Ancestral Landscapes.

TMO 58, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, 2011

BRONZE AGE TUMULI AND GRAVE CIRCLES IN CENTRAL GREECE

THE CURRENT STATE OF RESEARCH

Maria-Photini Papakonstantinou *

Abstract
Bronze Age tumuli are rare in Central Greece, as they are in the rest of the Greek mainland. They appear
at Thebes by the end of the EH II period. Most of the tumuli within the area under study belong to the mature and
late phases of MH or to the transition from the MH to LH period and only a restricted number are later.
Until recently, the excavation or localizing of tumuli in thirteen different places in Central Greece and
Thessaly had been reported. These tumuli, thirty in number, consist of a non-homogeneous group with different
as well as common features regarding their construction principles, distribution, relationship with other kinds of
cemeteries, types of graves, burial customs, grave goods and their use and chronology.
In this paper the results of recent unpublished excavations as well as re-considerations of old publications
are presented. Furthermore, the comparative study of the specimens of the group aims to reveal their common
features and each one’s particularities, through an integrative presentation of the material at our disposal.

The tumuli1 were simple but impressive structures, built to mark an important grave or a group of
graves of members of the same family or of the same social group.
The tumulus is the oldest monumental burial structure in the Greek Mainland, whose presence has been
associated with the radical changes of the end of the EH period,2 as well as with the “kurgan tradition”.3 In
Greece, we can not talk about a “civilization of tumuli”, as for example in south Russia, the Balkans and
Europe, in spite of their increasing number with the progress of research.
Tumuli appear at the end of the EH II period (Leukas4 and Thebes5) and at the beginning of the EH III
in the Northern Peloponnese (Lerna6 and Olympia7).Their number increases impressively during the MH

* Greek Ministry of Culture, 14th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, Castle of Lamia, Lamia 35 100, Greece,
tel. 0030 22310 29992, Fax 0030 22310 46 106, e-mail manipapak@yahoo.gr. This paper is based on the dissertation:
“The Grave Circles of Antron in the frame of the Tumuli and Grave Circles of Central Greece”, first elaborated at the
University of Durham under the supervision of Prof. O.T.P.K. Dickinson and presently at the University of Athens, under
the supervision of Prof. George Korres.
1. Pelon 1976; Müller 1989.
2. Müller 1989, p. 1, 35.
3. Müller 1989, p. 4; Forsén 1992, p. 18-19.
4. Kilian-Dirlmeier 2005, p. 86.
5. Spyropoulos 1981; Müller 1989, p. 18-19; Forsén 1992, p. 133-134, 232-233; AD 51 (1996), B1, p. 259-261; AD 52 (1997),
B1, p. 353-359. AD 53 (1998), B1, p. 323-327. Aravantinos, Psaraki in this volume.
6. Müller 1989, p. 19-20; Forsén 1992, p. 36-37, 232-233; Wiencke 2000, p. 297-298.
7. Müller 1989, p. 16-18; Kyrieleis 1990, p. 177-188; Forsén 1992, p. 88, 92, 233.
392 m.-ph. papakonstantinou

Fig. 1 − Distribution of Bronze Age Tumuli and Grave Circles in Central Greece.

and the early phases of the LH period. They are rare during the mature LH phases and spread into northern
Greece in LH IIIC.8 The recent excavation of the EH II tumulus cemetery at Kriaritsi in Chalkidiki9 and of
the MH-Early LH tumuli at Pighi Athinas and Valtos Leptokaryas in the region of Macedonian Olympus,10
shed some more light on the question of their chronological distribution and the manner of their introduction
into southern Greece.
Focusing on the area under study (fig. 1), what is first observed is the density of the distribution of
tumuli in the eastern part of central Greece (Sterea Hellas), as opposed to Thessaly. The rarity of tumuli
in Thessaly, as well as in Macedonia, can be explained – if other reasons are excluded – on the base of
geomorphology. Specifically, the vast plains do not favour the preservation of this kind of monument.
The only secure Bronze Age tumulus in Thessaly is the tumulus at Hexalophos,11 associated with the
group of northern Greek tumuli of the LH IIIC period. The mound has been partially excavated and two
cists have been revealed, one of them considered to be the central grave of the tumulus.
Moving south to Phthiotis, the concentration of a large number of tumuli sites – as numerous as in the
rest of eastern central Greece – is to be noticed. It is important that, except Drachmani, all the other sites
have been excavated during the last twenty years. Three of them, Pelasgia, Neochori and Atalanti, which
have been recently explored, have not yet been published and are presented, in a preliminary form, at this
conference.

