Thorikos
Located
on Attica's eastern coast (just north of Laurion), the acropolis of ancient
Thorikos sits above the small modern community of the same name and looks
out over the Bay of Thorikos that seperates it from Laurion. The
area was known in antiquity for its mines and today industry still leaves
its mark on the area with power and manufacturing plants to the north.
The large (and quite high) acropolis of Velatouri
divides the classical and archaic site on the south from the Mycenaean
tombs to the north. A road (not for most vehicles) climbs from the
vicinity of the Ayios Nikolaos promentory to the Mycenaean tholos tombs
near the summit. The best preserved tomb, Tholos B, measures 9.25
meters in diameter and has a dromos (entry "hall") 8.2 meters long.
It held numerous burials, some of whose cuttings are still visible in the
tomb floor, but now the roof has collapsed. It is still one of the
best examples of tholoi in Attica. Nearby, approaching the lower
peak of the hill, is Tholos A. It is strange in that the interior
is in an elliptical shape, 9.3 X 3.5 meters. The interior is far
less stable (possibly from the shape - not circular) and the interior is
currently held up by numerous braces. The huge lintel blocks
which sit above the entryways, a common feature of tholos tombs, was snapped
in the last decade by a hefty tourist who decided he would like to swing
above the doorway.
Bibliography:
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