Impressive Archaic Burials and Fortified Settlement Discovered in Phthiotis
According to a recent announcement by the Greek Ministry of Culture, rescue excavations carried out by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Phthiotis and Evrytania (ΕΦΑΦΕΥ) on the eastern foothills of Lake Kifissis (Kopaida), about 6 km north of the Sanctuary of Apollo Ptoös and ancient Akraiphia, have revealed a significant archaic‑and‑classical period cemetery and architectural remains of a fortified settlement.
The site, marked on older maps as “Spitia–Katavothra,” includes a necropolis arranged in clusters composed of pit graves, cremation pyres and tile‑roofed tombs. Archaeological work is ongoing, but from the 40 graves examined so far the finds attest to the high standard of living and social status of the landowning inhabitants of this riverside Boeotian community (Ministry of Culture announcement).
“The Lady with the Inverted Diadem”
The most striking find is the grave dubbed the “Burial of the Lady with the Inverted Diadem,” dated to the second half of the 7th century BCE. It is part of a cluster of three pit graves. Preliminary dental analysis indicates the primary burial belongs to an adult woman aged about 20–30 years. At her head was placed, as a ritual emblem of rank, a large, banded bronze diadem crowned by a prominent rosette positioned over the brow—designed “as a sun.”
The ornate diadem was produced with the repoussé technique and bears a running decoration of confronting pairs of heraldic lions (male and female), animals that traditionally symbolize royal power and authority. Crucially, the diadem had been laid on the deceased’s head inverted: the lions are in a supine position and the fringe ornament sits at the lower edge. In modern symbolic language an inverted crown or diadem signifies the monarch’s resignation or fall and the loss of office and power. Archaeologists interpret this burial within the broader socio‑political transition of the mid‑7th century BCE, a period when hereditary kingship was destabilized and the rise of aristocratic elites led, in subsequent times, to oligarchic rule.
The woman’s rank and wealth are further demonstrated by numerous bronze grave goods. Among the most notable are two oversized Boeotian‑type buckles with incised geometric horse motifs, a necklace with a large amphora‑shaped pendant, bone and ivory beads, amber (electron) tokens, foil rosettes, bronze earrings, bracelets and spiral rings worn on multiple finger phalanges.
In the same cluster of graves archaeologists also uncovered the burial of a young girl of about four years old, crowned with a bronze diadem inset with rosettes. This child’s tomb, dated to the same early Archaic period and richly furnished with jewelry similar to that of the adult woman, may indicate a family relationship.
Other Notable Finds
Additional important discoveries from the cemetery include:
A female burial of the mid‑6th century BCE containing a Siana‑type kylix decorated with roosters and a trefoil‑shaped oinochoe with mythical creatures and a depiction of Hermes as psychopomp.
Bulbous “omphalos” bottles, and black‑figure and black‑slip pottery associated with the Kerameikos workshop of Akraiphia.
Excavation Team and Project Funding
The salvage excavations are led by archaeologist Maria Papageorgiou, with archaeologists Niki Mitropoulou, Elisavet Vergeraki and Elena Tzimoulia, under the direction of the head of the Ephorate, Efthymia Karantzali, and the deputy head of the Department of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, Aristea Papastathopoulou. The rescue survey began in connection with the construction of a photovoltaic park by METKA ATE (a subsidiary of Metlen Energy & Metals) and is financed almost entirely by the Mytilineos Group. Excavation and analysis continue. (Source: Ministry of Culture announcement)
