Marathon, Athens.Philios, D. 1890. Schliemann of Troy. 329-353.Hsu, C.L. 138-139.Schoolcraft, H.R. (ed. A grassy mound in an olive grove contains the remains of the 192 Athenian dead. nos. A Barbed and Tanged Obsidian Point from Marathon, JFA 4,pp. [95] Lord Byron visited Marathon with his friend, Hobhouse, in 1809; while Byron was admiring the landscape, Hobhouse was investigating antiquities, something that Byron dismissed as antiquarian twaddle Stoneman 1987, 181). [6] As his father was an ordnance storekeeper at the Tower of London, Robert had the opportunity to study antiquities and become an authority on armour writing articles in the societys proceedings and in Archaeologia. The Archaeology of Ancient Greece, London.Wilde, W. 1840. Check Your Inbox, Weve Sent You Instructions On How To Reset Your Password. [41] According to Krentz 2010, 127, Leake is probably describing here (in his 1841 book) his first visit in 1802; see also Finlay 1870 (where he dates Leakes second visit in 1805). According to Herodotus, the Persian force numbered 100, 000. [6] I would like to thank Alison Petch for her help on the matter. 3-4). However, despite the fact that the societys report mentions a Richard Porrett (note also the double tt at the end of the surname, unlike the single t that is marked on the blades of the spearheads), the only Porrett with an expertise in weapons and a member of the Society of Antiquaries (since 1840) and of the Royal Society (from 1848) was Robert Porrett (1783-1868); a chemist, storekeeper and keen antiquarian. On the position of Aphidna, Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature of the United Kingdom,pp. 1341). To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. An extensive collection of obsidian cores and flakes from Finlay is still preserved at the British School at Athens in what appears to be its original chest. The Narrative of a Voyage to Madeira, Teneriffe, and Along the Shores of the Mediterranean, Dublin.Wilson, T. 1899. [54] In addition, in the 1870s many more tumuli were identified in the plain (which we now know that they belong to different chronological periods), [55] allowing us to assume (but certainly not prove) that the source of the metal weapons, if indeed from Marathon, might have been any archaic and classical grave in the area. [79] Forsdykes description leaves little doubt that perhaps more iron spearheads from Marathon may have once existed in the market and subsequently in private collections, such as the Tower of London, where Robert Porrett served for 55 years, originally as an assistant in the department of royal armouries (from the age of 12) and later as chief curator. [87] There was also another batch in 1888, of nine lead sling-shots from Marathon, purchased by the same museum in a Christies sale and originally in the collection of Albert Denison, 1st Baron Londesborough (18051860). Side 1 of the first Marathon spearhead (1884.120.42) Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, photographed byYannis Galanakis. There is also a flint blade (ex-William Allen Surge coll.) [66] Yet, the monuments poor excavation record (also in terms of excavation practices [67]), the inconsistencies in the evidence (e.g. You Have Been Successfully Unsubscribed From The Newsletter. Die sogenannten Marathonpfeilspitzen in Karlsruhe, AA 88,pp. and a few obsidian blades from Marathon, the latter from the Finlay collection. MARATHON, Greece, May The burial place of Greek warriors who fell in the epoch making Battle of Marathon, defending Athenian civilization from Persian conquest in 490 B. C., has been discovered by Greek archeologists on this an cient battlefield. [66] Not to forget that the tumulus at Marathon is also the starting point of the Marathon race because of the Marathon runner who ran to Athens to announce the victory news and fell dead of exhaustion after having exclaimed the famous nenikikamen (we have won). [44] It is worth noting that, despite Leakes identification of the tumulus as the tomb of the Athenians, the stone arrow-heads, which continued to a large extent to be identified as belonging to the Persian mercenaries, were now explained as an offering to the victorious dead (Leake 1841, 100). The two spearheads are otherwise unexceptional and without their special association, they may have easily been lost in the bulk of ancient Greek weaponry, now widely distributed outside Greece, in European and American collections. [37] Translation by Petrakos 1996, 186, n. 43. The 11 casualties from Platea (the only Greek city that sent help) are buried three miles west at Vrana, near the Marathon museum. AA: Archologischer Anzeiger AJA: American Journal of ArchaeologyAM: Athenische MitteilungenCVA: Corpus Vasorum AntiquorumIG: Inscriptiones GraecaeILN: The Illustrated London NewsJFA: Journal of Field ArchaeologyJHS: Journal of Hellenic StudiesJHS/AR: Journal of Hellenic Studies Archaeological ReportsSEG: Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum. In the meantime, specialised travellers books, which became the indispensable guide for every respected tourist, made suggestions for excursions, with Marathon occupying right from the very beginning a very important place in their itinerary: [94] when Marathon became a magic word to use the line from Lord Byrons poem the Plain of Marathon. (ed.) This retrospective approach may explain the inconsistencies observed in his account: for example, while in 1841 he remembered the discovery of many brazen heads of arrows [41] (most likely in relation to his 1802 visit), a few years earlier (1835, and most likely in relation to his 1806 visit) he noted that he had heard that arrow heads of bronze have also been found there, but we searched for them without success. [42] This extract could offer some support to the view that although metal arrowheads with an alleged provenance from Marathon were circulating in the market, no visitor to the site had ever discovered one, at least by 1830-1840. . The English antiquary Richard Chandler (1738-1810), who visited Marathon in August 1765 and published his account a few years later, [12] expressed the view that the principal barrow that still towers above the level of the plain was that of the 192 gallant