Together
with
Over the past seven years, excavations at Tenea have yielded a considerable amount of grave goods from the archaic cemetery all the way to later Hellenistic graves. It appears that in archaic times, offerings accompanying the dead are rare or sparse, but in Tenea, they were found in profusion. One Hellenistic grave, in particular, contained a gold-plated wreath, together with jewelry, richly decorated vessels, painted bone objects, and large numbers of lamps decorated with gladiators and masks. These images clearly referred to a theater, which was eventually unearthed, as well as an Odeon and a Stadium. Last year, Tenea’s public baths were located, including a solarium.
As late as 2018, archaeologists could trace a two-lane road from the late Mycenaean era that was still used far into the Roman times. The houses along this road were luxurious Hellenistic examples with marble floors, sewage pipes, and more common objects testifying of an active community.
The agora brought more interesting objects to light from its surrounding workshops, such as 30 gold seals, glassware, jewelry, and scales apparently left behind after a raid or some natural disaster.
Recently, archaeologists were able to expose a Roman Mausoleum that had been looted in antiquity. Still, other Roman burials yielded a rich collection of vessels, jewelry, together with glass and bronze artifacts. So much so that they state that these burials offerings alone could fill a museum! So far, they uncovered an average of 300 coins a year!
It seems that excavations till now were concentrated around the rich cemeteries. Nothing much has been said about the theater, the Odeon, the Baths, or the Stadium. Those remains are in a deplorable state.
If we believe
the legend, Tenea was founded by the
Trojans. Supposedly, Agamemnon brought them
to
Updated 6 June 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment