Lions Tomb (Mycenae)

Dromos and entrance to the lions' tomb

Collapsed dome of the tomb

Lions grave ( Greek τάφων των Λεόντων ) is a tholos tomb in Mycenae called. The tomb was named after the famous Lion Gate , as it was the closest known Tholos tomb in the early 19th century - it is located about 120 m northwest of the gate. According to Alan Wace's classification , it belongs to the second Tholos group and dates to the Late Helladic Period (SH II AB). It was built around 1450 BC. Built in BC.

description

The access path ( Dromos ), which has largely collapsed today, is flanked by two walls made of large cuboids and is 22 m long and 4.50 m wide. It leads from the north side of the slope to the gate. The facade of the gate was built from Poros limestone blocks and the doorway (stomion) from precisely hewn conglomerate blocks. The doorway is covered with 4 monumental capstones, whereby the curve of the grave dome was worked into the inner capstone. The dome, which has since collapsed, has a diameter of about 14 meters and is made of differently sized, mostly flat stones. The original height of the dome is estimated to be around 15 m. 3 grave pits were found within the tholos.

The grave already appears on the plans of Mycenae by William Gell (1810) and William Martin Leake (1830). In 1892 it was excavated by Christos Tsountas .

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 Gell: The itinerary of Greece: With a commentary on Pausanias and Strabo and an account of the monuments of antiquity at present existing in that country . London 1810, plan 3, p. 28 ( digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de [accessed on April 27, 2014]).
3. ^ William Martin Leake: Travels in Morea . tape 2 . John Murray , London 1830, Plan 4 ( archive.org ).

literature

• Richard Speicher: Peloponnese . 2nd Edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-17-010031-9 , pp. 126; 129 .
• George E. Mylonas : Mycenae. A guide to its ruins and history . Ekdotike Athenon, Athens 1993, ISBN 960-213-213-2 , pp. 71 .

Web links

Commons : Lions Tomb  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Μυκήνες (Mycenae). Retrieved April 27, 2014 (Greek). 
• Mycenaean Tholos Tombs and Early Mycenaean Settlements. Retrieved April 27, 2014 . 

Coordinates: 37 ° 43 ′ 53.6 ″  N , 22 ° 45 ′ 20 ″  E