ARCHONTIKO Giannitson - 2008

Archontiko. W cemetery. P. and A. Chrysostomou (ΙΖ' ΕΠΚΑ) report continuing excavation which has revealed a further 43 tombs, comprising 4 of the EIA (7thCt to 580 BC), 31 of the Ar period (580−480) and 8 of the Cl−EHel period (480−279). The excavators note that the date of the earliest tombs indicates Macedonian settlement of the area by the 2nd half of the 7thCt BC. Of the EHel graves, T714, the burial of a young girl, is of particular interest: this contained a gilded bronze wreath, 3 clay vases, a bronze kantharos and a unique life-sized terracotta head of the deceased girl.
Of the Ar tombs, 20 were male burials and 11 the graves of women. Five of the male burials were in the 1st warrior category, 8 in the 2nd and 7 in the 3rd. Those in the 3rd category of warriors contained bronze helmets, iron weapons (a sword, 2 spearheads and a knife), gold, silver, bronze and iron ornaments (pins, rings, eye-, chest- and mouth-plates, sheet metal etc.), terracotta figurines, pottery and bronze vessels, and iron models of carts, furniture etc. Singled out for their wealth are 2 women’s graves of the 3rd social rank, which contained gold, silver, bronze and iron jewellery (diadems, dress ornaments, spirals, earrings, mouth-plates, necklaces, pendants, pins, rings, bands and sheet metal etc.), glass, terracotta and faience beads, iron knives and iron models of carts, terracotta figurines and clay, glass and faience vessels. Some of the gold mouth-plates and sheet ornaments bear depictions of upstanding heraldic lions noted as symbols of royal power. Ceramics include Cor bf kraters, Atticizing kraters depicting animals and birds in the manner of the workshop of Lydos, which were mass produced in a workshop in the Chalkidike in the M6thCt BC, and Attic bf kylikes.
In 8 years of excavation since 2000, the ΙΖ' ΕΠΚΑ is reported as having uncovered a total of 915 graves over an area of ca. 1ha (estimated at 5% of the total area of the cemetery): of these, 231 date to the EIA, 441 to the Ar period and 236 to the Cl−Hel period, while 7 are undiagnostic.