Cist graves and Chamber Tombs

Abstract

The two categories of tomb are defined. Burial practice in Greece from MH onwards is discussed, chamber tombs being established as canonical in LH I, though these are not universal, and cist and pit burials continue. Chamber and tholos tombs occur over a wide area of the mainland in LH II; after LH II, except for children's burials, pits and cists are relatively rare, though they are found in chamber tombs. It is argued that chamber tombs were the general form of burial, and that cists and pits were not used, separately, for poor burials. Chamber tombs continue to be general in LH IIIC: simpler requirements and cremation lead to a revival of cists and pits, though chamber tombs do not totally die out, and in Crete continue to be the preferred form in Archaic times.

The Formation and Use of Dromoi in Early Mycenaean Tombs

“…We should stress here that, while the gradual adoption of collective (‘family’) tombs from LH I onwards testifies to the growing importance of kinship and descent for Helladic societies (Wright 2008, 238–9), in many sites such tombs were a minority until LH II, coexisting with traditional forms of burial in single graves (Dickinson 1983, 61–2; Papadimitriou forthcoming a). Therefore, the owning groups may have needed to do more than simply constructing them in order to legitimise their departure from earlier traditions, establish their distinct position within the community, and also reaffirm their internal coherence (Boyd 2014a, 202; Papadimitriou forthcoming a).…”

“…Dromoi are considered essential features of Mycenaean funerary architecture, inherently associated with tholoi and chamber tombs (Hood 1960, 174; Mylonas 1966, 111–12, 118–20; Pelon 1976, 154; Dickinson 1977, 59–67; 1983, 57). Several scholars have examined changes in their size and form as the result of wider technical developments (Wace 1931; 1932, 124–31; Blegen 1937, 232–8; Pelon 1976, 277–97; Dobiat 1982; Cavanagh and Mee 1998, 46; Kamm 2000; Como 2007, 23–8; Zavadil 2013, 53–9).…”

“…23). Thebes Agia Anna 2* in Boeotia [48] is claimed by Dickinson (1977, 64, note 42) to be LH I, but Mountjoy (1999, 642) dates the earliest use of the cemetery to LH IIA. No other chamber tombs in mainland Greece can be safely or possibly dated to LH I on the basis of pottery (Dickinson 1983, 60–1; Cavanagh and Mee 1998, 48; Phialon 2011, 249–58, 379–83).…”

Detection and localization of chamber tombs in the environs of ancient Olympia, Peloponnese, Greece, based on a combination of archaeological survey and geophysical prospection

“…Pottery dates the use of these tombs generally to the period from the end of the 15th century BC to the beginning of the 11th century BC, although the period of use might vary from site to site. All Mycenaean tombs in the surroundings of the cult site of Olympia show the typical characteristics of chamber tombs that are cut into soft rock material: the chamber contains a varying number of burial pits used for primary and secondary burials, the doorway (stomion) that is often blocked with stones, and the entrance passage (dromos) varying in width and length (Figure c; Dickinson, ; Karkanas et al, ; Vikatou, ; Waldbaum, ). One of our study sites is the cemetery of Mageiras‐Kioupia, situated near the village of Mageiras only 3 km to the north of ancient Olympia (Figure a).…”

Early Lesbos between east and west: a ‘grey area’ of Aegean archaeology

“…2) there are huge cist graves (suggested to be of LH III date) which were first noted by Charitonidis and are still visible today. 27 Cist tombs are unusual this late in the Mycenaean sequence in mainland Greece and the Aegean, 28 but graves similar to those at Makara appear nearby at Emporio on Chios and on Psara, and this whole group has been seen as representing the survival of a pre-Mycenaean, local tradition of burial in the north-east Aegean, thereby distinguishing the region from nearly all of the Mycenaean world. 29…”