified time. It was oval with 1.25 × 0.40 m at a depth of 0.50 m and was covered with a stone slab made of Poros measuring 1.40 × 0.85 × 0.20 m. Presumably the older grave was not disturbed when it was built. The corpse was placed in a crouch on the right side with its head facing south and facing east. The only grave gift was a bronze ring that was on the little finger or the ring finger of the left hand.
Grave XVI
Grave XVI was 20 m southeast of grave VII. It was 1.33 m long, 1.05 m wide and 1.30 m deep, the north end was rectangular and the south end was round. The bones of three dead had been cleared to the west, while the east was bone free. A thin bronze needle and three large ceramic shards were found as additions.
Grave XX
35 m south of grave XVI was grave XX. It was oval with 1.96 × 1.78 m and was 0.70-1.00 m deep. It was dug into the soft rock and had a natural rock overhang to the south. The bones of 15 individuals were piled under the ledge in the south. There was no stratigraphy , so one has to assume that they were all brushed aside at the same time. The northern part of the grave was empty except for a stone that had fallen into it. Two pieces of silver foil were found on a skull - this was probably a diadem . Gold ornaments for an earring, a silver needle, a small bronze spatula , a bronze needle, a cylindrical bead made of carnelian, a bead made of steatite , a spindle whorl made of bone, a rough clay jug with two vertical handles, a flat bowl and a patera were also found as grave goods .
Grave XXIII
The irregularly shaped grave XXIII was 6 m south of grave XX, was 1.50 × 0.80 m in size and 1.50 m deep. It integrated a small natural cave under a ledge made of conglomerate , which was closed with roughly hewn stones from Poros. The cave was almost round with a diameter of 2.50 m and a height of 0.70 m. Early Helladic pottery shards, a few human bones and a large fragment of a rough clay pot were found in the grave. Outside the cave, a strange, flat bronze ornament was found. In Roman times, a roof-tile grave was laid precisely in the older grave . Two roof tiles were placed on each of the long sides so that the roof tiles on the opposite side touched each other and formed a roof over the corpse. When the Roman grave was laid out, the cave was partially cleared out, and so, in addition to the bronze ornament, plenty of early Helladic ceramics found their way into the earth, with which the later grave was filled.
Medium brightadic
Only one grave was found that could clearly be assigned to the Middle Helladic.
Grave XXII
It was located 5 m west of grave XX. It was a simple hole in the ground 1.00 × 1.50 m and a depth of 1.00 m. It was used three times for funerals. At a depth of 0.40–0.50 m, very few bones were found with no other additions. Among them, from 0.50-0.75 m, there were some bones from one or more individuals and two matte painted jugs. In the bottom layer of 0.80–1.00 m, two corpses were found crouching. They were so filed that they looked at each other. The southern skeleton of an adult lay on the left with its head to the west and facing north. A small, matt-painted cup with a basket handle lay over the right shoulder. The smaller skeleton of a child lay to the north on the right, also with its head to the west and a view to the south. The two bodies were buried at the same time.
Late Helladic
The Mycenaean chamber tombs come from the middle of the Late Helladic III. It is the resting place of common people.
Grave XXXIII
The chamber grave was created 30 m northeast of grave XX. The 6.55 m long dromos was carved into the rock and ran from east to west. Its width at ground level increased from east to west from 0.87 m to 1.01 m. The walls were inclined inwards so that the width in front of the entrance to the burial chamber at a height of 2.35 m was only 0.73 m. The entrance was 1.14 m high and slightly rounded at the top. The width of the entrance also decreased from the bottom from 0.64 m up to 0.48 m.
The entrance corridor was 1.20 m long and its course deviated by 7 ° to the south from the orientation of the dromos. The entrance was walled up with stones from Poros. The collapsed burial chamber was 3.39 m wide and 2.07 m deep. In the south of the chamber, a stone box grave measuring 0.80 × 0.55 m and 0.25 m deep was set into the ground. Only two ceramic shards were found in it. In the grave were found two large, unpainted jugs, a squat jug , a lenticular seal made of steatite , a bead made of steatite, three psi figures made of terracotta , three spindle whorls made of steatite, two small jugs, two small jugs, a pot with a basket handle, an unpainted jug with two handles, a tall, painted jug and two painted, low jugs. The grave was created at SH III B1 (around 1320–1250 BC).
At a later time, before the burial chamber collapsed, a second stone box grave was created. It was laid from above through the chamber ceiling and was 1 m above the chamber floor. As no additions were found besides some bones, it cannot be dated.
Grave XXXV
There was a second chamber grave 5 m north of grave XXXIII. The Dromos also ran from east to west, was 8 m long and its width increased from 0.85 m to 1.05 m. The walls were inclined more inward, so that the two sides almost touched in front of the entrance at a height of 2.90 m. In the north side wall of the Dromos there was a 0.35 m deep niche in the middle section at a height of 1.10 m, which was closed with a stone slab made of Poros. It served either as a burial place or to store bones. A shaft grave was found in the southern and northern part of the Dromos . Since they did not contain any grave goods, it was not possible to determine their age and also not whether they were made before or after the construction of the chamber tomb. In Roman times they were used a second time for burial. Shards of at least two unpainted, late Helladic kylikes were found on the floor of the dromos .
The entrance corridor was 1.60 m high, 0.80 m wide and 1.71 m long and was walled up with irregular stones from Poros. In the corridor behind the wall one found a small and a large jug and cup from Roman times. They probably come from the Roman roof tile grave that was laid there after the burial chamber collapsed.
