Radiocarbon dating of the major settlement at skarkos (1) (original) (raw)

Marthari, M. 2017. Figurines in context at the Chalandriani cemetery on Syros

in M. Marthari, C. Renfrew and M. Boyd, Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context, Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow, pp. 297-309

The Chalandriani cemetery is the largest and most extensive EC burial ground known. More than 700 graves of the subterranean corbelled type have been excavated to date. The accompanying artefacts are distinguished by their variety and richness. These include among other impressive pottery, marble vessels, silver and bronze artefacts. Figurines, however, are rare in this cemetery. Only six figurines come from the 540 graves that Tsountas brought to light by excavation in 1898. In addition, two figurines were unearthed in a rescue excavation carried out recently by the writer, which brought to light 28 graves in total. In sum, only 22 figurines, twelve ‘naturalistic’ and ten schematic, came to light in the 727 graves excavated at the Chalandriani cemetery. In contrast, 22 figurines were uncovered in only five graves at the Aplomata cemetery on Naxos. Thirteen figurines, 11 of marble and two of shell, were found in grave 13 at Aplomata. On the other hand, it is only at the cemetery at Chalandriani that pottery, mainly ‘frying-pans’, with representations of boats have been uncovered The evidence shows great differences among the Cycladic communities in the selection of the grave-goods. These selections might reflect the greater accessibility of a community to a special kind of material, for instance, good quality white marble. However, they might also echo the structural peculiarities of each individual community.