Tumulus

Öz: Bu makalede, Malatya Müzesi Müdürlüğü tarafından 2019 yılında yapılan Üçtepe II Tümülüsü kurtarma kazısı ele alınmıştır. Mezar hırsızları tarafından soyulan ve tahrip edilen tümülüsteki kazı çalışmalarının amacı mezar mimarisinin ortaya çıkarılması ve bu geleneğin Doğu Anadolu’daki tipolojik gelişiminin aydınlatılmasına yöneliktir. Koruma, sağlamlaştırma ve sergileme özelinde yürütülen kazı çalışmaları sonucunda 35 m genişlik ve 3 m yüksekliğindeki yığma tepenin altında dromoslu bir mezar yapısı ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Mezar odası içerisinde herhangi bir taşınır kültür varlığına rastlanılmamıştır. Ancak dromosta pişmiş toprak bir unguentariuma ait boyun ve ağız parçaları ele geçirilmiştir. Mezar odası üst yapısındaki bloklar arasına, oda içerisine sıvı ve nem akışını önlemek adına eritilmiş kurşun dökülmüştür. Mezar mimarisi ve unguentarium tümülüsün MÖ II. yüzyılın ikinci yarısına ait olabileceği izlenimini uyandırmaktadır.
Anahtar sözcükler: Malatya, Mezar, Tümülüs, Unguentarium, Kurşun.
Abstract: In this article, rescue excavation of Üçtepe II Tumulus carried out by the Malatya Museum Directorate in 2019 is discussed. The aim of the excavations in the tumulus, which was robbed and destroyed by treasury hunters, is to uncover the tomb architecture and to illuminate the development of this sepulchre typology and burial tradition in Eastern Anatolia. As a result of this conservation and displaying excavations a chamber tomb with dromos was unearthed under the 35 m wide and 3 m high piled uphill. No small finds were found in the burial chamber, except neck and mouth fragments of a terracotta unguentarium which were unearthed in the dromos. In order to prevent to flow of liquid and moisture into the chamber, a melted lead was poured between the blocks on the upper structure of the grave chamber. The tomb architecture and fragmentary unguentarium helps us to estimate that the tumulus belongs to the second half of the IInd century BC.
Keywords: Malatya, Tümülüs, Unguentarium, Lead.

"A structure of tumuliform aspect is revised with a certain archaeologic protohistoric
documentation associated with it. A geologic study confirms its artificial nature and an
edafologic analysis corroborates is funeral use. A subsequent geolophysical prospection made
evident a monumental subterranean chamber, acompanied by a close one that seems to prove
the existence of a tumular necropolis."