The almost rectangular burial chamber measured 2.82 × 2.20 m. Neither bones nor accessories were found near the ground. On the ground there was a 0.75 m thick layer of brown earth, which was probably deposited here after the construction of the grave before the first use. The bones of one or two individuals, 11 psi figures, a terracotta model of a table, a terracotta bull's head, two small jugs, a flat bowl, a large unpainted jug, an askos , a pear-shaped jug were found on the brown earth three handles, a small alabastron , a hydria , a baby bottle , a small bowl with basket handle, a kylix, two spindle whorls made of steatite and a bead made of carnelian. The grave is dated to the time of SH III A2 / B1 (around 1350–1250 BC).
Grave XXV
The unfinished chamber grave XXV is located approximately west of grave XXXV. A 2 m long and 0.62 m wide drom was put on and the work was then stopped for unknown reasons.
Graves from an indefinite period
These graves were all of the same design, but did not contain any datable objects. They were made sometime between 2000 BC. And the 4th century AD. Because of their resemblance to the grave that was laid over the Early Helladic grave VII, Carl Blegen assumed that the graves date from the end of the Early Helladic or the beginning of the Middle Helladic.
Grave IX
The stone box grave of 0.36 × 1.25 × 0.55 m was 6 m northwest of grave VII. It was covered with a stone slab made of Poros of 1.54 × 0.90 × 0.2 and contained neither bones nor accessories.
Grave X
The stone box grave was very similar to grave IX and was 10 m north of grave VII. It was covered with a cover plate of 1.52 × 0.90 × 0.24 m and had no content except for many small stones.
Grave XV
It was located 4 m northeast of Tomb VII, was 0.42 × 1.60 × 0.45 m in size and was covered with a cover plate of 1.25 × 0.84 × 0.29 m. In the grave a pottery shard was found from a coarse vessel that was formed on the potter's wheel . It probably dates from Roman times and got there from a neighboring roof tile grave.
Geometric time
Grave XVIII
This grave was about 0.5 km west of the cemetery. It was located in the embankment west of the railway line 20 m south of kilometer 27.6. The stone box grave had a west-east orientation and was badly damaged during the construction of the railway line, so that only 0.45 m of the grave remained. It was 0.60 m wide and contained a crater , an oinochoe and a bronze ring. There were no bones left.
Roman time
Most of the graves came from the Roman period. They were roof tile or shaft graves. Since they were often empty or almost empty, Carl Blegen did not open most of them. Although the graves are much younger than the other graves, mostly no bones have been preserved.
Grave VIII
The grave dug into the rock was 15 m northeast of grave VII. The body was covered with a curved roof tile 0.86 × 0.40 m and a smaller one. One side of the brick rested on the grave floor and the other leaned against the grave wall. The shallow grave was filled with earth and contained a small, crude jug made on a potter's wheel, but no bones.
Grave XII
The shaft grave was located 10 m south of grave VII. It was oval with 2.06 × 0.55 m and 0.65 m deep. It was covered with three curved roof tiles and contained neither bones nor additions.
Grave XIII
Grave XIII, which was 5 m west of grave VIII, is a simple grave shaft of 1.52 × 0.50 m and 0.60 m deep. There was no cover. They found the skull and a few more bones. As grave goods there was a small jug and a bronze coin of Constantius Gallus . The obverse of the coin depicts a head without a headgear and the reverse depicts a fighter with a helmet, shield and spear impaling an enemy on horseback. Below is RQZ and in the field Γ.
The inscriptions read:
Verses: DN FL CL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES
Reverse: FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO
Since Constantius Gallus ruled from 351 to 354, the grave dates from the middle of the 4th century at the earliest.
Grave XIV
The grave was similar to Grave XIII and was 5 m north of it. It was 1.50 m long and 0.48 m wide in the west and widened to 0.70 m to the east. In the 1.05 m deep grave a small, rough jug from the potter's wheel was found, but no bones.
Grave XVa
It was laid out over grave XV and, like grave VIII, was covered with roof tiles that were 0.95 × 0.35 m and 0.78 × 0.35 m. It was 1.72 m long and the width varied between 0.23 m and 0.53 m. A large, rough jug was discovered but no bones.
Grave XVII
The shaft grave was 5 m east of grave XV was 2.30 × 1.10 m in size and 1.10 m deep. It had no cover but did not contain any bones but a small bowl as an additive.
Graves XXXIII
The two roof tile graves were in the dromos of chamber grave XXIII. They resembled graves VIII and XVa, but did not contain any content.
A grave made of stones and Greek bricks was also built in the collapsed chamber of the chamber tomb. It was covered with stone slabs of poros and a fragment of a large pitho . It contained few bones and no other objects.
literature
- Carl William Blegen: Zygouries; a prehistoric settlement in the valley of Cleonae , Cambridge 1928 ( online )
- Catherine Morgan: The Late Bronze Age Settlement and Early Iron Age Sanctuary: The Late Bronze Age Settlement and Early Iron Age Sanctuary , Princeton 1999, ISBN 978-0876619384 , p. 469
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Catherine Morgan: The Late Bronze Age Settlement and Early Iron Age Sanctuary: The Late Bronze Age Settlement and Early Iron Age Sanctuary , Princeton 1999, ISBN 978-0876619384 , p. 306
- ^ Catherine Morgan: The Late Bronze Age Settlement and Early Iron Age Sanctuary: The Late Bronze Age Settlement and Early Iron Age Sanctuary , Princeton 1999, ISBN 978-0876619384 , p. 306
- ↑ https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/civitas_galleries/33/product/constantius_gallus_as_caesar_351354_ad_ae23_cyzicus_mint_vf/1007759/Default.aspx Illustration of a similar coin
Coordinates: 37 ° 47 ′ 50 ″ N , 22 ° 46 ′ 54 ″ E