‘The Ring of Nestor’: A Glimpse into the Minoan After-World and A Sepulchral Treasure of Gold Signet-Rings and Bead-Seals from Thisbê, Boeotia

Abstract

The first subject of the present communication is a truly royal treasure of gold rings and of bead-seals in the same metal found in a Mycenaean rock tomb near the site of Thisbê in Boeotia. The find was made in 1915, at a time when war conditions diverted the course of discovery from official channels, and a fortunate chain of circumstances now enables me not only to describe but to exhibit to the Society the whole hoard. Under the circumstances it is impossible without a breach of confidence to give all the details, but, from what I have been able to ascertain, the discovery was made by a peasant in a chamber-tomb excavated in the rock, by the village of Dombrena. Near this spot, about a quarter of an hour N.W. of Kakosi, on the Akropolis height of Thisbê, Mr. W. A. Heurtley, of the British School at Athens, kindly informs me that he was shown, in an olive grove, three chamber-tombs with dromoi. He adds, ‘The old man who showed me had dug one completely and found a dagger and vases and some sherds, all of which he had lost.’ Mr. Heurtley adds, however, that, from a drawing that the old man made of one of the vases, it is clear that it was a stirrup-vase of late type.Other objects that I myself was able either to see or secure, found in the same group of tombs, but not authenticated as coming from the chamber containing the treasure, were bronze spear-heads and a short sword with the flange running round the extremity of the hilt, belonging to a very late Mycenaean type. A bronze razor also occurred of an advanced form and, of still later date presumably, a small perforated double-axe head of iron. There were also found a whole set of perforated glass-paste objects with holes below for the attachment of pendant gold disks which Mr. Wace has now conclusively shown to belong to necklaces. The particular type found, as well as certain paste pendants with reliefs covered with gold foil, belongs to the date of the Dimini jewels, or early L.M. III. b, in Minoan terms. There is no difficulty in ascribing the radiated glazed clay beads (Fig. 1, a) and the bugle bead of kyanos blue paste (Fig. 1, d), as well as the plated faience plaques with groups of palms in relief (Fig. 1, k), to the same epoch.