ARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered two large chamber tombs dated to around 1300 BC in an important Mycenaean Greece-era burial ground.
The discovery is so rare because the tombs are completely intact and offer new insights into the period that influenced the Ancient Greek Empire.
Mycenaean Greece was the last stage of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece and lasted from approximately 1600–1100 BC
It perished with the Bronze Age but represents the first mainland civilisation in Greece and did influence the culture and innovations of Classical Greece.
Aidonia, the area that the new tombs were discovered in, was already known to archaeologists but they had never found intact tombs at the site because most of them were raided in the 1970s.
The Greek Village is near the historic Nemea site, which is rich in archaeological ruins and even has a temple of Zeus.
The Ministry of Culture in Greece announced the new discovery.
The fact the tombs haven’t been looted means the skeletal remains and all the artefacts inside could teach us a lot more about the Mycenaean period.
Both tombs had roofs, although one had collapsed, and contained the remains of 14 individuals laid out in five separate burials.
Archaeologists think that the bones were probably transferred there from other tombs.
Clay pots and figurines were also discovered.
They could have been offerings to the dead as this was a common burial practice at the time.
Experts think most tombs at the site were heavily looted because they contained jewellery.
Some jewellery taken from the site was reportedly almost sold at an auction in New York in 1993 but experts linked the precious items back to this burial site in Greece so they were was eventually repatriated.
This recent dig was sponsored by the Corinthian Ephorate of Antiquities and led by Assistant Professor of Archaeology at the Universities of Graz in Austria and Trier of Germany, Konstantinos Kissa.
The site will be excavated further in the future.
Mycenaean Greece is mentioned in famous texts like the Iliad and the Odyssey and is famed for its palaces and aristocratic warrior society.