8. Müller 1989, p. 24.

9. AD 53 (1998), B, p. 582-584; Asouhidou et al. 1998; Asouhidou, this volume.
10. Poulaki-Pandermali 2005, p. 460-462; Poulaki-Pandermali 2007a; Poulaki-Pandermali 2007b.
11. AD 23 (1968), B, p. 263-265; Theocharis 1968.
bronze age tumuli and grave circles in central greece 393

Fig. 2a − Pelasgia Tumulus. The preserved part of Fig. 2b − Dry-stone construction containing
the tumulus before the excavation. a thick layer of ash.

The grave circles of Antron12 were cons­

tructed at the end of the MH-LH I period and
continued to be in use until LH IIA. In the
Early Christian period, later burial activities on
the site disturbed their fill and destroyed any
evidence for the height of the supposed mound.
For that reason they are called grave circles. The
graves, ten in Grave Circle A and eight in Grave
Circle B, are cists of small dimensions, set in a
Fig. 2c − Fragmentary Grey Minyan goblet radial arrangement.
from the surrounding area.
The two beaked matt-painted jugs of
Cycladic influence from the tumulus at Pelasgia13
are well‑known in the bibliography. They
have been dated to the early phase of the MH period and have been recently assigned to the “mature
style”. They are compared with vases of Phase 6 from Pefkakia.14 The fill of the mound was buff hard
earth with some pebbles and mudbrick (fig. 2a). The excavation of the preserved part of the tumulus
and the surrounding area (fig. 2c)15 brought to light a dry‑stone construction containing a thick
layer of ash (fig. 2b). The shape of the structure, in the vicinity of the tumulus, and the traces of
fire recall the so-called horseshoe-shaped structures of ritual significance found in several
tumuli sites.16 It could have been built in connection with a possible central grave and used in
religious or funerary ceremonies.17

12. Papakonstantinou 1999a; Papakonstantinou 1999b.

13. AD 25 (1970), B, p. 243-244; Spyropoulos 1972.
14. Maran 1992, p. 278-279.
15. AD 53 (1998), B2, p. 393-394; AD 54 (1999), B forthcoming; AD 55 (2000), B, p. 248-249; AD 56 (2001), B forthcoming;
AD 57 (2002), B forthcoming; AD 58 (2003), B forthcoming; AD 59 (2004), B forthcoming.
16. Hielte-Stavropoulou 2001, p. 103-112.
17. Hägg 1997; Protonotariou-Deilaki 1990, p. 82.
394 m.-ph. papakonstantinou

Fig. 3a − Mount Oeta, Neochori. Five groups of cist graves of small dimensions.

Fig. 3b − Tumulus or Grave Circle B.

Recent excavations at Neochori, on mount Oeta,18 revealed five groups of cist graves of small
dimensions, each-one containing three to seven graves (fig. 3a). Taking into account the radial arrangement
of some of the graves and the neighbouring tumuli site at Marmara, it could be argued that some of them at
least were originally tumuli or grave circles (fig. 3b). The thinness of the layer of earth fill, due to erosion
and weather conditions at the altitude of 1300m, has eliminated any trace of a possible mound or enclosure.
Sixteen of the twenty-four graves, most of them plundered, did not contain grave-goods. One of the graves
yielded significant offerings, indicating the status of the dead. A preliminary examination of the material
reveals that the use of the cemetery extended from the Shaft-Grave period down to the Protogeometric
period (fig. 3c). This can be explained by the fact that the cemetery was not related to a settlement but was
used, as today, by people moving temporarily with their animals from the plain to the mountain.
At Marmara,19 nine tumuli were explored in different places on a plateau of west Oeta leading from
the Spercheios valley towards Doris and Aetolia. The tumuli consisted of a kernel of natural rock which
had been slightly rearranged in order to be used as a family burial monument. They contained mainly

18. AD 59, B (2004) forthcoming.

19. Dakoronia 1987.
bronze age tumuli and grave circles in central greece 395

Fig. 3c − Shaft-Grave period loop-handled jar from cist-grave II and the PG small amphora from cist-grave XIX.

Fig. 4a − Atalanti Tumulus. Aerial photo. Fig. 4b − Rim handled tankard from
the pithos burial.

cist‑graves of small dimensions arranged radially round the centre of each tumulus. They were dated by the
excavator to the Sub-Mycenaean period and, more recently, to the Shaft-Graves period, on the grounds of
the chronology of the most significant vases and their interconnections.
An unexpected find under the foundation of a building complex of Hellenistic-Roman date was an
EH III tumulus which was uncovered at Atalanti.20 The enclosure is constructed from large untreated stones
and the fill of earth and smaller stones (fig. 4a). The estimated diameter is 15m. Only a quarter of the
tumulus has been excavated since the rest has been partially destroyed by later constructions or lies under
the modern road. At the centre of the circle a pithos (storage jar) burial was found, whereas the trace of a
second one lay at the north-western part of its periphery. The pithos contained skeletal remains and three
vases (fig. 4b), two of them with decoration of light on dark (or Ayia Marina) style.
In 1905 Sotiriadis excavated, not far away from the area of ancient Elateia, a conical tumulus of small
diameter known in bibliography as the tumulus of Drachmani.21 At the upper level there was a skeleton and a

