Αιανή 2000 : ανασκαφή νεκροταφείου ύστερης εποχής χαλκού
Part of : Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στη Θράκη ; Vol.14, No.1, 2000, pages 591-606
Issue:
Pages:
591-606
Parallel Title:
Aiane 2000 : the excavation of the LBA cemetery
Author:
Abstract:
During 1999 a brief excavation took place in the area where the Bronze Age remains at the site of Leivadia of Aiani are found. In the area of the archaic-classical cemetery and the built chamber (royal) tombs, an organized cemetery of the Late Bronze Age was discovered and the pit-tombs were excavated in 2000. In a nearby area of the cemetery remains of the Early Bronze Age and Final Neolithic were revealed. In the same area and at a stratum higher than that of the burials, a concentration of sherds coming from about 80 vases with matt-painted decoration and 10 Mycenaean vessels were found. Previously, during brief excavations, a rectangular construction in two parts, built of vertical slabs with a common central long flank of length 18.50 m, had started to emerge. Similar groups of sherds and scattered vases were found at the same level both inside and outside the flanks of the surrounding wall (peribolos) as well as three cist- tombs with cremations. Characteristic of the pottery collected from the first layer are the large hand-made vases with matt-painted decoration, such as jugs (prochoi), four-handled amphorae and the stands. There were more kantharoi of both small and large size, which have been classified into three types. Few kyathoi survive, and still less Mycenaean skyphoi and alabastra.The burial pits contained inhumations, except in two cases. They were deep, from 0.80-0.90 to 1 and 1.20 m., and they cut into the layer of the Early Bronze Age-Final Neolithic. Out of 29 burials, 12 were in a cluster oriented in the same direction, across the central part of the surrounding wall. Most of the pits are almost the same size, while the largest pits, from burials 3 and 22 with the bronze swords, and of burials 2, 24 and 26 can be interpreted as graves of persons of a high social status. Just three burials were disturbed and one pit was reused for two subsequent inhumations. Of 27 burials, from which bones are extant, 17 belonged to adults and 10 to children. The position of the dead was contracted or semi-contracted with the arms bent in most cases, and 6 corpses were in the supine position. The young age of the adults, between 18 and 35 years, is noteworthy, while of the children, two were infants and the rest from 9 to 15 years of age.The grave offeringsAll the burials contained grave goods except burial 1 and all except 4 had clay vases. Typically these are Mycenaean (alabaster or small pithoid-amphora) and one or two hand-made vases, placed next to the toes. The grave goods also include bronze weapons (swords, spearheads and little knives) and jewellery made of various materials (bronze, amber, glass, stone, clay), while the tools included clay spindles and toys such as an animal knuckle and five miniature bone arrowheads. The clay vases, as we can see from the typological table and the quanta- tive distribution, included 17 Mycenaean and 31 hand-made vessels, of which 18 had matt- painted decoration. As far as the matt-painted pottery is concerned, two categories can be distinguished: monochrome (dark-brown) and bichrome (dark-brown and brown-red). The bichrome decoration is more common, on 14 vases, while only 4 are monochrome.Typologically, most of the kantharoi belong to type A with raised pointed handles, which we believe they are local products, and type B with handles ending on knobs. Of four kyathoi two had handles similar to those of type C kantharoi, which resemble an “ear”. The two handled vase-bowls of the “Aiani” type have spherical bodies, like the Mycenaean jug (FS 87) and a combination of a vertical, almost circular, and a horizontal, triangular or forked handle.Of the weapons two bronze swords belong to Sandars’ types C and D. There were five leafshaped bronze spearheads and two small bronze knives. The jewellery consists of 13 bronze pins, beads made of amber, glass, clay, stone and bronze, which came from bracelets, necklaces or pendants, and bronze dreadlocks from sub-adult burials. There were also two conical stone beads and two parallepiped ones made of amber.With the excavation of the Late Bronze Age of Aiani many questions have been answered with regard to the character of the Mycenaean presence in the area of the central course of the Aliakmon River. We reiterate that the Mycenaean finds in the prefecture of Kozani multiply, and we do not disregard the possibility of a kind of Mycenaean settlement in the area, especially in Aiani. This area is quite near to Thessaly and we believe in some sort of population movement; certainly a network of interrelations, exchanges and influences must have developed. Close contacts with Thessaly have been established for earlier periods of the Neolithic era (the prehistoric material culture of Servia, known since 1909, and from Pontokomi, a little further away, from recent research) and for later times, during the historical periods.
Subject:
Subject (LC):
Keywords:
νεκροταφεία, Κοζάνη
Notes:
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