School-Affiliated Excavation at Pylos Uncovers Ancient Warrior’s Tomb
ASCSA Trustee Chair Emeritus James Ottaway and Jack Davis peer inside the trench where Shari Stocker is excavating. Photo: R. McCabe
The intact shaft tomb of a wealthy Bronze Age warrior buried ca.1500 B.C. was discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Sharon Stocker and former School Director Jack Davis. The burial contains one of the most significant displays of prehistoric era riches discovered in mainland Greece in the past 65 years. Both Stocker and Davis say it was good luck to make this rare discovery which is unlikely to be repeated. Amazingly, the top of the grave lies at about ground level and has been walked over many times by previous archaeologists, but it had not been found until now. “It’s almost as if the occupant wants his story to be told,” Stocker and Davis speculate. The team is looking forward to interpreting DNA analysis and using other modern techniques to unearth the mysteries of the tomb's contents, something that was not possible for early excavators of the major discoveries of the past. "We’ve come a long way from Heinrich Schliemann,” said School Board Chair Malcolm Wiener. The Pylos find has been covered in major news outlets. Click on the links below to read more about it and view additional photos. New York Times CNN University of Cincinnati magazine National Geographic Kathimerini and video. Left: inside the trench was found a bronze basin with double ax and boars’ tusk plaques inside. Right: Unique gold necklace more than 30-inches long found near the neck of the warrior's skeleton. The Pylos project is sponsored and fully funded by the Department of Classics of the University of Cincinnati, an ASCSA cooperating institution.