Nafplio - 2010

Nafplio, Asklepiou Avenue, (O. T. 223, property of factory ‘Kyknos’). Christos Piteros (Δ’ΕΠΚΑ) reports on discoveries during the construction of a large four-storey building (Fig. 1). On the western side of the excavation area (basement A), an incomplete geometric burial vessel (no. 1), in lateral position, with an infant pithos burial and sherds of fragmented vessels were found. A series of three graves aligned E-W were found 26 m south of the NE corner of the basement. Tomb 2, a tile-covered grave was decorated by a broken Archaic collared jar and a small amphora. Inside the tomb, a handmade Archaic cooking pot was found and the amphora was placed at its mouth. Tomb 3, with limestone cover slabs, contained an adult skeleton in supine position, decorated with 2 kotyles. At the bottom there was a tile of Laconian type of a dark colour. Tomb 4, also tile-covered, contained a supine adult skeleton. The graves date to the late Archaic period.

11 m west of these tombs, a pithos burial (no. 5) was found with a conical base in lateral position and covered by limestone slabs. It was oriented E-W, with the broken mouth to the west due to second use. Outside on the south side of the pithos, 4 late Geometric fragmented kraters were found in series. Inside the pithos, a disturbed burial of an adult woman, sherds of broken vessels, bronze rings and a bronze pin were found. Pithos burial no. 6 (E-W). It was found 1.3-1.4 m west of burial no. 5, in lateral position with mouth to the west. The pithos is piriform, in good condition. There was a poros plate at the mouth. Outside on the N and S sides, fragments of a late Geometric krater were found. The pithos had been used for a second burial and inside there were disturbed adult bones.

During the cleaning of the grave important funerary goods of the late Archaic to early Classical period of a disarticulated female burial were found at the bottom of the pithos. In the deepest part of the pithos, there were:

1. four sections of characteristic iron rods, corroded, with a square cross-section (Fig. 2). These are most likely sections of ancient keys.

2. A hammered iron sheet, consisting of 3 forged joined plates (Fig. 2).

3. Two bronze spiral bracelets, forming 5 and 4 coils respectively and end in spheroidal biconic terminals.

4. Three bronze rings, one crushed, one intact, and one fragmentary.

5. Large bronze bowed fibula, made from thin leaves of copper welded from many pieces.

6. Three large bronze fibulae, as well as 22 fragments of bronze and 7 of iron fibulae.

7. A large section of an iron cheese-grater, welded from three sections (Fig. 3).

8. Six beads of rock crystal.

9. Three beads of glass paste.

10. A significant number of small beads of lapis lazuli.

The richly decorated nature of the woman’s burial suggests the deceased was an important person and, given the iron bars that were probably keys, was in the excavator’s opinion a priestess of the late Archaic to early Classical period.

Adult pit burial no. 7 was found on the south side of the basement, oriented E-W and without grave goods, with the head to the west and in contracted position. Sherds date the burial to the archaic period.

In basement B, 5.8-6 m north of the first, two poros cist graves (nos. 8 and 9) were found in series and oriented E-W. Outside of cist grave 8, pieces of tile, a vase, and the main body of a peplos kore figurine (h=13 cm; Fig. 4 right). An adult, supine skeleton was found inside the grave, head to the west, decorated on both sides of the limbs with a black-glazed pyxis with lid and a black-glazed krateriskos. Beneath the upper burial a poros breccia was found. Deeper, a second adult burial was found in supine position with head to the west, without offerings. Apparently it is a male and female burial. Cist grave 9 had been looted. An adult skull, a few bones, and sections of bronze pins remained. It was apparently a grave of a woman. Outside the graves, a section of the lip of an Archaic pithos was collected, which originated from an earlier damaged grave of the late Archaic period. Further north, a cluster of important graves arranged N-S along a traceable but not clearly defined road. The tomb cluster was found on the east side of the road and the graves are oriented W-E.

Pointed burial pithos 10 (mouth oriented W) contained a child burial furnished with two cups, two skyphos bowls, a pyxis with lid, an amphoriskos, a skyphos and pyxis lid of the late Archaic-beginning of the Classical period. Cist grave 11, constructed from stones, was found to the north of burial pithos 10. It contained a supine skeleton with head to the east and without offerings. Pithos burial 12 contained very few bones of an infant without grave goods. Pithos burial 13 was a small late Archaic pithos with mouth to the west covered with a tile. Outside the pithos a Corinthian krateriskos was found. Poros cist grave 14 contained a supine adult skeleton, furnished with a black-glazed skyphos, a kylix and bronze strigil. Tile pit burial 15 contained a supine adult burial, head westwards, and furnished with a black-glazed skyphos and kylix.

