DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12762#0083
56
THE VAULTED TOMBS OF MESARA
porti room (a on Plate LXII), measuring 3-20 m. from north to south and 1-75 m.
tholos n from east to west. Its walls stand to a height of -55 m. above the present
ground level.
The inward lean of the circuit wall of the tholos is very plain. The outer
face has nine slabs projecting at the same level, six in the north-eastern quarter
and three in the south-western. There must have been others that have
disappeared with the fall of the wall.
The Burial Inside the tholos the burial stratum was from -30 m. to -40 m. thick, and
stratum consisted of earth mixed with bones blackened generally from much exposure
to fire and smoke, in fact the spots where the burial stratum was not black
were few, and in many places the effect of the fire had been powerful enough
to blacken bones and earth right through. Nowhere else have I observed the
blackening carried to such an extent. The quantity, too, of the bones in this
tholos was stupendous; the whole of the covering stratum was made up of
bones mixed with a little earth and a few stones. At the lowest estimate the
bodies that they represent must have totalled many hundreds. The floor of
the tholos, which is the natural soft yellow sandstone of this region, slopes
downwards from the south.
interments After excavating and cleaning up Tholos n, I continued operations on the
on the same plateau to the south and east of the tomb, and ascertained that the whole
plateau q£ foe plateau had been a cemetery containing many interments in small tombs
lying close to the surface, or else in pithoi. Tillage, however, and denudation
had caused most of them to disappear, leaving any remains and sepulchral
objects few and far between. Many of the stones from these tombs had been
piled by the farmers in a heap about two metres south of the tholos. This
heap I caused to be moved, and under it and round about it I found traces of
interments and some important objects, including the terracotta ibex or wild
goat to be described later (No. 5114, Plate XXXVII).
Immediately outside the doorway of Tholos IT, to the north of the ante-
room, were two roughly oblong spaces enclosed by walls ([3 and y on Plate LXII).
They had one common wall between them and touched the circuit wall of the
Enclosure tholos at their west end. In these spaces were the skeletons of many inter-
Burials ments. The long sides of (3 measured respectively 3-25 m. and 2-90 m., and
the breadth was 1-82 m. ; while y was a deep walled trench with an extant
length of 4-20 m. and breadth of 1-15 m.
In (3, at the level of the floor of the tholos, were found fragments of coarse
pithoi, and larnakes, and some plain ordinary cups. The presumption is that
this place was a burial enclosure like the one called 8 above. There was no
trace of fire or smoke on the bones found in it.
Trench for Bones More interesting is the trench y. More than 1-50 m. deep, it was filled
to the brim with bones, among which were a few bits of Middle Minoan pithoi.
My workmen recognised it at once as an ossuary. With the bones were grouped
a few clay vases (most of them M.M. I cups, but some that are perhaps
THE VAULTED TOMBS OF MESARA
porti room (a on Plate LXII), measuring 3-20 m. from north to south and 1-75 m.
tholos n from east to west. Its walls stand to a height of -55 m. above the present
ground level.
The inward lean of the circuit wall of the tholos is very plain. The outer
face has nine slabs projecting at the same level, six in the north-eastern quarter
and three in the south-western. There must have been others that have
disappeared with the fall of the wall.
The Burial Inside the tholos the burial stratum was from -30 m. to -40 m. thick, and
stratum consisted of earth mixed with bones blackened generally from much exposure
to fire and smoke, in fact the spots where the burial stratum was not black
were few, and in many places the effect of the fire had been powerful enough
to blacken bones and earth right through. Nowhere else have I observed the
blackening carried to such an extent. The quantity, too, of the bones in this
tholos was stupendous; the whole of the covering stratum was made up of
bones mixed with a little earth and a few stones. At the lowest estimate the
bodies that they represent must have totalled many hundreds. The floor of
the tholos, which is the natural soft yellow sandstone of this region, slopes
downwards from the south.
interments After excavating and cleaning up Tholos n, I continued operations on the
on the same plateau to the south and east of the tomb, and ascertained that the whole
plateau q£ foe plateau had been a cemetery containing many interments in small tombs
lying close to the surface, or else in pithoi. Tillage, however, and denudation
had caused most of them to disappear, leaving any remains and sepulchral
objects few and far between. Many of the stones from these tombs had been
piled by the farmers in a heap about two metres south of the tholos. This
heap I caused to be moved, and under it and round about it I found traces of
interments and some important objects, including the terracotta ibex or wild
goat to be described later (No. 5114, Plate XXXVII).
Immediately outside the doorway of Tholos IT, to the north of the ante-
room, were two roughly oblong spaces enclosed by walls ([3 and y on Plate LXII).
They had one common wall between them and touched the circuit wall of the
Enclosure tholos at their west end. In these spaces were the skeletons of many inter-
Burials ments. The long sides of (3 measured respectively 3-25 m. and 2-90 m., and
the breadth was 1-82 m. ; while y was a deep walled trench with an extant
length of 4-20 m. and breadth of 1-15 m.
In (3, at the level of the floor of the tholos, were found fragments of coarse
pithoi, and larnakes, and some plain ordinary cups. The presumption is that
this place was a burial enclosure like the one called 8 above. There was no
trace of fire or smoke on the bones found in it.
Trench for Bones More interesting is the trench y. More than 1-50 m. deep, it was filled
to the brim with bones, among which were a few bits of Middle Minoan pithoi.
My workmen recognised it at once as an ossuary. With the bones were grouped
a few clay vases (most of them M.M. I cups, but some that are perhaps