The re-use of earlier Tombs in the LH IIIC period

Abstract

Mycenaean underground family sepulchres are found in small groups scattered throughout the Greek countryside. It is not unusual for these tombs to hold fewer than a dozen burials, interred over a period of up to six generations, and tombs with only a single burial are not unknown. On the other hand a few tombs in almost every cemetery see continuous use over a period of up to ten generations, and these naturally contain more skeletons. There is a great range in the size of the tombs and the largest seem to have been the tombs of families of high social standing. The more normal tombs average some 7 m.2 in area, and could hold a large number of skeletons thanks to the custom of moving the bones of earlier burials to one side.