Messene - 2018

Messene. P. Themelis (ASA) reports on continued excavations of the S part of the Sanctuary of Isis. Several doorways had been blocked in Antiquity (Fig. 1). Among the limited finds in the fill of the halls were glass-paste tesserae and fired bricks, which were used in the construction of baths. The halls were dated to the mid-2nd century BC.

Restoration of funerary monument K3 in front of the stadium was completed: a 3-storey structure, total H 9.25m, dating to the beginning of the 3rd century BC (Figs 2-3). Its interior, containing 8 chest-shaped tombs surrounding a central container (Fig. 4), is 5.8m x 14.8m, with an entrance by means of a monolithic stone door (Fig. 3), approached by a monolithic stone ramp. The names of the dead were inscribed on the E side. The chamber was plastered and had a wooden ceiling. The roof is a concave cone shape 6m H, bearing a Corinthian column capital (H 0.50m) at its peak, on which was placed a solid stone vessel (Fig. 5). The column capital bears the partial name ΕΥΚΛΕΙ[...], according to the excavator, the head of the family to whom the monument belonged. The excavator notes that such monuments are not encountered in Greece, but in the East and in Sicily.