2006–2007 Excavations of the Mycenaean cemetery at Ayia Sotira, ancient Nemea
R.A.K. Smith, E. Pappi, M.K. Dabney, S. Triantaphyllou & J.C. Wright Aegean Archaeology 8 (2005-2006) [2009]: 95-109.
Abstract
During the summers of 2006 and 2007 the Canadian Institute in Greece sponsored the excavation of a Mycenaean chamber tomb cemetery at Ayia Sotira near Koutsomodi in the Nemea valley. The cemetery was discovered in 2002, when the 4th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities discovered illegal digging in an olive grove above the small church of Ayia Sotira, and immediately conducted salvage excavations of one of the chamber tombs. Our team returned in 2006 and 2007 and carried out geophysical survey, surface pickup, test trenching, and the excavation of another four tombs with material dating from LH IIIA1 to LH IIIB2. These tombs almost certainly belong to the nearby settlement of Tsoungiza. The location and alignment of these tombs suggest that there are others yet to be discovered in fields to the north and west of our original excavation area, and we are in the process of purchasing this land in order to continue excavations in 2008.