Ancient Grave Site Found Could Point To Earliest Date In Athenian History

What archaeologists found at the ancient Cemetery of Phaleron in Athens were at least 80 skeletons with their wrists clamped together in iron shackles.

 

Archaeologists have speculated and suggested that the skeletons appear to be the victims of a mass execution, but their crime still remains to be unknown.

What archaeologists are now saying with a new theory is that the skeletons came from the ‘Cylonian Affair’ from 632 BC, the earliest reliably dated event in Athenian history.

The event refers to a failed coup attempt led by aristocratic Cylon, who once plotted to overthrow the Athenian elites with the help of his tyrannical father-in-law. This was during a time of civil unrest in the ancient society.

The grave site of the Phaleron Delta necropolis is thought to date back between 8th and 5th centuries BC and is from a time of great social turmoil.

To test this theory, Dr. Stella Chryssoulaki who is head of excavations, said that more research is needed to confirm if the skeletons are the remnants of Cylon’s failed coup attempt. DNA tests could confirm this theory.

Over 1,500 bodies were buried in the Phaleron Cemetery, but unlike the renowned occupants of the Kerameikos cemetery where many elite Greeks were buried, the Phaleron Delta necropolis appears to be the final resting place of Athens’ everyday inhabitants from ordinary backgrounds.

Article Source: Euro News