Opportunità Formative | Athenian Gold Geometric Jewellery. The Case of the Female Burial of the Philopappos Archaeological Site

In 2002 the discovery of three tombs of the Geometric period (burials of two adults and a child) on the eastern slope of the Hill of the Muses (Philopappos), brought new evidence for the goldsmithing of the Geometric period. The most important of the tombs belonged to a young girl who was buried with her four gold jewels, surrounded with vases. The "Maiden of the Hills" had two gold pectorals decorated with Baltic amber sewn into her robe, wore two gold spiral earrings, and had on one hand a simple gold wire ring. They were the jewels she would have worn at her wedding, had death not come so early. The pottery of the three tombs is representative of the Middle Geometric period and the burial practices reflect the aristocratic status of the deceased. This exciting new discovery of jewelry has provided some of the most beautiful and interesting pieces found in Geometric Greece. During the Middle Geometric period, in Attica, an unusually large production of gold jewelry develops. I will compare the jewelry of the tomb with similar pieces from the collections of the British Museum as well as from excavation findings from Attica. This presentation will attempt to reconstruct the archaeological topography to the south of the Acropolis of Athens; some jewelry restorations will be proposed and unpublished material from older excavations will be presented.

Pubblicato il 14 Maggio 2023