Today, I had the pleasure of digitizing some old film. This one was my favorite and came out of a box labeled Greece 1986. Luckily, the Tholos is easily recognizable.

(I am an archivist currently working on a classical archaeology degree, so this was a fun find.)

This is one of several figurines that have been unearthed from miniature burial pits located throughout the ancient city of Vani, which once served as the religious, cultural, and administrative center for the Kingdom of Colchis. Each figurine was crafted from bronze or iron, adorned with tiny pieces of jewelry, wrapped in a burial shroud, and then placed in its own special "grave" beneath a temple.

Above: one of the burial figurines from ancient Vani

As this article describes:

Seven metal figurines, dating to 300–200 BCE, have been discovered both in and near sacred structures at Vani. Adorned with gold jewelry and apparently wrapped in decorated garments, the figures were carefully buried in a way that seems to mimic the human burials at the site.

Above: close-up of another burial figurine from Vani, in this case depicting a satyr with a golden torque

The adornments on each figurine also mimic some of the jewelry and burial garments that have been found in human graves at Vani:

One figurine has a head with disproportionately large features, a low sloping brow, and an elongated torso with bowed arms and stiffly rendered legs. Most striking is its lavish gold jewellery, some of which reflects the types that were worn by people who were buried at Vani. In addition to gold earrings, a torque, and bracelets, five gold rosettes appear to have been strung around the figurine’s head, and several pendants were found in its chest area.

The figurine was placed between two terracotta tiles and then buried in a small pit that had been cut into the bedrock, thus mimicking contemporary human burials.

The precise function, surely of local religious nature, still remains a subject of discussion. However, it is worth noting that the intriguing practice of burying such figurines in a ritualistic manner appears to be specific to Vani during its phase as a sanctuary city.

Above: the figurine on the left is decorated with a pair of earrings, bracelets, a torque, and a crown of gold rosettes

As I've mentioned before, the Kingdom of Colchis covered most of what is now western Georgia, and the Colchians themselves were famous for their skill as goldsmiths. To the ancient Greeks, Colchis was also known as the homeland of the fabled Golden Fleece, where the story of Jason and the Argonauts took place.

Above: more of the burial figurines from Vani

Sources & More Info:

John Paul Getty Museum: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani

Fitzwilliam Museum: Ritual

Journal of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies: Vani: an Ancient City of Colchis (PDF)

the lighting??? the fog?? the atmosphere???