Two large, beehive-shaped tombs have been discovered at ancient Pylos, in the southern Peloponnese region. The tombs were found near the tomb of the Griffin Warrior, which was unearthed in 2015. While these tombs had been looted in antiquity, they still contained thousands of pieces of gold foil, evidence that sheets of gold once lined the interiors. Archaeologists have spent the past 18 months excavating the structures, one of which is 39 feet in diameter, while the other is 28 feet in diameter. Workers also discovered amber and carnelian beads, a gold ring depicting bulls flanked by sheaves of barley and a golden pendant depicting the head of the Egyptian goddess Hathor. These items suggest that around 1500 BC the port city of Pylos had wider trade connections with Egypt than previously known, and played an important role in early Mycenaean civilization.
OFF-SITE LINKS:
- https://phys.org/news/2019-12-archaeologists-bronze-age-tombs-lined.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/science/tombs-archaeology-ancient-greece.html
