Archaeologists Discover a Funerary Monument of an Ancient Greek Hero With Priceless Burial Offerings of Gold

Archaeologists, during their Trapezá plateau excavations in Greece, unearthed an ancient building along with several gold artifacts. Experts claim, that the site, eight kilometers southwest of the city of Aigio, where these discoveries were made, was once a part of the ancient city of Rypes, Arkeonews stated. Researchers had been exploring the area for a long time and while uncovering these findings were working on "Building Γ" (Gamma), a structure that is located southeast of a temple's terrace.

Rypes was a prominent city of the past established by the Pelasgians, a group well-known in Greek mythology. These people are famous for being the first inhabitants of the Aegean region and certain parts of Greece. In ancient texts, they were portrayed as people who stayed in Greek land before the arrival of Hellenic tribes. Later the town was taken over by Ionians and then abandoned around 30 B.C. by Romans. Considering the expansive history of the place archaeologists have long been analyzing the site to know more about the country's prehistoric times.

Archaeologists while analyzing the area spotted some rubble, underneath which they located flooring of a public building, stated Greek Reporter. As per examinations, the building was constructed before 300 B.C. The base was estimated to be 16.80 meters long and supported a row of columns. Experts also found fragments of Corinthian semi-columns from the site which are currently in the process of restoration. The features of the column indicate that the monument was of a Peloponnesian type, similar to the structures found in the temple of Apollo at Bassae.

Other elements of the building spotted by researchers were three lion statues and a funerary stele featuring a man in his youth. Both of them were made of Pentelic marble. Inside the 'building' there were several tombs and a sarcophagus. Experts claimed that these burial structures were placed inside a long time after the building's construction. The burials were carefully investigated, and many valuable artifacts were found.

Researchers discovered a pair of gold earrings featuring lion heads, a gold necklace featuring solid lion busts at the end, a gold earring with a naked, winged Eros figure as its subject, a gold ring, a gold Persian coin, two iron buttons, iron steel, and many more precious items from the burials. According to experts, these items imply that the inhabitants of these burials belonged to the elite class of society. Authorities have announced that more excavations will be conducted at the site to learn about the ancient town.

According to researchers, the evidence unearthed to this date indicates that the whole area appears to be a heroon of the ancient settlement, as per Newsweek. Heroon was a special place in the settlement erected in honor of a hero. The 'hero' could be from Greek mythology or local legend. Most of the time these structures were erected at places associated with this 'hero' like their tomb or a spot where a significant event of their life took place.