Members of the culture ministry-affiliated Central Archaeological Council (KAS) on Tuesday approved of a “compromise plan” to construct an underground shelter in order to permanently protect and display the 80 Archaic-era skeletons discovered four years ago at the site where they were uncovered.
Excavation works in April 2016 uncovered a mass grave dated to the 7th century BC containing the skeletons of 80 men, believed to be the executed supporters of a failed ancient coup, at what was then the worksite for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in coastal Athens.
The skeletons were located in an ancient necropolis, or possibly a rubbish site outside the city’s walls, at a depth of only two and a half meters from the surface. The bodies were placed next to each other, with many of the skeletons still bound with rudimentary ancient handcuffs.
One of the more remarkable facts about the site is that archaeologists cited a 25-year period for the burial, pinpointed by two clay wine jugs were found during the excavation and dated to between 650 and 625 BC, a period related to the so-called Cylonian Affair, a failed attempt to seize Athens’ reins by Athenian noble Cylon and his followers.
