Corinth - Tripoli - Kalamata motorway - 2010

Corinth - Tripoli - Kalamata mortorway, Leuktro - Sparta branch, Kyparissi. KM 16+100 and 16+033. Maria Florou (5th EBA) reports on the continuation of a rescue excavation begun by Ε΄ ΕΠΚΑ during the construction of the motorway that uncovered 29 graves. The 5th EBA uncovered a further 46 tombs. Altogether 80 tombs, aligned NW-SE, were identified and investigated. In general terms they were not in good condition.

Two types were recorded: cist (Figs. 1-2) and tile covered (Figs. 3-5) graves. There were 4 cist graves made from unworked limestone, schist, and a few fragments of bricks in the joints, with lime mortar and they were covered with local schist slabs. The most plentiful type of tomb, however, was the tile-covered variety (76 in total). They were demarcated by stones and most of them were preserved with a covering of one to two hollow tiles. No floor was found in any grave and all were dug into the earth. Generally, the burials were without grave goods. In a few graves personal items (earrings, fibulae) were identified. A notable element is the absence of small finds from the entire excavated area. In the cemetery excavated, inhumation dominated. However, the practice of retrieving the bones was noted in three cases and no evidence of cremation was observed.

At KM 16+033, which is located near (to the S) of KM 16+100, 5 more tile-covered graves (Figs. 6-8), which also belong to the cemetery, were identified and investigated. On the basis of a few finds the cemetery can be dated to later Roman times and should be associated with a nearby residential facility.

In the same area (i.e. KM 16+080), Ε΄ ΕΠΚΑ brought to light a farmhouse and two cisterns of the Roman/late Roman period.

[Entry created by E. Strazdins]