Çalışma kapsamında Anadolu’da M. Ö. 6.-5. yüzyıllarda inşa edilen tümülüslerin mimari içerikleri ve bu tümülüslerin inşa edildikleri dönemin genel mimari uygulamaları ile karşılaştırılmasına odaklanılmıştır.
Çalışmanın ilk kısmında tümülüs geleneğinin kökeni ve uygulamaları incelenmiştir. Tümülüsler içerisinde basit çukurlar, sanduka mezarlar ve oda tipi mezarlar içeren sosyal ve politik ilişkileri sembolize eden yapay tepelerdir. Temsil ettikleri anlamlar bakımından dolmen, “kapalı yollar” (passage grave), menhirler ve seri menhirler gibi megalitik anıtlarla benzerlik göstermektedirler. Bu megalitik anıtlar Levant, Anadolu, Kafkasya, Batı Avrupa olmak üzere dünyanın bir çok bölgesinde görülmektedirler. Çalışmada Anadolu dışındaki erken dönem tümülüs uygulamalarından Tunç Çağı’na ait örnekler Arnavutluk, Epirus ve Apulia’daki (Güney İtalya) tümülüsler genel özellikleriyle değerlendirilmiştir. Anadolu’da Frig, Lidya Krallık ve Greko Pers Dönemlerine ait tümülüsler incelenmiştir. Bu incelemenin amacı hem dönem içinde hem de dönemler arasında görülen ortak ve farklı özelliklerin tespit edilmesidir.
Çalışmanın ikinci kısmında seçilen 18 tekil anıtsal tümülüsün özellikleri incelenemiştir. Bu tümülüsler Bintepe Nekropolü’nden Alyattes ve Karnıyarık Tepe; Sardes’ten “BK71.1”, “T77.1”, “T82.1”, “T.89.11”; Lidya’dan Aktepe; İyonya’dan Belevi ve “Kuştur”; Daskyleion’dan Tepecik, Yeniköy, Eşenköy, Koru, Koca Resul ve Kösemtuğ; Troas’tan Dedetepe, Çingene Tepe tümülüsleridir. Ayrıca Kolophon, Klazomenai, Pedasa ve Larisa (Buruncuk) kentlerinin nekropollerinde bulunan daha küçük boyutlu tümülüsler de genel özellikleriyle bu bölümde incelenmiştir. Tümülüslerin mimari bölümleri olan çevre duvarı, ön mekan, giriş önü, dromos, ön oda, mezar odası sınıflandırılmıştır. Bu bölümlerin inşasında karşılaşılan yapım tekniği, yüzey işçiliği ve kullanılan malzeme gibi mimari uygulamalar tespit edilmiş dönemin mimari uygulamaları ile karşılaştırılmıştır.
Çalışmanın temel amacı tümülüslerin mimari özelliklerini anlamak ve vurgulamaktır. Tümülüs ölü gömme geleneği genellikle mimari tartışmalardan uzak “seçkin yeraltı yapılar topluluğu” olarak ele alınmaktadır. Tümülüslerin mimari özellikleri ile birlikte değerlendiren Ratté’in Sardes çalışmaları gibi sadece bir kaç çalışma bulunmaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı aynı dönemde inşa edilen tümülüsler ve “yer üstü” yapılarında karşılaşılan benzer uygulamaların karşılaştırılması ile desteklenmektedir. Sonuç olarak mimari yapılarda ve tümülüslerde benzer mimari uygulamalar tespit edilmiştir. M. Ö. 6. ve 5. yüzyıllarda Batı Anadolu mimarisinin elitlerin mücadelesini temsil eden yüksek maliyetli uygulamaları arasında tümülüsler de yer edinmiştir.

Anadolu, Asya ile Avrupa arasındaki bir köprü olarak sayılınca, Sardeis bu köprünün başkentlerinden biri olarak tanıtılabilmektedir. Daha dağru bir tabirle, Sardeis sadece Asya ile Avrupa arasındaki köprünün başkenti değil, Coğrafi konumundan dolayı Doğu ve Batı Anadolu’nun kültürel geleneksellerinin birleşmiş özelliklerini gösteren Antik Dönem’deki yerleşimlerden biri sayılabilmektedir. Bundan hareketle Sardeis’te kültürün en önemli parçalarından biri olarak, ölü gömme geleneği de hem Doğu Anadolu hem de Batı Anadolu ve daha geniş bir ölçekle hem Ortadoğu hem de Doğu Avrupa’nın özelliklerini taşımaktadır. Sözü geçen konu farklı dönemler ve Sardeis’teki farklı uygarlıkların egemenliğine bağlı olarak, değişik gösterilerle Sardeis ve çevresindeki yerleşimlerde kazılıp kendi özelliklerini göstermektedir. Dolayısıyla bu makalede Sardeis’teki bütün mezar tipleri sınıflandırılıp, onların hangi kültürlerin ölü gömme türlerini içerdiği araştırılmaktadır.

The research on the Mound of Queen (excavations 2008-2014) showed a long stretch of the perimeter of the monument and the front of the tomb, focused on the large vestibule / entrance on which there are three funerary rooms: the
large central room, which is unexplored and the two side rooms. The mound presents a cross plan, the oldest so far documented in the architecture of Tarquinia. The works revealed the magnificence of princely burial and unexpected
pictorial and sculptural decorative peculiarities. In the back came to light a podium-altar, and remains of stone animal sculptures refer to a group of sculptures that decorated the mound. The entrance of the tomb opens to the West,
towards the sea, and had to be protected by a wooden roof of which remain on the steps large post holes. The main element of the Interior is coated with white plaster in alabaster plaster that covered the entrance and burial chambers:
chalk’s luck baked in the Middle East is due to its versatility in use. The chromatic impact offered by the vestibule paintings had to be very impressive, with issues related to the celebration of the death and the gentry identity, as you can see from the painted fragments that show geometric patterns and figures made with the colors of the oldest Tarquinian painting, red and black. We are faced with the first pictorial experiences of Tarquinia, the second half of the seventh century BC, with a monumental representation, as is the case at once in large tombs of Cerveteri.

