Agios Vasileios (Xerokampi) - 2015

Agios Vasileios (Xerokampi). A. Vasilogamvrou (ASA) reports on continued excavation (Fig. 1).

A new poros-stone pillar base was found in the so-called West Stoa. In the area of the Archive several tens more tablet fragments and two clay sealings were collected. The majority lay in the pure Mycenaean destruction level of the first storey, on the floor and around two large pithoi. Under the fragments of pithos burnt mudbricks were uncovered, placed on the floor in two or three courses. Presumably they were niches or supports for the pithoi. Beneath the floor of the first story a deep layer of red clay was found, which originated from its plastering. The larger, central section of the floor is almost horizontal and stands on the layer of clay, while many other floor fragments are embedded in it in different orientations, including vertical. Their location indicates the probable location of horizontal beams.

To date the Archive of tablets numbers 119 fragments and contains leaf- and page-shaped tablets. The material refers to two basic areas of palatial activity: collection and redistribution of goods, made clear by the use of administrative/economic terms known from the Mycenaean archives. Recording included the submission of taxes in the form of various commodities, offerings to a sanctuary or sanctuaries, place-names and proper names. One sealing refers to the title wanax in the genitive case, wa-na-ko-to (Fig. 2). According to the ceramics from the West Stoa, its destruction and that of the Archive room are dated to the LH IIIA1-early IIIA2 period.

East of the central core of Building A, area 11 was partially investigated, where small pits with intense indications of burning were found, which had been covered with a layer of yellow clay. These pits were characterised as ‘pyres’ and it was ascertained that they contained remains of burnt animal bones and various small valuable finds (a bronze arrow point, a stone sword pommel, glass and cornelian beads, a sealstone, small Egyptian scarabs, gold inlays, etc.). The excavator suggests that this was a courtyard, probably belonging to Building A, and linked to rites which were taking place there.

In the North Cemetery investigation of the large built tomb 21 was completed; it contained altogether 30 burials, some primary and many secondary. Two tombs were investigated: one a simple pit with one primary burial, the other a cist built of small schist slabs, which had no offerings and contained 3 primary and 4 disturbed burials.