The Tomb of a Trojan War Hero Found!

The civilization of the mighty ancient Greek warriors, called Mycenaean, that destroyed Troy disappeared 3,000 years ago. But now roadworks in southern Greece have dug out a rare Mycenaean grave thought to be much older than 3 millennia and containing important burial offerings including a gold chalice, announced the Greek Culture Ministry on Monday.

"It appeared to be the grave of a local military official and was the first time a single grave had been found with such a combination of objects - including a bronze and gold sword, and a bronze spear point, knife and pot." stated the archaeologists.

Based on the inscription on the pottery, it seems the grave dates from around 1200 B.C., the time when Troy was conquered.

"It included one dead body in a fetal position, whose bones had disintegrated. But the burial offerings are in very good condition and especially important." the ministry said in a statement.

The Bronze Age grave, discovered near the town of Agrinio in the Peloponnese, is 1.48 by 0.78 meters (5 x 2.5 ft) and is built of limestone slabs.

"This is a very important discovery because it gives us clues as to the social and military dominance enjoyed by the people of this era," said archaeologist Maria Gatsi, head of the diggings in the area.

The Mycenaean civilization flourished from 1600 to 1100 B.C. and most of the Greek mythology events are recorded in this period.

It flourished in great walled cities like Mycenae (northeastern Argolid, Peloponnesos, southern Greece), Athens, Pylos, Thebes and Tiryns and these are also important Mycenaean sites. Homer's Iliad describes how Troy was conquered by the Mycenaean kings and this civilization seems to have also displaced the pre-Greek non-Indo-European Minoan civilization of Crete, Southern Greece and Greek Islands, now strongly linked to the myth of the Atlantis and the labyrinth.

The fall of the Mycenaean civilization is attributed to the Dorian (later more warlike Greek tribes from the north) invasion, but now many archaeologists and historians doubt whether this invasion really occurred. The most famous Dorians are the Spartans.