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The mycenaean cemetery at Varkiza/Vari

• Πολυχρονάκου-Σγουρίτσα, Νάγια

The excavations in the area of the Mycenaean tombs at Varkiza/Vari have been carried out at different sites and in different periods and the nature of the investigation has been fragmentary.In 1951, D.R. Theocharis, then an epimelitis, excavated a typical LH II pit grave in the east part of the plain of Varkiza, 400 m to the east of the main road from Varkiza to Vari, and about 900 m from the coast; in it, he found a body and three LH IIA/B vases. To the north of the tomb, he also noted the foundations of a prehistoric building with an apsidal plan, about which we have no further information.In 1953 he investigated two chamber tombs, one of which (t. II) yielded some important finds, to the west (t. I) and southwest (t. II) of the previous grave, at Lathouriza and Kamini respectively. Both tombs had a side-chamber and an additional niche had been carved in the main chamber of t. II; this niche was unplundered and contained, amongst other things, the famous Varkiza Cretan kalathos/rhyton. According to the existing evidence, t. II continued in use from the end of the 15th (LH IIB/IIIA) to the 13th (LH III1/2) centuries BC.At this same time, Theocharis located a Cyclopean structure on the Kamini hill; this had already been referred to as a prehistoric structure by G. Oikonomou, but confirmation of this remains a matter for further investigation.In 1960, I. Kondis, the Ephor, and V. Petrakos, who was epimelitis at the time, discovered two chamber tombs (t. 1 and 6) and six pit graves (t. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8) in the area of the Kamini hill; two of the latter had been dug into the chamber and dromos of chamber tomb 1. Only the two chamber tombs were excavated, because the others had been destroyed by mechanical ploughing. T. 1 was the larger of the two and contained a large number of vases and sherds, including some with interesting decoration, some Φ-type figurines, bronze and lead objects, glasspaste beads, bone pins and steatite loomweights. The earliest finds in this group of tombs belong to the beginning of the 14th century BC (LH III A) and the latest to the 12th century (early LH IIIC).In 1968, A. Vavritsas excavated three more chamber tombs (t. 1, 2, 3) in the same area. Some very important finds came from these tombs, mainly vases, including a large number that were tin-plated, dating from LH IIA/B (askos NM 4922, t. 2-4) to early middle LH IIIC, attesting to the continuity of settlement in the area after the middle of the 12th century BC.Finally, in 1974, two more chamber tombs were discovered in this same area (t. I and II). The most important object discovered, in a pit in t. I, was a gilded finger-ring of the LH IIIA2 period bearing a scene of a horse and a male figure.Of the existing evidence, the grave offerings from pit grave 1951 and the exquisitely decorated askos from t. 2, 1968 belong to the LH IIA/B period and are evidence for settlement in the area from the middle of the 15th century BC. Although the finds are few in number, they exhibit two of the trends found in Attica at this period: the local production, which had assimilated the styles of the main workshops, and the survival of the MH tradition.Most of the finds came from the west part of Varkiza, from the area of the Kamini hill. The LH IIB/IIIA period is clearly attested by the grave offerings, particularly those in t. II, 1953: a Cretan kalathos, an Argive pithoid amphoriskos decorated with nautiluses, a beaked jug, also decorated with nautiluses, and the solidly painted, two-handled kylix in the MH tradition FS 263: finds similar to these have been discovered in most of the tombs. It may be concluded from t. II in particular that at the beginning of the 14th century the settlement there was able to import high quality goods and participated in the broader population movements of the period. Their access to these products, especially to the Cretan kalathos, was probably direct, given the privileged position of the gulf of Varkiza on the north-south sea-route.Most of the tombs furnish evidence for a smooth continuity. The LH IIIA1 and LH IIIA1/2 finds are not many in number but are indicative evidence. Imported products seem to have dwindled in number and were replaced by local imitations, in most cases of very good quality, such as the richly decorated beaked jug from chamber tomb t. 1, 1960. The picture that emerges, mainly from the pottery, is of Varkiza enjoying relations with both neighbouring and distant settlements in Attica, at Vourvatsi, Kopreza, Pikermi, Thorikos, Vravrona, Velanideza, Alyki, Phaleron etc, as well as with the major Mycenaean centres.The same picture emerges during the 14th century. The settlement continued to grow, and enjoyed contacts with the rest of Attica, the islands, mainly those close by, the Argolid, and Boeotia. The variety observable in the local pottery production and the wide use of tin-plated pottery suggest prosperity and the existence of a ruling class. Individual objects of this period include a gilded finger-ring from chamber tomb 1, 1974 and, probably, the two sealstones from tomb 3, 1968.The settlement continued to flourish throughout the whole of the following LH IIIB period. The variety of pottery shapes and decorative motifs, the production of some of the painted pottery and the continued production of tin-plated pottery down to almost the end of the 13th century BC attest to uninterrupted evolution and continuous contact with the rest of Attica and with Athens, Aegina, Salamis, the centres of the Argolid and, probably, the Cyclades and the Dodecanese.This prosperity does not seem to have been interrupted during the troubled early LH IIIC period. Despite the use of mainly traditional types and motifs in the pottery, the adoption of a few new shapes and a number of exclusively LH IIIC motifs and the production of painted pottery indicate that the settlement was still in contact with the new and old centres at Perati, Salamis, Athens, Tiryns and Mycenae and was endeavouring to adjust to the conditions of the new age.The settlement at Varkiza seems to have continued in existence for a longer period than the other known settlements on the west coast of Attica, Ayios Kosmas, Alyki and probably Vourvatsi. The existing evidence, however, does not confirm its existence beyond the middle of the 12th century BC. The site was abandoned, but was reoccupied at the end of the Protogeometric period, and flourished again in the Archaic and Classical periods.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Burial
• Excavations (Archaeology)
• Pottery, Greek

