Friday, March 29, 2024

Remains of ancient lost Greek city found by the cultural ministry of Greece

On Tuesday, the Culture Ministry of Greece announced that what is believed to be the remains of an ancient Greek lost city has been discovered. Among the artifacts unearthed are walls, clay, marble or stone floors of buildings, household pottery, a gaming die made from bone and over 200 coins. The ministry’s statement disclosed that excavations, carried out from September to early October in the southern region of Peloponnese, uncovered “proof of the existence of the ancient city” of Tenea.

“It is significant that the remnants of the city, the paved roads, the architectural structure, came to light,” lead archaeologist Elena Korka told Reuters.

Among the structures and artifacts unearthed are walls, clay, marble or stone floors of buildings, household pottery, a gaming die made from bone and over 200 coins dating from the 4th Century B.C. to late Roman times.
The main excavations in the area started in 2013.

“(The city) had distinctive pottery shapes with eastern influences, maintained contacts with both east and west … and had its own way of thinking, which, to the extent that it could, shaped its own policies,” the archaeologist said.

A pottery jar containing the remains of two human fetuses was also found amid the foundations of one building.

Greeks believed the city was first settled by Trojan captives of war and historic references document that Tenea’s citizens formed the greater part of the colonists who founded the city of Syracuse in Sicily.

“This year we excavated part of the city itself,” Korka stated, adding that “the citizens seem to have been remarkably affluent.”

Korka also noted that the city likely benefited significantly from trading, based on being located along a key route between major cities of Corinth and Argos.

Excavation work continues on the cemeteries about 100 kilometers southwest of Athens.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

spot_img

Don't Miss

Related Articles