Epano Phournos tomb

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Gate of the tomb of Epano Phournos

The grave of Epano Phournos ( modern Greek Επάνω Φούρνος Epano Phournos , German 'Upper Oven' ) is called a Tholos grave in Mycenae . The grave was named after the place of discovery of the same name and this was in turn named after the Tholos grave itself, which the farmers used to call Phournos ( φούρνος phournos , German 'oven' ). The Tholos tomb is located on the western slope of the Panagitsa hill about 450 m west of the upper town of Mycenae. According to the classification of Alan Wace , it belongs to the first Tholos group and dates to the Late Helladic Period (SH II A Early). It was made around 1500 BC. Built in BC. Since the grave is in acute danger of collapsing, access has been blocked.

description

The access path ( dromos ) originally had a length of 6 to 7 m, a width of about 5 m and was carved into the soft rock. Presumably through later excavations this was extended to the current length of about 12 m. The gate and the gateway (stomion) were built from larger, roughly hewn stones from conglomerate rock and sandstone. The portal is about 4.60 m high, about 2.00 m wide at the bottom and tapers to about 1.60 m at the top. Five large, roughly hewn capstones were used to cover the 5 m long doorway, of which only the two outer ones are now in their intended position. The dome, which probably collapsed at the end of the Bronze Age, was about 11 meters in diameter and probably about 10 meters high and was built from small, unhewn stones and clay. The Tholos Wall is about 1.50 m thick. The bottom of the Tholos tomb was level and covered with white gravel . The dead man and the grave goods were placed directly on this floor.

Presumably the grave was only used for a burial. Since no holes were found to fix a door, it is assumed that the grave was walled up after the burial and that the dromos was filled in. The grave was probably found around 1200 BC. BC (end of SH III B) robbed by grave robbers. Since the grave robbers suspected that there were shaft graves under the ground, they dug some holes in the ground. Alan Wace found a terracotta head of a warrior in the doorway and concluded from this that it was a hero cult during the Archaic period .

exploration

When the first western travelers came to Mycenae, this tomb was already known. In 1892 the Greek archaeologist Christos Tsountas carried out the first excavation. However, no finds were mentioned, and no pieces from this excavation exist in the museums. In 1922, Alan Wace led a new excavation campaign. However, it was only possible to expose the dromos and part of the doorway, as the large inner capstone had fallen down and blocked the doorway. A palace style amphora from the late Helladic period (SH II A Früh), an amethyst pearl, an amber pearl, ivory fragments and remnants of gold leaf came to light. Presumably grave robbers lost or left the pieces here after the robbery. Other sherds date from a later period (SH II, SH III, Geometric Time , Classical Time and Hellenistic Time ).

After 1922, the fallen capstone was returned to its original position and supported with a beam. However, since this beam was on fallen stones that came from the western doorway and now lay in the back doorway, it still could not be excavated. It was not until the summer of 1950 that these stones were removed from the doorway and the capstone was supported by a beam that rested directly on the rock floor. From July 11 to July 22, 1952, Alan Wace conducted further digs, examining the back of the gateway and the tholos. In addition to pottery shards, he discovered remains of gold and a bronze spearhead.

literature

Web links

Commons : Tomb of Epano Phournos  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alan Wace, Leicester Bodine Holland: Excavations at Mycenae. The Tholos tombs . In: The Annual of the British School at Athens . tape 25 , 1923, pp. 283-402 , doi : 10.1017 / S0068245400010352 .
  2. ^ William Martin Leake : Travels in the Morea . tape 2 . London 1830, p. 384–385 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).

Coordinates: 37 ° 43 ′ 42.4 "  N , 22 ° 45 ′ 6.7"  E