Η μελέτη αυτή δε θα είχε πραγματοποιηθεί χωρίς την παραχώρηση του υλικού από τους ανασκαφείς Εφόρους κ.κ. Β. Πετράκο και Α. Βαβρίτσα, τους οποίους ευχαριστώ θερμά. Επίσης, ευχαριστώ ιδιαίτερα το διευθυντή του Μουσείου Πειραιώς κ. Γ. Σταϊνχάουερ, καθώς και τη διευθύντρια της Προϊστορικής Συλλογής του Εθνικού Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου κ. Κ. Δημακοπούλου, που με διευκόλυναν κατά τη διάρκεια της ερευνάς μου εκεί. Τις ευχαριστίες μου εκφράζω στην κ. Μ.Δ. Θεοχάρη, η οποία παρεχώρησε για μελέτη το αρχείο του Δ.Ρ. Θεοχάρη, αλλά και, πάλι, στον Έφορο κ. Β. Πετράκο, που μου επέτρεψε να συμπεριλάβω τα ευρήματα των ανασκαφών Θεοχάρη (1951 και 1953) και να χρησιμοποιήσω το αρχείο του, που βρίσκεται στη Β' Εφορεία.Οι φωτογραφίες των αντικειμένων από την ανασκαφή του Α. Βαβρίτσα, των εικονιστικών οστράκων και των σχεδίων και διαγραμμάτων από το αρχείο Δ.Ρ. Θεοχάρη οφείλονται στο συνάδελφο κ. Γ. Σταθόπουλο, τον οποίο ευχαριστώ ιδιαίτερα, της προχοΐσκης ΕΜ 7104, του καλάθου-ρυτού ΕΜ 8556 και του σκαραβαίου ΕΜ 13772 στον κ. Γ. Σαρακίνη, ενώ οι υπόλοιπες λήψεις έγιναν από τον κ. Η. Ηλιάδη. Οι παραστάσεις των εικονιστικιόν οστράκων σχεδιάστηκαν από την αρχαιολόγο κ. Sidan Kazempour, ενώ το δύσκολο έργο της αποκατάστασης της παράστασης των ταύρων και του πλοίου καθώς και το σχέδιο των τριών σωζομένων ψαριών του καλάθου-ρυτού ανέλαβε η συνάδελφος κ. Χρ. Τελεβάντου, την οποία ευχαριστώ θερμά. Ιδιαίτερα, επίσης, ευχαριστώ την κ. Ντιάνα Ζαφειροπούλου, που επιμελήθηκε το κείμενο, για την εξαιρετική υπομονή και εργασία της., Περιέχει 12 σχέδια, συμπεράσματα και συντομογραφίες., Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύχος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες.