Site details

Diros: Alepotrypa Cave: Xagounaki

PK	C560
TITLE	Diros: Alepotrypa Cave: Xagounaki
WGS84	36.637896° N, 22.38009° E
Accuracy	Exact

LAT/LON	36.637896, 22.38009
LON/LAT	22.38009, 36.637896

DMS

36° 38' 16.4256" N

22° 22' 48.324" E

W3W	powered, playground, custard
UTM	34 S, 623378, 4055591
EGSA87	355031, 4055638

Elevation m	39
Elevation feet	128
Region	Laconia

GENERAL SITE TYPE Cem

TYPE

1.    Cem.   BCH Online, 4889    'In the overlying levels was a round bone-enclosure, 4m in diameter, defined by field stones and with a pebble floor (Fig. 3). A large quantity of human skeletal remains, representing tens of individuals, was collected from the floor surface, together with characteristic LH III objects (e.g. pottery, beads, and a dagger, Figs 4, 5, 6). This structure is so far unique in the Mycenaean record. Initial study of the skeletal remains indicate that they are in secondary deposition, i.e. removed from their primary burial contexts in the Xagounaki area. As yet no Mycenaean settlement remains have been found in the wider area of the cave, even though it has been systematically surveyed. The closest site of the period is at Ag. Vasileios, at least 40km away.'
2.    Sherds.   Efstathiou-Manolakou [2009], 7    '..., as well as two more fragments of horizontal 'pushed-through' handles.'
3.    Tools.   Cartledge [2002], 30    'But perhaps the most exciting of all is the discovery of copper tools in the Alepotrypa cave. The source of the ore and the place where the metal was smelted are not yet established ...'

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. EH: (3100 BC - 2000 BC)
    a.    Cartledge [2002]: 30, '.. these implements provide a convenient transition to the Early Bronze Age, known in mainland Greece as the Early Helladic (EH) era.'

2. EH II: (2700 BC - 2200 BC)
    a.    Efstathiou-Manolakou [2009]: 7, 'This characteristic technique of attaching handles to the body of the pot begins in the Early Helladic (EH) II period ...'

3. Middle Helladic: (2000 BC - 1600 BC)
    a.    Efstathiou-Manolakou [2009]: 5, '...and continues into the Middle Helladic (MH).'

4. LH III: (1410 BC - 1060 BC)
    a.    BCH Online: , '..characteristic LH III objects (e.g. pottery, beads, and a dagger, Figs 4, 5, 6).'

NOTE

1. More:

Additional Material and photographs from National Geographic which describe the work of Anastasia Papathanasiou at Alepotrypa.
Anastasia Papathanasiou's [2018] book Neolithic Alepotrypa Cave in the Mani, Greece, Anastasia Papathanasiou et al. (eds.) is described here

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. BCH Online: Archaeology in Greece Online/Chronique des fouilles en ligne, 'Xagounaki, near Alepotrypa Cave, Diros', no. 4889. Online here. Online here.

2. Cartledge [2002]: Cartledge, Paul. Sparta and Lakonia; A regional history 1300-362 BC. Routledge, London and New York. 2002., '', pg. 30.

3. Efstathiou-Manolakou [2009]: Efstathiou-Manolakou, Ioanna. ‘Archaeological investigations in the caves of Laconia’, British School at Athens Studies (16), Sparta and Laconia: From Prehistory to Pre-Modern, pp. 5-20. 2009., 'Glyphada Cave at Diros', pg. 5. Online here.