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Post by theshee on Sept 11, 2014 8:28:26 GMT 10
Two stunning caryatid statues have been unearthed holding up the entrance to the biggest ancient tomb ever found in Greece, archaeologists said. The two female figures in long-sleeved tunics were found standing guard at the opening to the mysterious Alexander The Great-era tomb near Amphipolis in the Macedonia region of northern Greece. "The left arm of one and the right arm of the other are raised in a symbolic gesture to refuse entry to the tomb," a statement from the culture ministry said Saturday. Speculation is mounting that the tomb, which dates from Alexander's lifetime (356-323BC), may be untouched, with its treasures intact. Previous evacuations of Macedonian tombs have uncovered amazing troves of gold jewellery and sculptures. A five-metre tall marble lion, currently standing on a nearby roadside, originally topped the 500 metre-long funeral mound, which is ringed by a marble wall. Two headless stone Sphinx statues flanked the outer entrance, officials said, who said that "removing earth from the second entrance wall revealed the excellent marble caryatids". Photographs released by the ministry show the sculptures -- which hold up a lintel -- uncovered to mid-bust, their curly hair falling onto their shoulders. Archaeologists have been digging at the site, which Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras called a "very important find", since mid-August. The ministry said the lay-out of "the second entrance with the caryatids gives us an important clue that it is a monument of particular importance". Expectation had already begun to build given the quality of the sculpted column capitals and delicately coloured floor mosaic already discovered at the site. Theories abound about who could be buried in the tumulus tomb, ranging from Alexander's Bactrian wife Roxane, to his mother Olympias or one of his generals. Experts say the chances of Alexander himself being buried there are small, however. After his death at 32 in Babylon, the most celebrated conquerer of the ancient world is believed to have been buried in Alexandria, the Egyptian city he founded -- although no grave has ever been found there. linkHopefully there will be more photo's soon!
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Post by brillbilly on Sept 11, 2014 10:33:14 GMT 10
Wow!.Awesome find..beautiful stonework shee!.
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Post by Wes Gear on Sept 15, 2014 17:14:03 GMT 10
It will be an exciting find if it is all still intact.
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Post by theshee on Oct 9, 2014 8:54:27 GMT 10
Marble door revealed in Greek tombArchaeologists excavating the large and mysterious mound at the Kasta Hill site at Amphipolis, Greece, have unearthed a broken marble door, Greece's Culture Ministry announced today. Made from marble brought from the island of Thasso, like most of the features uncovered so far in the underground space, the door fragments were found as archaeologists removed dirt from the second chamber. According to Katerina Peristeri, the excavation's director, the discovery leaves no doubt the structure is indeed a tomb dating to the time of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. "Based on our findings, we are absolutely sure about our dating to the last quarter of the 4th century B.C.," Peristeri said. She hinted their dating relies on strong yet unpublished findings. "We give information out to provide a clear picture [of the excavation]. However, not all the material is coming out in press releases," Peristeri said. Leading to the tomb's third chamber, the marble door features a double row of dots down its center. The dots imitate nail heads, a feature common on Macedonian tomb doors. A hinge was also discovered on the western side of the door. "What is particularly unusual here is that the door was in two sections and hinged," Dorothy King, a classical archaeologist not involved in the excavation, wrote in her blog. "It was designed to open rather than merely be a 'fake' door designed to look like one as seen in most other Macedonian tombs," she said. She noted that temples had doors that opened and closed, "but they tended to be either wood inlaid with ivory or wood covered in bronze," King said. Behind the two fully unearthed Caryatids (female statue) and in front of the door, Peristeri's team also found bronze and iron nails. It's not clear whether they belonged to the funerary carriage or something else. As for the broken marble door, Peristeri believes it collapsed either as a result of the Bulgarian army's bombing in 1913 or as the consequence of a severe earthquake that rumbled in Amphipolis in the 6th century A.D. According to the archaeologists, Greece's mystery tomb may hold more surprises. It's possible that a staircase or ramp exists behind the door in the third chamber, leading to a 6.5-foot-deep room. link
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Post by theshee on Oct 9, 2014 8:55:05 GMT 10
The stone work is fantastic, you would almost think it had been molded!
