Perati in AtticaYANNIS GALANAKIS

An extensive Late Bronze Age necropolis on the

southern slopes of the Perati hill to the northeast

of the Bay of Porto Raphti in east Attica. Two

tombs were excavated in 1893 by the Greek

archaeologist Staıs. Iakovidis’s systematic exca-

vations (1953–63), on behalf of the Archaeolog-

ical Society at Athens, brought to light 192

chamber tombs and twenty-seven pit graves,

all densely arranged in an area of about 1.3 ha.

Of these, fifty-eight tombs were found looted.

From the intact tombs, forty-five roughly cor-

respond to 1200/1190–1160 BCE and ninety-two

to 1160–1100, while twenty-six date to

1100–1075, after which the cemetery was aban-

doned. The tombs are generally small (only nine

have a chamber area over 6 m2), lacking fea-

tures of elaboration. In the vast majority of

cases the bodies (about six hundred) were

inhumed, with earlier burials placed in charnel

pits or swept to one side. A notable discovery

was the practice of primary cremation (eigh-

teen burials in total), infrequently practiced in

the Aegean even during the very late Late

Bronze Age. Cremation is thought to have

originated in the Levant. Males, females, and

children were cremated at Perati. Occasionally,

offerings may have been burnt along with the

dead. The cremated remains were placed in

urns or pits, or were left loose on the chamber

floor. The analysis of the cremations has shown

that the fire was of irregular intensity that

calcined the bones but did not reduce them

to ash. When the fire was over, only a fraction

of the bones was collected. The tombs yielded

about 1,200 pots, mostly of local manufacture

with a few imports from the CYCLADES ISLANDS,

CRETE, and the Dodecanese. Numerous small

finds (around 1,500) include jewelry, seals,

tools (among which are fishing hooks and net

weights), weapons, figurines, precious and

semi-precious metal, glass, FAIENCE and IVORY

objects, and exotica (imports from Egypt and

the Levant). Four objects weremade of IRON, the

use of which was still limited during this

period. The material from the tombs hints at

the existence of a thriving and extensive

community around and just after the collapse

of centralized administration in the Aegean.

The settlement, not yet found, may have been

located to the west of the cemetery, in an area

now densely built over. Objects from Perati are

on display in the National Museum in Athens

and the Archaeological Museum at Brauron.

SEE ALSO: Mycenaean society and culture.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Iakovidis, S. E. (1969–70) Peratή. ΤοΝekrοta’eίοn (Βibliοyήk� t�B en ΑyήnaiBΑrwaiοlοgikήB ΕtaireίaB 67), 3 vols. Athens.

Iakovidis, S. E. (1980) Excavations of the

nekropolis at Perati. Los Angeles.

Paidoussis, M. and Sbarounis, C. (1975) “A study

of the cremated bones from the cemetery of

Perati.” Opuscula Atheniensia 11: 129–60.

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,

and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 5146–5147.

© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah02144

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