Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology
University of Windsor
The Tholos Tomb and Ossuary at Tzannata, Kefalonia, Greece:
Preliminary Findings and Research Potential
Introduction
A Late Helladic III (Mycenaean)
tholos tomb and ossuary were
found in 1991 at Borzi Hill, near the
modern town of Tzannata on the
island of Kefalonia (see map), and
excavated from 1992 to 1994. Aside
from a cursory separation of
human and animal bones, the
skeletal remains were not assessed
for their research potential until
May 2015. The preliminary results
from this study are presented here.
The Tholos Tomb
A tholos tomb is a beehive-shaped
structure that was used for the
burial of elites after 1500 BC. It had
one or more shafts or cysts that
were lined with stone slabs. Bodies
were placed in a cyst until there
was complete decomposition of
soft tissues or until the cyst, which
was continually reused, was
needed again. This tholos tomb was
built in 1350 BC after the previous
smaller tomb collapsed. The smaller
tomb was first built in 1450 BC. The
last internment in the tomb took
place after 900 BC, more than 200
years after the Mycenaean collapse
on the Peloponnese.
The Ossuary
The ossuary at Tzannata was
constructed outside the tholos
tomb as a large cyst with slab stone
walls and a pebble floor; and was
used for secondary burial after
removal of bones from the cyst in
the tholos tomb.
By John Albanese
Left and below:
Pronounced chin
morphology seen in 2
out of 2 chins examined.
Below: Subadult bones
miscataloged as animal
bones.
Above: Tholos Tomb, Borzi Hill,
Tzannata. Profile reconstruction
showing beehive corbelled vault and
main cyst (top); entrance (stomion)
visible at the end of passage
(dromos) after excavation (middle);
interior view with three cysts as it
appears now (bottom).
Above: Well-healed trauma
on left eye orbit.
Left: Cut marks on a goat(?)
humerus at left and goat(?)
femur(?) at right.
Centre for Forensic Research
Simon Fraser University
Homeric Ithaca on Kefalonia
Kefalonia has the greatest
concentration and largest sites, with
over 10 major Late Helladic III Period
sites (1400 to 1050 BC). There are at
least three tholos tombs including
the largest tholos tomb on the Ionian
Islands and north-west Peloponnese
at Borzi Hill, Tzannata. If there was a
King Odysseus, this is where he
would have been buried.
Preliminary Results
Extrapolating from the 15% of the
remains surveyed, there are about
150 individuals in the sample. There
is evidence of healed trauma;
burning (not cremation); bronze
staining; and animal bones with cut
marks. About 25% of the sample
consists of subadults ranging in age
from under one year to late teens.
Several individuals have a distinctive
chin morphology, as well as shoveled
lateral incisors and metopic sutures
as seen in several individuals from
Gravel Circle A Shaft V including the
Above: Seal stone “Mask of Agamemnon” at Mycenae.
from ossuary. “King
Odysseus… was
wearing… a golden Future Research
brooch…a hound
The remains from the tholos tomb
clenching a dappled
fawn in its front and ossuary at Tzannata, chamber
paws slashing at it as tombs at Tzannata and chamber
it writhed… the tombs at Voudeni (see map) will be
hound slashed, compared using multiple lines of
throttling the fawn in evidence including: gross skeletal
death throes, hoofs
flailing to break
analysis of adults and subadults; DNA
free.” (Odyssey Book analysis for familial relationships;
19 Lines 259-267). stable isotope analysis for
Below: Miniature reconstruction of diet and migration;
gold axe from and faunal analysis.
ossuary.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Dr Lazaros Kolonas, Henriette Putman Cramer,
Gerasimos Metaxas, Dr John Pierce, Jan Pierce, Dr Lynne
Bradley. Images of bones are by the author; other images
were taken from “Homer’s Ithaca” Blog (Cramer and
Metaxas).