Résumé. Les tombes du milieu de l’âge du Fer des plaines
languedociennes sont encore fort mal connues. La fouille préventive menée en 2004 sur le site de la Pailletrice, à Pérols, près de Montpellier, a livré quatre tombes à fossé circulaire de la fin du VIe s. et du début du Ve s. av. J.-C. Ces structures sont groupées à proximité immédiate d’un chemin empierré, attesté dès le dernier quart du VIe s. av. J.-C. Pour la première fois dans cette région, l’état de conservation du gisement permet d’affirmer le caractère funéraire de tels cercles fossoyés. Le monument le mieux conservé montre un fossé périphérique limitant un tumulus de terre très bas,
vers le centre duquel se trouvent un dépôt secondaire de crémation avec son ossuaire et les restes de deux vases en bronze, ainsi qu’une fosse peu profonde contenant des résidus du bûcher. Dans les fossés de tous ces monuments sont conservés des restes plus ou moins nombreux d’amphores et de vases à boire, témoins de possibles cérémonies auprès des tombeaux. Les données livrées par
ce gisement sont insérées dans le contexte des pratiques funéraires du premier âge du Fer du Languedoc oriental.

Abstract. Graves dating from the Middle Iron Age in the
Languedocian plains remain little known. The preventive excavation conducted in 2004 at la Pailletrice in Pérols, close to Montpellier, uncovered four graves with circular pits from the end of the VIth c. BC and the early Vth c. BC They are gathered next to a stone path, testified from the last quarter of the VIth c. B.C. For the first time in this area, the vestiges have been preserved enough to assess the funerary characteristics of such circular pits. The best preserved
monument shows a peripheral ditch marking out a very low earth barrow with a secondary cremation deposit next to its centre, an ossuary with the remains of two bronze vases, and a shallow pit containing residues from the pyre. A series of amphorae and drinking vessels remains have been preserved in all these pits, likely proof of rituals performed next to the graves. The data these vestiges revealed is then integrated within the context of funerary practices during the first Iron Age in eastern Languedoc.

En 2009, nous posions les bases d’un inventaire des nombreuses buttes d’origine anthropique que recèlent les forêts médocaines. Inquiet de leur disparition progressive, nous avions alors la volonté d’en identifier le plus grand nombre et d’en comprendre l’origine et la fonction. Cette démarche nous a mis au contact de l’Uni- versité de Bordeaux et l’Institut Ausonius a chargé un étudiant en Master 2 travaillant sur la protohistoire en Médoc d’investir également le sujet, ce qui a permis de multiplier le nombre de sites, d’aboutir à une vaste base de données et d’animer la réflexion sur ces vestiges. Cet inventaire s’est fait par de nombreux déplacements sur le terrain suite à un dépouillement exhaustif de la bibliographie régionale, aux recherches des toponymes significatifs des anciens cadastres et à quelques témoignages locaux.

This dissertation presents a methodological approach for the interrogation of excavated assemblages from archaeological sites, as a means of providing insights into consumer choices and practices in different cultural contexts. The thesis examined the archaeological finds, site formation processes and especially the structured intentional way finds and other archaeological remains were lain down by the people of the Roman Small Town at Tienen in eastern Belgium. Particular emphasis is placed on the comparison of archaeological remains from domestic, cemetery and ritual/ceremonial contexts. These contexts, indeed, show distinct patterns of difference and similarity and clearly demonstrate that these three cultural domains were defined by their own socio-cultural rules and practices. Furthermore the research provides an illuminating focus on how the composition of the burial, domestic and ritual assemblage underwent gradual but consistent changes throughout the Roman period as a result of changing external circumstances, ideas and values and the gradual change of the culture of the vicus community.
Bronze, iron and glass assemblages, in addition to pottery, have clearly also been used within these different cultural contexts throughout the Roman period adding to the insight into practices that could be gained from the study. In funerary and ritual contexts this consumption is less straightforward, because next to the meals for the living, also more symbolical sacrifices and meals for the dead and/or for the gods are provided for. Only a few examples of these specific choices of ‘symbolical consumption’ are the preference for younger animals; for specific species like horse and dog, the use of different parts of the animal; a distinctive trend for some novelties (new forms) in pottery and a clear preference for the use of new or hardly used vessels, the use of valuable glass and bronze objects and the appearance of specific types and sizes of nails.

