DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1021#0443
388 THE MYCENAEAN AGE
The graves are simple quadrangular pits 3 to 4 feet long, lj to l£
feet broad, and I1 to 2 feet deep. The sides were lined with stone
slabs, and two or three larger slabs formed a covering. The bottom was
not of stone, but in some cases (it is said) there was a bed of sea sand
and pebbles. But one body was buried in each grave, and that not
stretched at full length (which was of course out of the question, con-
sidering the narrow dimensions), but in a half-sitting posture, with the
legs well drawn up. Among the graves were two circular pits, lined
with stone like the rest. One of these contained an earthen vase full of
bones, the other a similar vase full of ashes. Of the style of these vases
we are not informed, nor do we know what offerings, if any, were found
with them; but from the descriptions we infer that these two pits are
contemporaneous with the other graves. Since no other instance of
cremation has yet been observed in Mycenaean times,—if we except
the one reported from the lower town at Troy (p. 372), — Kabbadias
concludes that the cemetery of Salamis belongs to a transition stage
between the Mycenaean and Homeric epochs. That the objects found
in these graves date from the very end of the Mycenaean age is entirely
clear. The vases are generally small, and include false-necked am-
phorae, prochooi, two-eared vases with wide* mouths, and one-eared
shyplwi. The ornaments are the usual bands, zigzags, and spirals, and
the colors are carelessly applied. Besides the pottery were found plain
bronze finger-rings, and bronze fibulae of the form shown in Fig. 57,
except that the " bow" is not parallel to the pin, but is much more
curved. Finally, the 'only gold finds were small hair-clasps (spirals of
gold wire), worn to hold the locks in place, as in the case of Euphorbus,
— irXox/LOt 6', ui xfjvtrui re kiu a/yyvpw etTt/njicioi'To.1
On Aegina Mr. Staes has discovered, near the harbor of the modern
city and close to the so-called temple of Aphrodite, remains of small
dwellings, with many fragments of pottery. The site is a hill com-
manding both harbors, and seems to have been a primitive acropolis.
The houses consist of series of chambers built of small stones bonded*
with clay mortar. On one side of some of these rooms there is a pyra-
mid-shaped door much like those of the Tiryns corridors, but only about
3 feet in height. Over a portion of these ruins was built a Hellenic
house of the sixth or seventh century E. c.
Some of the vases found here are glazed, and belong to an advanced
stage of Mycenaean ceramic art, while others are of a more ancient
type. Among these last are two large vases of the familiar " suspension "
type, almost cylindrical in form, with fragments of others of the same
kind; the ground is of a reddish or greenish shade, with ornaments in
dull black. A similar vase has been found on the Athenian Acropolis.
» Iliad, xvii. 52.
The graves are simple quadrangular pits 3 to 4 feet long, lj to l£
feet broad, and I1 to 2 feet deep. The sides were lined with stone
slabs, and two or three larger slabs formed a covering. The bottom was
not of stone, but in some cases (it is said) there was a bed of sea sand
and pebbles. But one body was buried in each grave, and that not
stretched at full length (which was of course out of the question, con-
sidering the narrow dimensions), but in a half-sitting posture, with the
legs well drawn up. Among the graves were two circular pits, lined
with stone like the rest. One of these contained an earthen vase full of
bones, the other a similar vase full of ashes. Of the style of these vases
we are not informed, nor do we know what offerings, if any, were found
with them; but from the descriptions we infer that these two pits are
contemporaneous with the other graves. Since no other instance of
cremation has yet been observed in Mycenaean times,—if we except
the one reported from the lower town at Troy (p. 372), — Kabbadias
concludes that the cemetery of Salamis belongs to a transition stage
between the Mycenaean and Homeric epochs. That the objects found
in these graves date from the very end of the Mycenaean age is entirely
clear. The vases are generally small, and include false-necked am-
phorae, prochooi, two-eared vases with wide* mouths, and one-eared
shyplwi. The ornaments are the usual bands, zigzags, and spirals, and
the colors are carelessly applied. Besides the pottery were found plain
bronze finger-rings, and bronze fibulae of the form shown in Fig. 57,
except that the " bow" is not parallel to the pin, but is much more
curved. Finally, the 'only gold finds were small hair-clasps (spirals of
gold wire), worn to hold the locks in place, as in the case of Euphorbus,
— irXox/LOt 6', ui xfjvtrui re kiu a/yyvpw etTt/njicioi'To.1
On Aegina Mr. Staes has discovered, near the harbor of the modern
city and close to the so-called temple of Aphrodite, remains of small
dwellings, with many fragments of pottery. The site is a hill com-
manding both harbors, and seems to have been a primitive acropolis.
The houses consist of series of chambers built of small stones bonded*
with clay mortar. On one side of some of these rooms there is a pyra-
mid-shaped door much like those of the Tiryns corridors, but only about
3 feet in height. Over a portion of these ruins was built a Hellenic
house of the sixth or seventh century E. c.
Some of the vases found here are glazed, and belong to an advanced
stage of Mycenaean ceramic art, while others are of a more ancient
type. Among these last are two large vases of the familiar " suspension "
type, almost cylindrical in form, with fragments of others of the same
kind; the ground is of a reddish or greenish shade, with ornaments in
dull black. A similar vase has been found on the Athenian Acropolis.
» Iliad, xvii. 52.