Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 1.djvu/457

 430 Primitive Greece : Mycenian Art. little way from the conjectural site of ancient lolcos, a Minyan centre, whence Jason, with the heroes accompanying him, according to tradition, had started on his distant voyage. In the day of Strabo, however, the city had long lain in ruins.^ In the neighbourhood of a low hill called Tumba, termin- ating in a small plateau, are seen remains of a building known under the name of Laminospito, " haunted house " ; where from the broken pottery of genuine Mycenian style which was found scattered about, Lolling, who visited the place in 1884, rightly inferred that they indicated the existence of an ancient sepulture. It was cleared two years later at the expense of the Greek government by MM. Lolling and Wolters. An account of their work, and of the objects collected in the course of the excavations in the chamber, has since been published.*- But as the building is so like the tomb at Menidi that it might almost pass for a replica of it, no ground-plan or section is given by us. Its main divisions are a trifle larger than those of the Menidian chamber : the entrance gate at Dimini is three metres sixty centimetres, and at Menidi three metres thirty centimetres. Again, the diameter of the circular chamber at Tumba measures eight metres fifty centimetres, and its fellow eight metres thirty-five centimetres. Both are extremely ill built. The roof at Dimini has long ago fallen in ; but its height must have been nine metres. The circular slab which formerly covered the dome, one metre twelve centimetres in diameter and twelve centimetres in thickness, was discovered amidst the rubbish filling the chamber. This implies an arrange- ment which is met here for the first time ; on the other hand, along the inner face of the stone beam over the doorway, we find the relieving triangular cavity. But the dromos, three metres thirty centimetres broad, owing to the steepness of the hill, is much shorter than at Menidi. The entrances both to the passage and the grave have been walled up with loose stones ; but the blockage does not extend quite up to the lintel. The dromos must have been filled in immediately after the interment. Layers of ashes and other burnt material are prob- ably the result of sacrificial fires. Ashes also cover the floor of the ^ SxRAno. •^ AtJuniscJie Miftheilungen : Lolling, Mittheilungeii aus Thessalien : Lolling and Wolters, Das Kuppeigrab bei Ditnini,