South of grave 15, another set of graves (nos. 16-19, Fig. 5) were found in a row (N-S). Pit grave 16, oriented E-W and covered by 2 limestone slabs, contained an adult burial in supine position, furnished with a small apotropaic figurine of a seated satyr of the late archaic period. Poros cist grave 17 contained a disturbed supine adult burial and black-glazed kylix. Porous cist grave 18 contained 2 burials. In the upper level an adult burial with a skyphos and kylix was found. In the lower, an adult burial in supine position with a bronze strigil and fragmentary upper section with lip of a bronze aryballos. Porous cist grave 19 contained 2 burials. In the upper phase on the eastern side of the grave a skull and a few disarticulated bones of an adult female, richly furnished with grave goods: 1) 2 bronze Corinthian phialae and a clay sphinx (Fig. 6); 2) a clay fineware pointed black-glazed amphoriskos with fine striped relief decoration on the lower section and continuous stamped palmette decoration on the upper; 3) a bronze mirror with a handle that derives from Argos; 4) a rare bracelet made from silver leaves (Fig. 7). The ends of the bracelet form snake heads with scaly decoration. A repoussé gorgoneion appears in a frame on the front centre part of the bracelet. This combination is unique. 5) a corroded bronze object; 6) three bronze spherical beads; 7) a peplos-kore figurine, incomplete, with head in good condition of the early Classical period (Fig. 4 left); 8) a small pyxis.

Along the length of the eastern side of graves 16-19 a road running N-S was found, which continues to the north to the northernmost cluster of tombs (10-15). East of tombs 16-19 the site was in use during the late Archaic period. Small stones, chips, sea shells, remains of food, obsidian, sections of bronze, burned seeds and archaic pottery were revealed. East of grave 17, a circular well (no.1) was built. Outside the well, late-Geometric to Archaic period shells, pieces of tiles and bricks, as well as crushed murex shells, and shells known as ‘quinces’ (κυδώνια), and food remains were collected. North of well 1, a large circular well (no. 2) was found (Fig. 8). Outside the well, Archaic ceramics as well as ceramics from Venetian and Ottoman times were collected. Well 2 probably dates from this later period. Another ancient well (no. 3) was found 7.1 m SE of Well 2, built of large limestone blocks. Outside and inside the well, archaic and classical pottery was found, as well as seashells.

South and west of tombs 9-14, a large rectangular area was investigated. Late Geometric to Archaic pottery, seashells, grindstones of elliptical shape, as well as 2 elliptical structures with small holes, a small clay conical spindle whorl, obsidian, and parts of Laconian type tiles and animal bones were collected. The circular structures were most likely foundations of circular indoor spaces (Fig. 9). In the area probably inhabited during the late geometric to archaic period, a small pit grave was found with infant bones, apparently buried beneath the inhabited area. Also here a cairn of large stones was found, as well as a section of stone building foundations and 1 m of a preserved wall running N-S. A few Mycenaean sherds and an Early Helladic sherd was found. Mycenaean and Early Helladic habitation has been detected north of here. Also in this area a cist grave (no. 22), probably of the Geometric period, was uncovered without covering slabs that had been destroyed since ancient times. Here also a small cist grave (no. 23) was found, running N-S, disturbed, no bones found inside.

Between the western boundaries of the property and the west of the northern part of the second basement excavation, a large quantity of black ash was found with ceramics of Venetian and Ottoman date, glass, animal bones, etc. In the wider area (Fig. 1) there were workshops for the production of later pottery and tiles.

IBR: Αριστοφάνης, Λυσιστράτη, στ. 231; P. Jacobsthal, AM 57 (1952), σ. 1-7; Χ. Πιτερός, ADelt 47 (1992): Chr, σ. 93-94; ADelt 49 (1994): Chr, σ. 153. ADelt 50 (1995): Chr, σ. 101; Σ. Χαριτωνίδης, Ανασκαφαί εν Ναυπλία, ΠΑΕ 1953, σ. 191-195 και ΠΑΕ 1954, σ. 232-241; Χ. Πιτερός, Ναυπλία, στο Α. Βλαχόπουλος (επιμ.), Αρχαιολογία: Πελοπόννησος, 2012, σ. 168-169, εικ. 316; Ch. Piteros, Mycenaean Nauplion, στο Mycenaeans up to Date: The Archaeology of the NE Peloponnese - Current Concepts and New Directions, 10-14 Nov. 2010 (in press).

[Entry created by E. Strazdins]