20. AD 60, B (2005) forthcoming; AD 61, B (2006), forthcoming.

21. PAE 1906, p. 142-144; Dickinson 1977, p. 34, 97-98; Müller 1989, p. 22; Maran 1992, p. 313, n. 987; Forsén 1992,
p. 150-151.
396 m.-ph. papakonstantinou

large vase with matt-painted decoration. Under a pile of stones and an ash layer there was a grave, probably
a pit, with a skeleton in contracted position, along with unusually rich grave-goods. Plausible evidence for
funeral rites (ashes and burnt grains) comes from a small pit, which was, however, not precisely located.
The tumulus has been dated to the early MH period.
A few years earlier, the excavation of the tumulus of Orchomenos did not yield any evidence indicating
the original burial use of the mound.22 The cone, its height being 5m and its diameter 6m at the time of the
excavation, consisted of one layer of earth and a core of big stones. Below the stones there was an ash layer
with animal bones, suggesting the ritual purpose of the structure, which should probably be dated to the
LH III period.
The EH II mudbrick tumulus on the Ampheion hill23 and one more mudbrick tumulus of the same
period found recently on the neighbouring hill of the plot next to the Archaeological Museum at Thebes,24
which covered the remains of an apsidal building and a mass burial, have been related to the relevant
structures from Lerna and Altis in Olympia. At the moment, there is no reason for further discussion of
this material since the excavators – V. Aravantinos and K. Psaraki, the most suitable people to talk about
it – are contributing to this publication.
In Attica four Bronze Age tumuli sites are reported. Two of them, at Athens and Aphidna, were excavated
at the end of the nineteenth century and the other two (at Vrana and Thorikos) in the early seventies.
The tumulus of Athens, of an uncertain date, lies on the south slope of the Acropolis hill, between the
Asklepieion and the Odeion of Herodes Atticus.25 It was a small rectangular mound covered with mudbrick or
clay. Six bodies were buried in a contracted position at two levels, separated by an ash layer. A similar layer was
also found on the bodies of the upper level.
The tumulus of Aphidna included thirteen graves of different types, shaft-graves or pit-graves, cists and
pithoi in horizontal position.26 Grave XIII is the richest and is thought to be the central one. The grave contained
burnt bones; traces of fire were found below it. The material had been dated to the early MH period but recently
an EH date has been proposed.27
At the western extremity of the Vrana valley, next to the Archaeological Museum of Marathon, four
tumuli, constructed in the MH-LH III B period, have been explored.28 Their shape is the same: a circular,
shield-like mound of soil filled with earth and stones and encircled by a ring of flat stones. The tumuli
at Vrana are listed among the most interesting Bronze Age structures and have been compared by their
excavator, Spyridon Marinatos, with the tumuli of Albania.29 Recently, one more tumulus was excavated at
Tsepi in the area of Marathon.30
On the saddle of the Velaturi Mount at Thorikos, in front of the oblong tholos, a dry-built enclosure of
irregular shape was found and, in front of it, a rectangular structure, used possibly for performing rituals.31
The enclosure included a large central pit which was carved into the schist, containing the burial in a cist lined
with slabs. This was probably a royal tomb but it had been thoroughly plundered. The grave is surrounded by a
rectangular megaron-like structure of the original use of the tumulus, which was covered by a stone layer. The
tumulus is dated to the end of the MH or at the transition from the MH to the LH I phase.

22. PAE 1903, p. 41; PAE 1904, p. 35-39; PAE 1907, p. 10; AM 30 (1905), p. 129-132; Müller 1989, p. 30.
23. Spyropoulos 1981; Müller 1989, p.18-19; Forsén 1992, p. 232-233; Aravantinos, Psaraki in this volume.
24. AD 51 (1996), B, p. 259-261; AD 52 (1997), B, p. 353-359; AD 53 (1998), B, p. 323-327.
25. EA 1902, p. 124-130; Müller 1989, p. 22; Forsén 1992, p. 111.
26. AM 21 (1896), p. 338-402; Dickinson 1977, p. 34, 95-99; Müller 1989, p. 2; Maran 1992, p. 319-332; Hielte-Stavropoulou,
Wedde 2002.
27. Forsén 2010, p. 223-234.
28. PAE 1970, p. 9-18; Ergon 1970, p. 7-11; AAA 3 (1970), p. 63-68; Müller 1989, p. 23; Maran 1992, p. 320-322.
29. Marinatos 1972, p. 190.
30. BCH 127/2 (2003), p. 718.
31. Mussche et al. 1984, p. 61-67.
bronze age tumuli and grave circles in central greece 397

