DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12762#0031
4
THE VAULTED TOMBS OF MESARA
tombs and preserved. The tombs had collapsed in antiquity, apparently before Roman
settlement times, for right on top of the mound above Tholos B I found a grave covered
at koumasa by two terracotta tiles on one of which the Latin letter R had been stamped
Roman Graves before baking.
In the grave was a skeleton of a man and three small clay flasks of
Roman date. A similar grave was found in the mound between the two
tholoi, A and B, and contained a skeleton, a glass flask, and a Roman terra-
cotta lamp.
The first of the tombs to be recognised was that partly broken down by the
peasants, Tholos B, the most important of the four from the great quantity of its
sepulchral contents.
Next came the small tholos, A, and then the square tomb, r, and last the
large tholos, E, which, as we shall see, had been plundered of its contents in
antiquity.
As for the space between the tombs, where burials had also taken place
and objects were found, that between the tombs A and B is denoted by the
letters A B, and that between the tombs A and E by the letter A (Plate LXI).
tholos b II. THOLOS B
Construction From the nature of the ground no great work of preparation had been
needed for the construction of Tholos B. They simply dug a few centimetres
into the gently sloping ground till they reached the living rock, and on the
firm base thus obtained they began to build the circular wall; thus the floor
of the tomb and the foundations of its wall lie only a few inches below the
surrounding ground. Much the same thing was noticed in the other Mesara
tholoi.1
The Circular Wall The circular wall is built of large and small undressed stones bonded by a
quantity of clay. It does not rise perpendicularly but leans clearly inwards,
as can best be seen where it is preserved to some height. That is to say, it is a
tholos of the early type, built by the method known as corbelling, in which
each succeeding course projects inwards over the one below, a method that is
found in the other tholoi of Mesara, and also in the late Mycenaean tholoi of the
mainland.
The Doorway The doorway, as always in the Mesara tholoi, lies to the east. It consisted
of large stone uprights supporting a massive lintel, as we can safely deduce
from the tholoi, A and E, and from the tholos, IT, at Porti, of which the doorways
are preserved. These are megalithic in type, reproducing the form of a
trilithon (Plate XVI b), and thus resembling the megalithic dolmens of western
1An exception is the small tholos of Hagi'a depth of about 2 m., and even so the floor of the
Triada which was excavated by Sig. Paribeni. tomb was left sloping {Monumenti Antichi, vol.
There, because of the steep slope of the ground, XIV, pp. 679-680, fig. 1).
the actual rock was cut away on one side to a
THE VAULTED TOMBS OF MESARA
tombs and preserved. The tombs had collapsed in antiquity, apparently before Roman
settlement times, for right on top of the mound above Tholos B I found a grave covered
at koumasa by two terracotta tiles on one of which the Latin letter R had been stamped
Roman Graves before baking.
In the grave was a skeleton of a man and three small clay flasks of
Roman date. A similar grave was found in the mound between the two
tholoi, A and B, and contained a skeleton, a glass flask, and a Roman terra-
cotta lamp.
The first of the tombs to be recognised was that partly broken down by the
peasants, Tholos B, the most important of the four from the great quantity of its
sepulchral contents.
Next came the small tholos, A, and then the square tomb, r, and last the
large tholos, E, which, as we shall see, had been plundered of its contents in
antiquity.
As for the space between the tombs, where burials had also taken place
and objects were found, that between the tombs A and B is denoted by the
letters A B, and that between the tombs A and E by the letter A (Plate LXI).
tholos b II. THOLOS B
Construction From the nature of the ground no great work of preparation had been
needed for the construction of Tholos B. They simply dug a few centimetres
into the gently sloping ground till they reached the living rock, and on the
firm base thus obtained they began to build the circular wall; thus the floor
of the tomb and the foundations of its wall lie only a few inches below the
surrounding ground. Much the same thing was noticed in the other Mesara
tholoi.1
The Circular Wall The circular wall is built of large and small undressed stones bonded by a
quantity of clay. It does not rise perpendicularly but leans clearly inwards,
as can best be seen where it is preserved to some height. That is to say, it is a
tholos of the early type, built by the method known as corbelling, in which
each succeeding course projects inwards over the one below, a method that is
found in the other tholoi of Mesara, and also in the late Mycenaean tholoi of the
mainland.
The Doorway The doorway, as always in the Mesara tholoi, lies to the east. It consisted
of large stone uprights supporting a massive lintel, as we can safely deduce
from the tholoi, A and E, and from the tholos, IT, at Porti, of which the doorways
are preserved. These are megalithic in type, reproducing the form of a
trilithon (Plate XVI b), and thus resembling the megalithic dolmens of western
1An exception is the small tholos of Hagi'a depth of about 2 m., and even so the floor of the
Triada which was excavated by Sig. Paribeni. tomb was left sloping {Monumenti Antichi, vol.
There, because of the steep slope of the ground, XIV, pp. 679-680, fig. 1).
the actual rock was cut away on one side to a