GREECE PELOPONNESE ELEIA SAMIKON HELLADIC

One of the archaeological sites of Samikon is located on the rocky crag of Kleidi (= "key") and is dated to the Middle and Late Helladic era. The site is also identified as ancient Makistos (Macistus). - Cyclopean walls and Mycenaean potsherds were found by Wilhelm Doerpfeld already in 1908. In 1954 Nikolaos Gialouris excavated a large cemetery of Middle Helladic tumuli with many graves and a wealth of important grave gifts. According to Gialouris, the burial mound was built in honor of the hero Iardanos. The excavations were resumed by Papakonstadinou in the 1980's and brought to light another four tumuli.

Today the site is fenced and the roofed tumuli are not very well preserved so that there is not very much to see for the average visitor. No sign, no description - so that sometimes you wonder: ancient or not?