Knowing where to go and what to see is very important in
any travel plan, but some surprises can turn out to be true gems.
It so happened that I could visit the recently excavated cemetery of Akanthoy, near Ierissos, North
Chalkidikis. The finds date roughly from the 7th-6th century BC,
i.e., before Alexander and thus
something he would have known. According to Thucydides, the ancient city of Akanthos
was founded as a colony of Andros, or, if we
follow Plutarch, jointly by Andros
and Chalkis in the middle of the 7th century BC. It sat on top of a prehistoric
settlement. The city took the side of the Persians both in 499 BC (First
Persian War) and 480 BC (Second Persian War) and sided with the Athenians in
431 BC during the Peloponnesian War. With the expansion of Macedonia under Philip and Alexander, Akanthos
was incorporated into their kingdom. In 200 BC, the city was plundered by the
Romans and became a mere province.
The cemetery has been located underneath the modern city
of Ierissos. It has yielded more
than 14,000 findings confirming that the site was used all through the Roman
age. The best artifacts have, of course, been moved to the Archaeological Museum
of Polygyros.
One of the fascinating spots I happen to stumble upon by
chance is these lovingly cared-for tombs discovered in 2014, where everything
is kept in situ. I admire the
work of the archaeologists who managed to unearth these tombs from different
eras in superposed layers while leaving each one undisturbed by the excavation
of the others.
Jars of all sizes and shapes (varying with time)
alternate with small tombs, roofed or not. A few poignant small tombs still
contain the cremated remains with their original grave goods on top – little
earthen pots and jars that helped define the burial date. Also, skeletons of
what seem to be young children are surrounded by toy horses and miniature
vases. There also are many larger rectangular tombs in terracotta.
Outside, in front of an unmarked building, many larger
pots have been collected, some wrapped in protective plastic. They are all
waiting to be cataloged and studied together with smaller items filling
colorful crates. Archaeology requires a lot of patience!
No comments:
Post a Comment