Site details

Volos/Kapakli: Tholos Tomb

PK	C1595
TITLE	Volos∕Kapakli: Tholos Tomb
WGS84	39.36683° N, 22.926574° E
Accuracy	Exact

LAT/LON	39.36683, 22.926574
LON/LAT	22.926574, 39.36683

DMS

39° 22' 0.588" N

22° 55' 35.6664" E

W3W	counts, bespoke, costs
UTM	34 S, 665967, 4359256
EGSA87	407382, 4357748

Elevation m	9
Elevation feet	29.5
Region	Pelasgiotis

GENERAL SITE TYPE Tholos

TYPE

1.    Artifacts.   Simpson and Dickinson [1979], 273    ' ...and much jewellery, ... '
2.    Pottery.   Simpson [1981], 163    ' ... published vases ... '
3.    Tholos.   Simpson and Dickinson [1979], 273    'A tholos tomb at Kapakli, to the N, is large (c. 10 m.) but not especially well-built; it contained at least 20 burials ... '
4.    Tholos.   Simpson [1981], 161    'The Mycenaean tholos tomb at Kapakli ... '
5.    Tholos.   Pelon [1976], 243    'La seule tholos d'époque mycénienne trouvée à Volos même ...'

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. Late Helladic II: (1635 BC - 1410 BC)
    a.    Pelon [1976]: 244, 'La tholos de Kapakli a livré, ..., deux vases décorés qui sont à dater de l'HR II.'

2. LH IIB: (1470 BC - 1410 BC)
    a.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 273, 'The few publlished vases are LH IIB - IIIA1 in date, ... '
    b.    Simpson [1981]: 163, ' ... [the] few published vases are LH IIB - IIIA1, but stirrup-jar fragments are also referred to in the report, and some of these might be of later date.'

3. LH IIIA: (1410 BC - 1315 BC)
    a.    Rousioti [2012]: 233, 'The systematic study of the finds by R. Avila indicates that Late Helladic IIIA was the main period of use of the tomb. However, it is possible that the tomb was in use in the Late Helladic IIIB period, too.'

4. LH IIIA1: (1410 BC - 1375 BC)
    a.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 273, 'The few publlished vases are LH IIB - IIIA1 in date, ... '
    b.    Simpson [1981]: 163, ' ... [the] few published vases are LH IIB - IIIA1, but stirrup-jar fragments are also referred to in the report, and some of these might be of later date.'

5. LH IIIB: (1320 BC - 1190 BC)
    a.    Rousioti [2012]: 233, 'The systematic study of the finds by R. Avila indicates that Late Helladic IIIA was the main period of use of the tomb. However, it is possible that the tomb was in use in the Late Helladic IIIB period, too.'

NOTES

1.   Original account of the discovery of the tholos is on p. 211 of the second volume to be found here.

2.  Some objects from the tholos tomb of Kapakli can be seen here.

3.  A floor-plan of the Volos Kapakli tomb is on p. 112, fig. 2 of Litsa Kontorli-Papadopoulou's 'Mycenaean Tholos Tombs: Some Thoughts on Burial Customs and Rites'. It can be found here. This article originally appeared in the Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies., KLADOS: Essays in Honour of J.N. Coldstream, Supplement 63, (1995), pp. 111-122.

4.  Robert Avila has provided the best account of this tholos in his 'Das Kuppelgrab von Volos-Kapakli(Kapakli 1)' in Prähistorische Zeitschrift (58:1), pp. 15-60, 1983. Regrettably I cannot find a copy that is not behind some rather severe paywall. Luckily Avila's conclusions are provided in Rousioti [2012] 233, footnote 3. It reads (in part):

"The tholos tomb was investigated in 1906 by K. Kourouniotis. Among the grave goods, pottery as well as objects(mainly jewelry) of gold, glass, stone and ivory were uncovered. The systematic study of the finds by R. Avila indicates that Late Helladic IIIA was the main period of use of the tomb. However, it is possible that the tomb was in use in the Late Helladic IIIB period, too. The Kapakli tholos tomb is part of an extensive cemetery containing numerous cist graves dating from the early Mycenaean to the Protogeometric period. The cemetery is associated to the Late Bronze Age coastal site of Kastro-Palia located to the east. Avila 1983, 15-60; ... "

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Pelon [1976]: Pelon, Olivier. Tholoi, tumuli et cercles funéraires; Recherches sur les monuments funéraires de plan circulaire dan l'Égée de l’Âge du Bronze (IIIe at IIe millénaires av. J.-C). Bibliothèques de l'École française d'Athènes et de Rome - Série Athènes, 229. 1976., '38. Volos', pg. 243. Online here.

2. Rousioti [2012]: Rousioti, Dimitra. ‘Sharing images, shaping power in the periphery: The influence of the Mycenaean palatial system in the iconography of the Late Bronze Age Thessaly’, Anodos. Studies of the Ancient World. December 2012, pp. 233-242, '', pg. 233. Online here.

3. Simpson [1981]: Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press, 1981., 'H1 Volos: Kastro (Ancient Iolkos)', pg. 161. Online here.

4. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: Simpson, Richard Hope and O.T.P.K. Dickinson. A Gazetteer of Aegean Civilization in the Bronze Age, Vol. I: The Mainland and the Islands. Paul Åströms Förlag, Goteborg. 1979., 'H 1 Volos: Kastro (Ancient Iolkos)', pg. 273. Online here.