Αιανή 2006 : η έρευνα στο ανατολικό νεκροταφείο
Part of : Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στη Θράκη ; Vol.20, No.1, 2006, pages 833-846
Issue:
Pages:
833-846
Parallel Title:
Aiane 2006 : research in the east cemetery
Author:
Abstract:
In 2006 the burials that were uncovered in the East Cemetery at Aiane brought the overall total to 174. The continuation of the excavation and study of the finds from this cemetery will enable us to provide a full description of the special character of the local pottery workshop that existed at Aiane between the 4th and 2nd-lst cent. BC, and will confirm the pioneering nature of Aiane’s workshops and their long tradition -from the Bronze Age to the Roman period- in the production of pottery, terracotta figurines, ceramics and metal ware.In the most recently excavated area the cemetery was found to consist of rows of pits (a total of nine so far), most of which have been dug out of the soft limestone and possess a NE-SW orientation. Out of a total of 94 graves, only two have remained unlooted since antiquity, a very small proportion compared with the very large number of unlooted graves that were found amongst the 80 graves excavated in the period 1985-1986. The majority of the pits contained burials; there were only three cremations. The dead were laid out in wooden coffins or on wooden litters, with the head placed at either end of the pit. The grave goods were almost always laid by the feet and consisted mainly of clay pots and a limited number of metal objects, although no gold objects were present and coins were rare.The unlooted Grave no, 108 contained an iron spearhead and four clay pots, one of which bears a number of incised letters -ΓΕ on the body and B on the base- and dates from the late 4th-early 3rd cent. BC. Grave no. 140, which was also unlooted, also contained an iron spearhead and four clay pots, including a red-figure askos with a tall arched handle which was produced by a local workshop and dates from the late 4th cent. BC. Grave no. 139 (also a male burial) contained an iron spearhead, an iron strigli and five Attic clay pots, including an Attic red-figure askos-strainer and an aryballoid lekythion that date from the beginning of the third quarter of the 4th cent. BC. The base of a skyphos bears three incised letters -AMM- while the lekythion bears a K at the centre of the base and ten letters around the edge (the letters A, Μ, Η, Λ, K and what is probably a N are discernible), although it is not clear what words the engraver wished to represent. Out of the total of 89 pots discovered, the most frequent types are skyphoi (34), followed by hydriae (14 unglazed and one small red-figure one), prochoi (10), oinochoae (8), and a smaller number of other forms. Of particular interest are three bronze rings with representations on their oval bezels: a seated male figure bending forwards, a griffin and a bird, probably a cockerel.Judging by the large size of the cemetery, it must have served a large number of the town’s inhabitants. It may also be assumed that burials took place concurrently and that the pits were used by the same families in a certain chronological sequence. The objects that accompanied the dead on their journey to the next world reflect human customs and practices through the course of many centuries. Particularly worthy of note is the presence of iron and bronze strigils, including one bearing an inscription, which testify to the inhabitants’ participation in sport.
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Subject (LC):
Keywords:
νεκροταφεία , Κοζάνη
Notes:
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