Bronze Age tumuli are rare in Central Greece, as they are in the rest of the Greek mainland. These
tumuli,32 in thirteen sites, are a non-homogeneous group with different, as well as common, features, regarding
their construction principles, distribution, relationship with other kinds of cemeteries, types of grave, burial
customs, grave-goods, and their use and chronology.
The oldest tumuli are the ones at Thebes, of EH II date. The recently discovered tumulus at Atalanti
follows, offering one rare EH specimen dated to the EH III. Most of the tumuli within the study area, as is
typical of the Greek mainland in general, belong to the mature and late phases of the MH or to the transition
from MH to LH I-II and only a limited number are later.
With regard to their function, two different types are distinguished by Forsén, the burial and the ritual
tumuli.33 Within the area studied, the tumuli at Pelasgia and at Orchomenos have not provided direct evidence
for burial use. The tumulus at the plot next to the Archaeological Museum of Thebes covered an apsidal
building but also a mass burial. Finally, the Ampheion tumulus, according to the results of very recent
excavations,34 was connected to an adjacent EH cemetery.
Traces of burial rites35 are reported from different sites, such as the tumuli at Athens, Drachmani,
Aphidna and Hexalophos. On the other hand, there are structures or installations related to funeral ceremonies
at Pelasgia, Drachmani, Ampheion and Vrana.
Most of the Bronze Age types of graves known from other cemeteries are found in the tumuli. There
is neither a special type of grave which has been placed exclusively in that kind of burial monument, nor a
predominant type for each area, with the exception of the tumuli in the region of Phthiotis where the great
majority of the graves are cists of small dimensions. This is a popular type of grave in Thessaly as a whole
during the MH period. The types of grave most frequently found include different types of cists, pits and
large pithoi. Pithoi for burials are used only in EH and early MH complexes (Atalanti and Aphidna). They are
usually repaired, large, household vessels in secondary use.
Normally the Central Greek tumuli contained several burials, sometimes arranged around a central grave.
There are graves placed in the core of the tumulus and others placed in the fill. The enclosure delimits the graveyard
and retains the pile of earth when required. There are tumuli without an enclosure, tumuli with an enclosure built
of worked stones (Marathon, Marmara) and enclosures of a single row of stones (Aphidna, Antron). With respect
to their plan, the enclosures are circular, irregular (Thorikos, Vrana) or semi-circular (Antron).
Some of the tumuli are isolated and others belong to tumuli cemeteries. Besides, the possibility can
not be excluded that tumuli known as isolated had initially been part of tumuli cemeteries that have not been
preserved or have not been located.
Most of the tumuli are situated on mountains and hills – either on the top or on a slope – and also at the
extremities of valleys or plains. There is an excellent view from the tumuli sites on the summits of mountains
and hills (such as Thorikos, Pelasgia and Antron). The privileged place of the tumuli is perhaps related to the
religious beliefs of the era.36
The composition of the mound varies, but, in general, it consisted of earth (Aphidna, Marmara, Antron),
earth and a pile of stones for the protection of the burial (Drachmani) or earth and a layer of stones for
the reinforcement of the stability of the fill (Hexalophos). Alternatives included earth covered with pebbles
(Vrana), a pile of stones (Thorikos), crude brick (Athens, Pelasgia), or mudbrick (Thebes). The height varies
too, usually 1-3m. Tumuli of the conical type seem to be the highest (Drachmani, Orchomenos). Many
tumuli have the appearance of a modest mound (Vrana), while others have been constructed after the slight
arrangement of a kernel of natural rock. The diameter more frequently ranges between 10 and 20m.

32. Only the certain tumuli within the study area are discussed in this paper. The tumuli mentioned at Vardates, Styrphaka,
and Pera Malacha (see catalogue in Müller 1989, p. 38, nos. 50, 52 and 57) must not be included in this group of burial
monuments according to recent investigations, so they have not been marked on the map. Nos. 48 (Kamari), 55 (Gonnoi)
and 56 (Pharsala) are of uncertain date and no. 53 at Kastraki (Avlaki) has not been excavated.
33. Forsén 1992, p. 232-233.
34. AD 62, B (2007) forthcoming; Aravantinos, Psaraki in this volume.
35. Nordquist 1990, p. 39-40.
36. Hägg 1997, p. 13-18.
398 m.-ph. papakonstantinou

Most of the graves found in the tumuli contained one skeleton in contracted position. Normally
they hold poor burials or burials of more ordinary status. Elite burials (Ampheion, Thorikos, Drachmani,
Aphidna III, Vrana II, Hexalophos) are distinguished by the position of the grave within the tumulus,
sometimes by its construction, as well as by the grave-goods, which indicate the social and economic status
of the dead.
The full publication of the material above mentioned and the completion of the excavations in some
of the tumuli will contribute to their systematic study and our better understanding of their significance.

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