GREECE PELOPONNESE ARGOLIS MIDEA DENDRA

The rich necropolis of Dendra, which spans the period from 1500 to 1180 BC, is associated with the nearby Mycenaean citadel and palatial centre of Midea. - Excavations were carried out by the Swedish archaeologist Paul Åström in 1960-1997. He uncovered an unlooted royal tholos tomb (diameter of the tholos 7m) of the 14th century BC with an impressive dromos (length 25m) and all the other features represented in Mycenaean tholoi (for more information on Mycenaean burials see here).

Inside the grave jewelry was found and especially a spectacular bronze suit of armor, now on display in the Archaeological Museum of Nafplion. The rich grave offerings as well as the elaborate construction of the tomb point to a complex society.

Apart from the tholos there are sixteen chamber tombs carved into the bedrock. Burial pits were dug in the floor of the chambers and of the entrance passageways (dromoi), as these tombs were used for successive burials. - Above: Chamber tomb 1; below: chamber tomb 2 with work tools still in place in 2011.