Archaeologists in Greece find 3,500-year-old royal tombs

[Judi Lynn]

Nicholas Paphitis, Associated Press
Updated 3:12 pm CST, Tuesday, December 17, 2019



Photo: Greek Culture Ministry, AP
IMAGE 1 OF 7
In this undated photo provided by the Greek Culture Ministry on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019, a golden seal ring is shown from a 3,500-year-old tomb discovered near the southwestern Greek town of Pylos. The ministry said American archaeologists have discovered two monumental royal tombs dating 3,500 years back, near a large Bronze Age palace that featured in Homer's Odyssey. Recovered grave goods included a golden seal ring and a golden Egyptian amulet. (Greek Culture Ministry via AP)


ATHENS, Greece (AP) — American archaeologists have discovered two monumental royal tombs dating from about 3,500 years ago near a major Mycenaean-era palace in Greece's southern Peloponnese region, the Greek culture ministry said Tuesday.

A ministry statement said the dome-shaped roofs of both tombs near the Bronze Age palace of Pylos collapsed during antiquity, and the chambers became filled with so much earth and rubble that grave robbers couldn't get in to plunder them.

Nevertheless, the tombs were disturbed during the period of their use over several generations — unlike another Mycenaean grave found nearby in 2015 that yielded a stunning hoard of gold and silver treasure, jewelry and bronze arms buried with a man presumed to have been an early ruler of Pylos.

Recovered grave goods from the two tombs included a golden seal ring and a golden amulet of an ancient Egyptian goddess, highlighting Bronze Age trade and cultural links. The ministry said the discovery was particularly important as it shed light on the early phases of Greece's Mycenaean civilization.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Archaeologists-in-Greece-find-3-500-year-old-14913327.php

[Karadeniz]

1. Love ancient artistry...exciting news for us anachronisms!