Athenians, [13] who according to the ancient sources fell in the battle of Marathon. ), Essays in Classical Archaeology for Eleni Hatzivassiliou 1977-2007 (Studies in Classical Archaeology 4), Oxford,pp. In the center of each circle, which has a diameter of 55 feet, was a small empty room. [45] This suggestion is already mentioned by Ludwig Ross (1837, 423), who acknowledges Finlay as the source of this information: aus welcher die in dem Grabhgel von Marathon vorkommenden Pfeilspitzen gemacht sind, die man frher fr Persische Waffen hielt; allein ein eifriger Antiquar, Hr. Whitley (1994) has raised the problem whether the tumulus became the locus of tomb and hero cult. Die Angriffswaffen aus Olympia [Olympia Bd. Sorry, Failed To Unsubscribe From The Newsletter. Elisabeth Erdmann has shown that they fall into four types, three of which are contemporary with the battle and the fourth is not, [90] clearly suggesting that the association of this material with the famous battle is not trustworthy. A thick layer of ash, also containing oil phials and burn bones, had been found there. Hsu 2008 on the so-called War Archons vase, a jar that looks earlier than the Proto-Attic style to which it is often ascribed; for this pot see also Petrakos 1996, esp. museum sitia palekastro parts ancient [81] In it he remarked that the only thing that remains connected with the battle in the landscape is the mound raised in honour of the 192 men who lost their lives. Wilson 1899, 14), this is not mentioned by Lenormant himself who simply refers to local diggers as the source of these bronze arrowheads, always ready to sell samples to travellers. [61] In total some 34 pots were found, most of them associated with the offering trenches. 1968. presence of weapons or not), and the different interpretations regarding the pottery discovered during Stas work (dated between 570 and 490 BC), [68] have all cast doubts on the identification of the tumulus with the burial place of the Athenians, with a number of scholars interpreting it as the burial ground of an aristocratic archaic family.[69]. He found pottery (possibly Bronze Age, since he mentions that the bulk of the pottery is like the Trojan and that some are similar to the most ancient pottery in the royal tombs at Mycenae); obsidian (including a knife fragment from the foot of the hillock); perhaps faience (the fragment of a vase of Egyptian porcelain); and animal bones; but nothing to suggest that this is the burial place of the 192 Athenians. The lack of any metal arrowheads from the digs of Schliemann (1884, supervised by the Greek archaeologist D. Philios [52]) and Stas (1889-1891) appears to reinforce the idea [53] that the soros was probably not the source of any metal weaponry that surfaced during the course of the 19thcentury in the art-market. The numerous arrowheads in existence in collections across the world (the Pitt Rivers Museum having a fair amount of them), of types similar to those now in the British Museum and Karlsruhe appears to suggest that these Greek, Scythian and Persian type arrowheads were probably far more common than people have previously thought and should thus not necessarily be fixed to a particular location, unless they come from a well-excavated context.[92]. It was found filled with ash and bones; if this was indeed the cremation of a human being, then a Geometric/Archaic date would not be inappropriate. vendre aux voyageurs; although some have attributed to Lenormant the discovery of these bronze arrowheads (e.g. Treasure and Deceit, London. On the battle of Marathon, Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature of the United Kingdom 3,pp. A Journal of General Literature, vol. ; perhaps also Villanovan or Roman); and finally a collection of about 60 arrowheads (1884.119, 380-386, 391-392; 1884.119.401-420; 1927.24-29; 1956.1.7, 29-31); the arrowheads, described by the Museum as Greek and Scythian, are of various types: tanged, barbed, of the socketed triangular type, and leaf-shaped, [91] which chronologically fall between the 7/6thand the 5/4thcenturies BC. Arms and Armour of the Greeks, London.Spyropoulos , G. 2009. The casualty list recently found in the villa of Herodes Atticus in the Peloponnese, which is mentioned at the end of this paper, includes the phrase a few, accepting battle against many even if it was part of Athenian propaganda, to hail the courage of the men who fell at the battle and advertise the success of the newly-founded Athenian democracy, it may also echo the real difference in the numbers of the two armies. Arrowpoints, Spearheads, and Knives of Prehistoric Times,Washington. For this reason, any association of objects allegedly from Marathon should not be uncritically used, especially if the circumstances of their discovery remain unclear. It is believed the room was built as a kind of living room for the dead leaders to use in the afterlife. blade width 3cm, 126gr). [93], Almost all travellers to Greece who later decided to write their reminiscences, including their trip to Marathon, make a reference to how they collected arrowheads. Since it was found 3m below the ground of the tumulus (i.e under the soil), it appears to represent the earliest burial all the intact or restorable vessels above this point were of the 6th and early 5th c. BC. see nos. [7] Given the Generals interest in arms and armour, there is no surprise that the two spearheads ended up in his collection, which after all began in the 1850s as a small collection of weapons. Engraved illustrations of ancient arms and armour, from the collection of Llewelyn Meyrick, at Goodrich court, Herefordshire; after the drawings, and with the descriptions of Dr. Meyrick, vol. , Horos 17-21,pp. The first is in 1806 by Nicholas Biddle, who refers, rather obscurely and laconically, to one head of a spear found at Marathon where many have been discovered. This [tumulus] was built in honour of the Greek soldiers who were killed in the Marathon battle, and which covers the gathered bones of the aforementioned soldiers (Protopsaltis 1967, 3). Time may bring to light some interesting particulars; and a proper examination of the tumuli would be productive of objects of interest to the antiquarian and the historian.