165-212

The tumulus at Parapotamos

• Πρέκα-Αλεξανδρή, Καλλιόπη

At the village of Parapotamos in Thesprotia, at longitude 30° 15' and latitude 39° 45', and at a height of 50 m. above sea level, there is an artificial mound 5 m. high and 50 m. in diameter, which was used as a cemetery.The excavation of this hill revealed 88 tombs, two enclosures, and three small semicircular structures of indeterminate use.The tombs discovered were located throughout the entire area of the mound, which takes the form of a tumulus, and were less dense on the north-west side and more densely packed on the south-east side. With very few exceptions, the orientation of the tombs was east-west.Of the tombs investigated, 82 were cist-graves, two rock-cut tombs, three stone-enclosures, and one jar burial.The surface of the tumulus was covered with a thin layer of dark brown earth containing a large number of plant roots. The layer ranged in thickness from 0,05-0,25 m. and was thinner on the top of the hill and the south-west side and thicker on the south-east side; in it were discovered tombs 20, 34, 61, 62 and 63.This was followed by a layer of brown earth containing small pebbles, in which were found almost all the tombs in the cemetery. This layer covered the entire area of the tumulus except for the lower parts on the north-west side where there were no tombs.The third layer consisted of yellow sandy soil containing large pebbles densely packed together. This layer covered the larger part of the tumulus, and was deeper on the south-east side than on the north-west. On the north and west sides the lowest layer to be found, beneath the surface layer, was of yellow sandy soil, in which Tomb 42 was discovered.The grave offerings in the tombs consisted mainly of metal jewellery. The largest category of jewellery is formed by earrings, rings, spirals (T 12), crescents (T 35), basket-earring (T 6), with biconical beads (T 19, T 31, T 63, T 72, T 74, T 86), with pierced beads (T 33) and with knots (T 33).These are followed by bracelets, which consist of rings and bands, finger-rings, which have a raised bezel, and are formed of rings or bands, and pieces were also found of metal cut-outs, a wreath and a fibula.On the basis of the jewellery, the typology of the tombs, and the coins, the tombs are dated to the Hellenistic period (T 12, T 39, T 43, T 46 and T 81), the Roman period (T 69, T 67 and T 76), and the Early Christian - Early Byzantine (T 6) and Middle Byzantine periods (the rest of the tombs). The relatively large number of tombs dating from the Middle Byzantine period actually excavated at Parapotamos, or of tombs with similar features that are reported to have been discovered in the past and have been destroyed or excavated occasionally at various sites near the tumulus, suggest that during this period there was a flourishing, important settlement in Thespro- tia, the members of which practised burial customs similar to those of other settlements in the Balkans, namely:1. The construction of cemeteries in the form of a tumulus.2. The use of cemetery sites dating from earlier periods.3. The use of enclosures to mark off a tomb or tombs, or for social reason.4. The use of any available local material to build the tombs.5. The cist type of tombs coexists with the anthropomorphic type.6. No grave marker has been discovered, either because the custom had not yet been introduced at Parapotamos, or because graves were marked by erecting a pile of earth on them, which could easily be removed or destroyed.7. When it was necessary to reuse the tomb, the bones were exhumed and the offerings of the previous burial removed and placed in a specially constructed area on the east side of it.8. Within the tomb, the body was placed in the extended position, with the head resting on a stone or between two stones, the arms usually placed on the breast, and the body normally oriented west to east, in accordance with the Christian practice.9. The fact that the majority of the grave offerings consist of metal jewellery is due to the circumstance that this jewellery was an inseparable part of the dress worn on various occasions, including for burial purposes. The jewellery was part of the personal property of the dead person. At Parapotamos, the jewellery was mass-produced, of cast bronze, similar to that found in tombs of villagers in various parts of the Balkans.10. In those cases where it is possible to establish that the deceased were women, it is clear that they were buried with larger numbers of jewellery than the men. Each occupant of the male tombs T 45, T 51 and T 58 was accompanied by only a bronze ring as a grave offering.The small number of tombs of earlier periods excavated at Parapotamos prevents us from drawing any general conclusions about them.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Pottery, Greek
• Decorative arts
• Burial

Περιέχει σχέδια, παράρτημα και βιβλιογραφία, Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύχος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες