TREASURE OF THE TOMB SOUTH OF THE AGORA.
Discovery and description of another tomb in the Acropolis outside the Agora—Its Cyclopean masonry like that of the five sepulchres—The golden trinkets of this tomb—Double-handled goblets—A plain gold cup (φιάλη)—Spirals and rings of gold and silver wire, like those of the Egyptian tombs—A golden seal-ring covered with intaglio-work—Its full description—The face-covers of the female figures prove the use of masks during life—A figure meant for a Palladium—Six other rude figures resembling the Trojan idols: their likeness to the "Corinthian helmet" of Athena—The work of this ring calls to mind Homer's description of the shield of Achilles—A smaller golden signet-ring, with four Palladia and three Hera-idols—A beautiful lion of massive gold—Gold necklace beads—Bones of animals found in this tomb—The human remains probably removed when the water conduit was built, but the small jewel-recess escaped being rifled—Three curious lentoid gems of necklaces, one found on the site of Phœnicé, the others near the ancient Heræum—The first represents Phœnician figures—Description of the other two—The Cyclopean foundations of the ancient Heræum, probably as old as the walls of Tiryns and Mycenæ—It was destroyed by fire in 423 B.C., and its site deserted.
Telegrams to and from the King of Greece—Conclusion.
Athens, March 1, 1877.
DISCOVERY OF THE TOMB.
My engineer, the Lieutenant Vasilios Drosinos, of Nauplia, having proceeded on the 20th of January to Mycenæ, in company with the painter D. Tountopoulos, who had to make for me an Ichnography of the five large sepulchres and the circular Agora by which they are surrounded, in verifying the plans he had made for me, recognised, due south of the Agora the form of a tomb, the site of which is marked with the letter P on the Flan B, and of which I give a most accurate separate plan.[398] By the latter it will be seen that the construction of this tomb differs from that of the five sepulchres within the Agora, for on its north side the rock is cut vertically for a distance of 2 metres (6 ft. 8 in.) only, whilst on its east side it is cut for more than double the distance required for it; the vertical height of this rock being 1 m. 70 c. (5 ft. 8 in.) The eastern rock, which is cut vertically, is lined with a roughly built wall of stones joined without cement, and the same is the case with the northern rock, but here the Cyclopean wall continues in a straight line for 6 metres (20 feet), and thus for 13 ft. 4 in. farther west than the extent of the rock. On the west and south sides there is no rock at all, but merely the same kind of rude wall, which is so irregularly built that, whilst the north side of the tomb is 20 ft. and the eastern side 13 ft. 4 in. long, its southern side is 17 ft. 4 in. and its west side 12 ft. long. In the south-east corner of the tomb the Cyclopean masonry has been demolished for a distance of 1 m. 80 c. (6 feet), apparently by those who laid the water conduit, which, built of uncut stones without cement, runs all along the eastern and northern sides of the tomb, and is doubtless much later than the latter.
As will be seen by Plan G, I had excavated this site to a depth of 6 m. 70 c. or 22 ft. 4 in., and had penetrated on one side 5 ft., on the other 5 ft. 4 in. deep within the walls of the tomb, in which I had left a layer of débris only 1 ft. 10 in. deep. But as the tomb is immediately east of the large Cyclopean house, of which I had excavated many rooms down to the rock without finding anything particular, I had considered the sepulchre as a dependency of the house, and had not cared to excavate the little débris which still covered its site.
But my most excellent engineer was more keen-sighted. Being struck by the appearance of the walls built in a much ruder way than those of the Cyclopean house, he at once recognised the identity of the masonry with that of the masonry in the large tombs, and as he saw the northern wall partly and the eastern entirely leaning against the rock, he had the firm conviction that it was a sepulchre. Therefore on his return to Nauplia he communicated his important discovery to a government clerk of the name of Stamatakes, who had been sent that very day by the Director-general, Mr. P. Eustratiades, to Nauplia, in order to choose a place in the Acropolis of Mycenæ on which to build a wooden hut for the watchmen. Mr. Drosinos indicated to him on my plans the precise site of the tomb, and gave him the most minute information in relation to it, so that the clerk found the place at once, and engaged a workman, at whose first or second blow of the pickaxe a golden vessel came to light, and in less than half an hour the following objects were gathered. First, four large golden goblets with two handles, of which I represent one as the vignette to this chapter (No. 528). All the four goblets have exactly the same form and are nearly of the same size. All of them represent the Homeric δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον, because all have two handles. These are attached with golden nails to the body and rim, and all of them terminate in a dog's head, which holds the rim in his jaws and seems to drink from the cup. Besides the dogs' heads, these four goblets have no ornamentation whatever, and their form is identical with that of the cup No. 343,[399] with the sole difference that the latter has only one handle.
No. 529. Gold Rings, gold wire (round and quadrangular) in spirals, and one Silver Ring. All of the double size.
TWO-HANDLED GOBLETS.