Christianoi - Church of the Transfiguration - 2013

Christianoi - Church of the Transfiguration. Sofia Sakkari (Ephorate of Antiquities of Messenia) reports the following:

Founded by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in the 11th century AD, the church of the Transfiguration at Christianoi is one of the most important Byzantine churches in Messenia. Excavations carried out inside its narthex in 2011- 2013 revealed 29 pit graves containing 58 inhumations, including eight children. Most of the tombs included secondary burials. The deceased were in a supine position, facing east, their arms crossed under the chest, with stones and tile fragments propping the head. Several tombs contained offerings, such as bowls and jugs, near the deceased’s head, pelvis, or feet. Some contained metal jewellery and implements from the deceased’s garments and belts. This paper presents three of the excavated tombs (Tombs II, XVII.II and XXII.IV). Evidence from the ongoing conservation and study of the artefacts dates the cemetery to the 13th-14th centuries AD.