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Post by brillbilly on Oct 9, 2014 21:39:16 GMT 10
Thats some big ass door shee.!
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Post by theshee on Oct 14, 2014 8:51:14 GMT 10
Hermes Mosaic Unearthed at Ancient Greek TombHermes is shown here as "psychopomp," or spiritual guide to souls in the afterlife. The mosaic is made up of pebbles colored white, black, gray, blue, red and yellow.The composition shows Hermes leading a bearded man on a horse-drawn chariot. An elaborate and colorful mosaic showing the Greek god Hermes leading a man to the underworld has been uncovered in a vast tomb from the era of Alexander the Great, Greek archaeologists announced. The figurative artwork spans the surface of an antechamber at the Kasta Hill burial complex in Amphipolis, an ancient city in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. Appropriately for a tomb, the mosaic depicts a horse-drawn chariot led by Hermes as "psychopomp," or spiritual guide to souls in the afterlife, according to the Greek Ministry of Culture. The mosaic covers an area of about 14.7 feet by 8.9 feet (4.5 meters by 3 meters). It was discovered as archaeologists cleared soil from a room behind a doorway that is supported by a pair of larger-than-life caryatids, or female statues that take the place of pillars or columns. Ongoing archaeological excavations rarely attract so much attention. But the tomb at Amphipolis is remarkable for its enormous proportions — it is enclosed by a marble wall 1,600 feet (490 m) in perimeter — and its mysterious contents. Archaeologists still don't know who might be buried inside if the tomb turns out to be intact. The dig has sparked great excitement since August, when Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras toured the site and declared it an "extremely important discovery." At that time, archaeologists had just unearthed a pair of headless sphinxes standing guard at the sealed entrance of the tomb. As the excavators have probed deeper inside over the past two months, they've revealed additional rooms with impressive architectural elements, such as the delicately carved caryatids and traces of paint on the walls. The freshly revealed mosaic is composed of small pebbles that are white, black, gray, blue, red and yellow in color. The artwork isn't completely intact; a circular area about 2.5 feet (0.8 m) in diameter in the middle of the composition has been lost. But the figurative scene is still clear: Hermes heads the chariot, which is pulled by two white horses. Hermes and the horses are leading a bearded man with a laurel wreath on his head shown in profile. That main scene has a border decorated with waves and a meander pattern. The team of excavators, led by Greek archaeologist Katerina Peristeri, believes the tomb dates back to the fourth century B.C. and bears the architectural fingerprints of Dinocrates, Alexander the Great's chief designer. The team doesn't expect to find Alexander himself if they do find a corpse (or corpses) in the burial complex; Alexander died in Babylon and is believed to have been buried in Egypt, though his grave has never been found. linkMore photo's.... Excavators cleared enough sealing stones and soil to reveal the full doorway.The intricately carved paw of one of the sphinxes.Mosaic floor that paves the entrance to the tomb.Traces of red and black paint are intact on the pillars that flank the doorwayAnother mosaic at the front of the tomb's entrance contains black and white pebbles in a diamond pattern.Probing deeper into the tomb, archaeologists revealed two caryatids, or female statues that act like columns or pillars.The caryatids bodies were covered up by a wall of sealing stones .Once the stones were removed and more dirt was cleared, archaeologists could see the female statues in full.The expertly carved robe of one of the caryatids. The team of excavators made this map showing the inside of the tomb — or at least what they had excavated by mid-September.By Sept. 21, the caryatids had been revealed down to their feet.The toes are amazingly intact on the ancient sculptures.The stone statues appear to be wearing robes that cling to their bodies.
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Post by brillbilly on Oct 16, 2014 22:34:05 GMT 10
The workmanship is Awesome..wow what a great find shee!
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Post by Wes Gear on Oct 17, 2014 17:25:41 GMT 10
We rarely realize that a lot of this ancient stone work was painted.
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Post by theshee on Oct 22, 2014 7:28:41 GMT 10
I bet it looked stunning in its day, like many others.
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