Résumé :  Depuis les premières fouilles de la nécropole tumulaire de Vergina dans les années 1950, nos connaissances sur les pratiques funéraires de l’âge du Fer en Grèce du Nord se sont profondément renouvelées. Si le tertre collectif demeure un trait caractéristique majeur, les nombreuses découvertes faites depuis une trentaine d’années témoignent en réalité d’une richesse et d’une grande diversité de pratiques et de types de tombes dans cette vaste région située entre les Balkans et l’Égée. À partir d’un catalogue de nécropoles datées entre le XIe et le VIIe siècle a.C., situées entre le versant oriental du Pinde et les Rhodopes sud-occidentaux, cet ouvrage propose un état de la question des modes funéraires tout en interrogeant cette diversité particulièrement remarquable. Ce travail permet d’établir une carte funéraire complexe qui sera comparée avec le mobilier abordé sous l’angle des thématiques et des idéologies funéraires dont la logique spatiale est différente.

Abstract : Since the first excavations in the cemetery of tumuli in Vergina during the 1950s, new discoveries and different works led in Northern Greece have yielded important new data, updating our vision on the Early Iron Age burial customs. The burial mound, which is a specific feature of this region, isn’t the only known type of cemetery. Data analysis depicts a rich and eclectic representation of the burial practices in this vast area between the Balkans and the Aegean Sea. Based on a catalogue of cemeteries dated from the 11th to the 7th centuries B.C., located between the eastern slopes of the Pindus range and the south-western Rhodopes, this book offers a survey of the burial customs and questions the diversity that is particularly striking in this region. As a result, this study proposes a complex funerary map. It will be compared to the map of the funerary ideologies conveyed by the burial gifts whose geographical distribution is different.

