GREECE PELOPONNESE ARGOLIS HERAION PROSYMNA

Above: Panoramic view of the so-called "Prosymna tholos", the name being a bit confusing since it is situated near the Argive Heraion. It is not signposted, so not easy to find.

In 1872 a farmer noticed an extraordinarily large stone block in his olive grove and informed the authorities. When Panagiotis Stamatakis began excavations in 1878 it soon turned out to be the lintel block of a tholos tomb. There were three burial pits in the floor of the thalamos, but all of them already plundered in ancient times. In 1921-23 Alan Wace re-investigated the tholos. - For an introduction to Mycenaean tombs: see here.

Above: The chamber, the ceiling of which has collapsed, has a diameter of 9.50 m and originally a height of some 10 m. Its walls are made of hammer-dressed blocks, not very neatly fitted together. - Below: The inner lintel block is curved to match the vault of the thalamos. This, along with other features, fits the assignment of this tholos to Alan Wace's group II of tholos tombs at Mycenae, placing its construction at around 1400 BC.

The stomion is made of larger, more carefully dressed stones. There is also a recess in the exterior lintel block for a wooden door to fit in. The walls of the 18 m long and 2.90-3.15 m wide dromos have partly disappeared, the rest is highly at risk of collapsing. The support poles do not look very trustworthy.

Advancing to the interior of the thalamos.