#mavropigi

Who was the wreathed woman found lavishly buried on a bed beneath the foundations of a modern house in the Kozani village of Mavropigi? Was she a noblewoman or was she connected to the cult of Apollo? These are but two of many questions still being investigated by archaeologists and anthropologists studying the fascinating discoveries made beneath a recently demolished West Macedonia village.

Mavropigi is located 11 kilometers from Public Power Corporation’s Ptolemaida plant and the villagers were evacuated in 2011 when the land it stood on was appropriated by the state-owned electricity firm. What archaeologists have discovered during excavations at 50 locations since is that the area has been inhabited since Neolithic times (6500 BC) and was never completely deserted. This constant habitation is evidenced by residential and funerary artifacts brought to light before PPC started mining for lignite.

The death bed, brought to light in 2019 with the demolition of a house belonging to the Haitidi family, was one of the most exciting discoveries made at the site and was also the star exhibit at a recent online presentation of the archaeological work being done in the area.

rare-funerary-bed-discovered-in-lignite-mine2“The owner of the house, which was near the village square, was one of the last residents to leave. He refused to accept this forced evacuation,” says archaeologist Areti Chondrogianni-Metoki, who is the curator of Kozani antiquities and supervisor of the lignite mine excavations. The intact burial site has been dated to the late 1st century BC or early 2nd century AD and stands out for the pristine state of the death bed.

By Alicia McDermott

“Ancient tombs are fascinating finds, especially when they’re intact. They can provide us with clues on how a person died, social status, burial styles, and funerary rites. The last of these is perhaps the most exciting because it can provide a wealth of knowledge about how our ancestors viewed life and death and what may lay beyond. Let’s see what an intact tomb of a woman who died in the Hellenistic period may say about rituals surrounding death in her time.”

Archaeologists recently discovered an intact tomb dating to the first century BC in the area of Mavropigi in West Macedonia’s Kozani region.

The major discovery was made public by a statement issued recently by Kozani’s Ephorate of Antiquities.

“During the ongoing excavations of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kozani in the Mavropigi lignite mine, within the partially demolished modern settlement of Mavropigi, and specifically under the foundation of a house, important grave goods were discovered, dating to the end of the 1st century BC,” the statement notes.

The excavation will continue, but the Ephorate noted in its statement that the bronze funeral bier, found under the skeletal remains of the buried person, is unique, at least for Northern Greece. As a completely intact object, it represents a unique discovery for the whole of Greece, according to published archaeological data.