The subject of this study is to constitute the preliminary results of the Çanakkale Central District surface survey conducted in 2016-2017. It has been determined that, especially with the settlements newly discovered in the surface survey, previously known Bronze and Iron Age settlements are mostly located around streams; at three different locations, namely the cost, lowlands around the coast, and inland hill-top. It is known that the geomorphological development of the district had negative effects on the locations of settlements. It has been determined within the scope of the surface survey that, with the coastal line changes of the Hellespont, a major part of settlements such as Işıldak Tepe Altı, Yarım Höyük and Saltık was destroyed; and settlements such as Arisbe, and Dardanos remained at inland locations as a result of streams lling the coast. This project has been developed upon the problem of whether there are settlements in the region that include contemporary layers with Troy. The evidence in relation to this subject has been provided with the discovery of previously unknown settlements providing contemporary materials with the Early Bronze, Middle Bronze and Iron Ages layers of Troy. Such settlements may include the discovery of pottery in the Köserelik contemporary with Troy I; the discovery of handmade Early Iron Age pottery on the coast, in Dalyan Höyük and Saltık, and in inland Zeytintarla, as well as Dalyan Höyük and Yarım Höyük, where we found Archaic Period pottery. Another important result is the discovery of new fortied settlements in the Archaic Period. Plan of the fortication walls were drafted with the coordinates obtained through Cors, and aerial photographs and videos taken with a drone. Accordingly, it has been understood that the fortications had some common traits such as having bastions in weak areas, and built with dry wall technique with roughly worked stones that follows the topography. The discovery of stone Tumuli, in the region during 2016 and 2017 seasons is an innovation regarding Troad Region burial traditions though its closest parallels were found in Thrace and the Balkans dated to Bronze and Iron Ages. Preliminary results obtained in the surface survey contributes to the Bronze and Iron Ages settlement archaeology in the Troad in terms of the addition of newly found settlements contemporary with Troy. Bu çalışmanın konusunu 2016-2017 yıllarında yürütülen Çanakkale Merkez İlçesi yüzey araştırmasının ilk sonuçları oluşturmaktadır. Özellikle yüzey araştırmasında yeni keşfedilen yerleşimlerle beraber, daha önceden bilinen Tunç ve Demir Çağı yerleşimlerinin çoğunlukla akarsuların yakınında; tam sahilde, sahile yakın ovada ve sahilden iç kesimde yüksek tepeler üzerinde olmak üzere üç farklı konumda kurulduğu belirlenmiştir. Bölgenin jeomorfolojik gelişiminin, yerleşimlerin konumları üzerinde olumsuz etkileri olduğu bilinmektedir. Yüzey araştırması kapsamında Çanakkale Boğazı kıyı çizgisi değişikliği ile Işıldak Tepe Altı, Yarım Höyük ve Saltık gibi yerleşimlerin büyük bir kısmının yok olduğu; akarsuların kıyıyı doldurması sonucu Arisbe ve Dardanos gibi yerleşimlerin günümüzde denizden içeride kaldığı belirlenmiştir. Bu proje, bölgede Troya ile çağdaş tabakaları içeren yerleşimlerin var olup olmadığı sorunsalı üzerine geliştirilmiştir. Bu konu ile ilgili kanıtlar, Troya'nın Erken Tunç, Geç Tunç ve Demir Çağı tabakaları ile çağdaş malzeme veren daha önce bilinmeyen yeni yerleşimlerin keş ile sağlanmıştır. Bunların arasında Köserelik Mevkii'nde Troya I çağdaşı seramiğin keş; sahilde Dalyan Höyüğü ve Saltık ile iç kesimde Zeytintarla'da el yapımı Erken Demir Çağı seramiğinin keş ve Arkaik Çağ seramikleri bulduğumuz sahile yakın Dalyan Höyüğü ile Yarım Höyük sayılabilir. Cors ile alınan koordinatlar, drone ile çekilen hava fotoğrafı ve videoların yardımıyla kale planları çıkartılmıştır. Diğer önemli bir sonuç ise Arkaik Dönem'e ait yeni kalelerin keşdir. Buna göre söz konusu kalelerin, sur mimarisi yapım teknikleri konusunda zayıf yerlerde bastiyon bulunması, topografyaya uydurularak moloz taştan inşa edilmesi gibi bazı ortak özelliklere sahip olduğu anlaşılmıştır. 2016 ve 2017 yılı çalışmalarında bölgede ilk kez tespit edilen ve en yakın benzerleri Tunç ve Demir Çağı'nda Trakya ve Balkanlar'da bulunan taş Tümülüslerin varlığı; Troas Bölgesi ölü gömme adetleri için bir yeniliktir. Yüzey araştırmasında elde edilen ilk sonuçlar, Troas Bölgesi Tunç ve Demir Çağı arkeolojisi yerleşim düzenine; Troya ile çağdaş yeni buluntu yerlerinin eklenmesi bakımından katkı sağlamıştır.

Teşekkür:  Bu çalışmanın hazırlanmasında M.Ö. 7.-6. yy. seramiklerinin tarihlendirilmesi konusunda görüşlerini paylaşan Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi’nden Prof. Dr. Kaan İREN’e ve New York Cornell Üniversitesi’nden Doç. Dr. Carolyn ARSLAN’a;  kale planlarının hazırlanmasında, 3D modelleme ve hava fotoğraflarının çekiminde büyük desteği bulunan Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi’nden Harita Mühendisi Yrd. Doç. Dr. Mehmet Ali YÜCEL’e katkılarından dolayı çok teşekkür ederim. Ayrıca çalışmanın gerçekleşmesinde özveriyle çalışan tüm ekip üyelerine teşekkürlerimi sunarım.

Northern Greece is a stimulating area to observe cultural contacts. It is both turn toward sea with the Chalcidic peninsula, the Thermaic Gulf, the Pierian coast, as well as toward the northern hinterland with the mountainous passes as well as with the Axios/Vardar and the Strymona Rivers. Contacts between north and south are visible in the prehistoric period, and especially in the Mycenaean period, as well as during the Early Iron Age and the early archaic period with the Greek colonization. Through the modern literature, scholars have given different roles to this specific region: a corridor north/south, a periphery of the Greek world or of the central Balkans. Since few decades, the many excavations and research programs, have shown that this region is the centre of complex cultural relationships between the central Balkans and southern Greece. These contacts are expressed in varied manners depending on communities and spheres of human activities. In this paper I will focus on the Early Iron Age burial customs between the Pindus and southwestern Rhodopes mountains (11th to the end of the 7th century BCE). A geographical approach of the burial customs at a large scale raises many questions about collective identities and contacts between communities. The result of this study varied if we consider in one hand the spatial distribution of the treatments of the deceased, the architecture, and the organisation of the graves, and on the other hand the funerary ideologies visible through the grave goods, as their regional spatial patterning seems to be different.

