DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12762#0060
KOUMASA
33
height of wall 1 m. to 1-50 m., thickness of wall 1-90 m. to 2-10 m., inner diameter tombs a, e
9-30 m. The construction is the same as that of the other tholoi, and the inward AND r
lean of the wall is very plain. The excavation found the doorway, as usual Tholos e
on the east side, well preserved, with the large slab that blocked it still in
position. There are twelve slabs projecting in a row about -30 m. above the
floor, arranged on either side of the doorway. On the inside the doorway is
1 m. wide and -70 m. high, on the outside -95 m. wide and -97 m. high. The
lintel, preserved in situ, consists of two very massive blocks -40 m. high, the outer
one being 2-15 m. long, and the inner 2-30 m. The rectangular built ante-room,
2-50 m. long and 1-75 m. wide, sunk to the level of the tholos floor, lies as usual
in front of the doorway to which it gave access. Its walls stand to a height
of 1-15 m. The descent into this ante-room was fairly deep, and a small ladder
may have been used, or there may have been steps, but of these no trace was
found. In the space in front of the ante-room, though they have now dis-
appeared, there had probably been chambers built for the deposit of sepulchral
gifts. A little further off is preserved a section of the paved court that was
also found in front of Tholos B.
In front of the doorway of B, where once must have been the rectangular The Regions
ante-room, I noticed strong marks of fire, the stones being blackened by flame betw^etnhthg To™bs
and smoke. Many bones greatly discoloured by fire were found here. The Space in front of
vases and skeletons were in layers one above the other, evidence that burials Tholos B
continued over a long period. The level of this ante-room or forecourt was
found to be a little lower than the floor of the tholos. Mention must also be
made of the areas between the tombs, for they, too, contained burials with a
good deal of gear to them.
These areas are, first, that marked Z (Plate LXI) stretching from the door-
way of B as far as E and the paved court; secondly, that marked A B between
A and B ; and thirdly, that between the three tombs A, E, and r marked A.
It is extremely probable that there were at Koumasa, as in the neighbour-
hood of other tholoi,1 small buildings or walled trenches outside the doorway
of each tholos, some to be used as tombs, others as store-rooms for the gifts
made by the living to the dead. These, however, were probably entirely above
ground and very lightly built, and must have fallen or been pulled to pieces
centuries ago, so that no actual buildings were brought to light by the excava-
tion, only a great mass of stones that must have come from the ruin of such
buildings. There were also some objects of great importance either contem-
porary with the contents of the tholoi or else of the following Middle Minoan
period.
As in B, so in A, r, and E, a large number of dead had been buried, Burial Strata
the thickness of the burial strata that contained the bones and the objects of the other
now to be described varying from half a metre to only a few centimetres. As
in B so here, as a result of their use over a long period, the bones had been
1 E.g. the large tholos of Hagfa Triada and Tholos A at Platanos.
E
33
height of wall 1 m. to 1-50 m., thickness of wall 1-90 m. to 2-10 m., inner diameter tombs a, e
9-30 m. The construction is the same as that of the other tholoi, and the inward AND r
lean of the wall is very plain. The excavation found the doorway, as usual Tholos e
on the east side, well preserved, with the large slab that blocked it still in
position. There are twelve slabs projecting in a row about -30 m. above the
floor, arranged on either side of the doorway. On the inside the doorway is
1 m. wide and -70 m. high, on the outside -95 m. wide and -97 m. high. The
lintel, preserved in situ, consists of two very massive blocks -40 m. high, the outer
one being 2-15 m. long, and the inner 2-30 m. The rectangular built ante-room,
2-50 m. long and 1-75 m. wide, sunk to the level of the tholos floor, lies as usual
in front of the doorway to which it gave access. Its walls stand to a height
of 1-15 m. The descent into this ante-room was fairly deep, and a small ladder
may have been used, or there may have been steps, but of these no trace was
found. In the space in front of the ante-room, though they have now dis-
appeared, there had probably been chambers built for the deposit of sepulchral
gifts. A little further off is preserved a section of the paved court that was
also found in front of Tholos B.
In front of the doorway of B, where once must have been the rectangular The Regions
ante-room, I noticed strong marks of fire, the stones being blackened by flame betw^etnhthg To™bs
and smoke. Many bones greatly discoloured by fire were found here. The Space in front of
vases and skeletons were in layers one above the other, evidence that burials Tholos B
continued over a long period. The level of this ante-room or forecourt was
found to be a little lower than the floor of the tholos. Mention must also be
made of the areas between the tombs, for they, too, contained burials with a
good deal of gear to them.
These areas are, first, that marked Z (Plate LXI) stretching from the door-
way of B as far as E and the paved court; secondly, that marked A B between
A and B ; and thirdly, that between the three tombs A, E, and r marked A.
It is extremely probable that there were at Koumasa, as in the neighbour-
hood of other tholoi,1 small buildings or walled trenches outside the doorway
of each tholos, some to be used as tombs, others as store-rooms for the gifts
made by the living to the dead. These, however, were probably entirely above
ground and very lightly built, and must have fallen or been pulled to pieces
centuries ago, so that no actual buildings were brought to light by the excava-
tion, only a great mass of stones that must have come from the ruin of such
buildings. There were also some objects of great importance either contem-
porary with the contents of the tholoi or else of the following Middle Minoan
period.
As in B, so in A, r, and E, a large number of dead had been buried, Burial Strata
the thickness of the burial strata that contained the bones and the objects of the other
now to be described varying from half a metre to only a few centimetres. As
in B so here, as a result of their use over a long period, the bones had been
1 E.g. the large tholos of Hagfa Triada and Tholos A at Platanos.
E