In particular over the past 50 years, the tumulus-type tombs unearthed in ancient Thrace and Macedonia have generated interest in frescoes in terms of understanding the art of antiquity. As a result of the study of the tomb paintings in the two neighbouring regions, with the aim of understanding in terms of painting techniques and iconographic features, both the similarities and differences in these regions and be-tween each other. Furthermore; inferences are drawn the tomb finds and written sources relating to the soci-ocultural structure of the communities. Frescoes with-in the scope of this work are divided into two main groups according to whether they are figural or not. It is understood that the tombs in both regions, containing figures or not, have similar design schemes consist-ing of horizontal bands on top of each other. In the tombs in Thrace, dating from the middle of the first half of the Vth century B.C. to the middle of the Ist cen-tury A.D.; hunting scenes, the funeral dinner, funeral games, crowning, war dance and fighting scenes were depicted. In the Macedonian graves, the earliest of which is dated to around 340 B.C., the latest to the mid-dle of the IInd century B.C.; the subjects depicted were of hunting, funeral games, crowning, trophe, the kid-napping of Persephone, judgement (transition to the afterlife), philosophers’ meeting and royal symposia. The burial frescoes, which are concentrated in the second half of the IVth century B.C. and the IIIrd century B.C. in both regions, are important for depicting new subjects developed in the Hellenistic Period and they include the earliest examples of some techniques that are employed in modern painting

There are excavated and published more than 700 barrows (>5.000 burials) between Dniester and Prut rivers. The first barrows in the region of interest were excavated in the late 19th century, but the peak of barrow research is documented for 1970-1980s. Analysis of satellite images and topographical maps composed before the wide-spread excavations showed the main concentrations of barrows (sampling is over 10.700 or 2.5 mounds per 100 km2) and the linear patterns of their distribution connected to the natural features of relief. Barrow lines are predominantly placed on the ridges and oriented parallel to the rivers. The preliminary analysis of excavated barrow lines demonstrates the fact of the initial planning of the burial grounds by the early cultures and subsequent use due to the linear pattern, probably connected to the roads, trackways or migration routes. Most likely, the erecting of the barrows appears in the North-Western Black Sea region no later than late Eneolithic, 3900—3800 BC and continues until Modern periods, till the turn of 18-19th centuries. Analyzing even incomplete data, for example, published materials from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, it is easy to see that the barrow erecting covers two main chronological sequences. Most of the mounds were erected in the late Eneolithic – early Bronze Age (Yamnaya and Pre-Yamnaya cultures) and early Iron Age – Roman period (Scythians and Sarmatians). Between the end of the Early Bronze Age and the beginning of the Early Iron Age, the bearers of the burial cultures either used the already existing barrows or formed flat cemeteries. 134 burial mounds (or 10%) belong to the late Eneolithic and the Early Bronze Age before the penetration of Yamnaya tribes and 460 (or 35%) to the Yamnaya culture. The beginning of the Kurgan Era is characterized by one important feature that distinguishes it from the Kurgan Renaissance in the Scythian and Sarmatian times, which include 248 (19%) and 176 (13%) mounds, respectively. In addition to the erection of burial mounds, the Yamnaya and Pre-Yamnaya population rearranged both “their own” and previous mounds (that increase the diameter and height of the barrow). E. g. for the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age cultures, preceding the Yamnaya one, in addition to 134 burials, 31 cases of barrow rearrangement are known. Already in the Yamnaya time, in addition to 460 burial mounds erected by the Yamnaya tribes, 321 cases of rearrangement were recorded. During the Scythian and Sarmatian periods, the barrows were almost not rearranged, and the size of the erected mounds was significantly reduced: for the Pre-Yamnaya period the diameter of the barrow varied within 20-35 m, in the Yamnaya time it was up to 25-40 m, then in the Scythian period, the diameter of most of the mounds was 10-20 m, in the Sarmatian one – 15-30 m.

"In 2002 a burial tumulus was excavated at Mikri Doxipara-Zoni (AD 90-120). Research yielded a great spectrum of very interesting finds, including five richly decorated wagons, each buried with two auxiliary horses, two separate horse burials, human cremation burials, altars, hearths, pottery and objects of precious stones and metals. A total of fifteen horses (predominantly mares) in the prime of their lives were killed and buried in this tumulus. Obviously, this indicates that horses were of particular importance to the four people buried with these elaborate finds. This essay explores the ritual significance and symbolism of the horse in the burial of these four humans in this specific tumulus in Greek Thrace.
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In the lack of large-scale excavations involving the investigation of extensive areas, very little is known about the dwellings and burials of the social and economic elite of the period between the 13/12th and the 5th century BC. The rich inventory of finds nonetheless permits the study of this issue. The grave goods, the hoards and the finds from hillforts reflect the existence of a military aristocracy (indicated by defensive and offensive weaponry, prestige articles and jewellery), as do the “documents” of the early “diplomatic activity” of “royal” households, namely the lavish bronze and gold hoards. The typochronological analysis of the gold hoards from northern Transdanubia indicated that some local/regional centres had created their own distinct style that was then also followed elsewhere, especially in newly-founded settlements (“towns”), while the hermeneutics of the hoards enabled the identification of marriage relations and of the jewellery used during these ceremonies. The custom of erecting burial mounds, a typical element of the burial rite at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age, was apparently revived at the onset of the Early Iron Age. This has been interpreted as indicating the appearance of an ancestor or hero cult. Despite the chronological differences, certain similarities can be noted, as can the “re-arrangement” of the burial mounds and their re-use (e.g., at Jánosháza). The finds from some of the lavish tumulus burials (e.g., the mounds in the Somló-hegy and Ság-hegy area, Fehérvárcsurgó, Süttő, Szalacska, Százhalombatta, Vaskeresztes, etc.) offer an indication of the rich inventory of the burial chambers (“funeral houses”) of the social elite: the series of bronze vessels were definitely part of this inventory.

The Milyan Tumuli represent a course of premeditated, conscious actions of a society with a certain degree of experience and knowledge. This manifests itself in the selection of a site as well as in the labor and construction techniques. In this regard, the places selected and created for tumulus graves are situated within a landscape that was perceived, experienced, and contextualized by different peoples in different periods. These might reveal the cognitive relationships directly or indirectly established by the peoples building these tombs with the historical geography in which they were living. In any case, with regard to the finds and/or wall paintings inside the tombs, we can assume that the people inhabiting the high plateaus of the Teke Peninsula were, in fact, too refined to be merely defined as provincial. They enjoyed a dynamic and multicultural social structure that allowed them to keep up with the developments occurring in other Anatolian centers of contemporary culture and art. These ‘three-dimensional monuments’ engraved in the geographical memory of Milyas can be regarded, like their counterparts in Phrygia and Lydia, as symbolic memorials intended to strengthen true or perceived kinship relations for territorial rights and political purposes. Thus, they might have been the focus of a series of cultic activities related to the worship of family or ancestors.

This article focuses on the tumuli that lie in the western and central parts of the Troad; as a group, they functioned as attraction points, landscape markers, and social-cultural phenomena. The tumuli along the northwest coast of the Troad, in the shadow of Ilium, probably began to be associated with the graves of the Homeric heroes during the early Archaic period. Two of the mounds were often linked to Achilles and Patroclus; others have been connected with Antilochus, Protesilaus, and Ajax. Athens' first overseas colony of Sigeum was probably founded here in order to co-opt the legendary framework that these tumuli represented. They also formed the nucleus of a tourism industry centered on Ilium, and the tumulus of Achilles appears to have been monumentalized in the 3rd century BC to increase its tourism potential. The tumuli in the center of the Troad, along the Granicus and Aesepus rivers, date primarily to the Archaic and Classical periods, and were set up by wealthy Anatolians associated with the Persian satrap in Dascylium. These served both as estate markers and as components in a system of aristocratic competition. The sarcophagi and tomb chambers contained within them are among the earliest examples of Proconnesian marble monuments, and most were sited along the principal roads and waterways for easy viewing. The estates that produced these tumuli were largely abandoned after Alex-ander's conquests, and the area would not become inhabited again until a series of late Roman earthquakes prompted the inhabitants of the coastal cities to return to the interior.