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Stone Worlds: Narrative and Reflexivity in Landscape Archaeology

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Hellenikon Pyramid - Pyramid / Mastaba in Greece in Peloponnese Peninsula

Submitted by Antonios on Wednesday, 28 May 2008  Page Views: 8930

Multi-periodSite Name: Hellenikon Pyramid
Country: Greece Region: Peloponnese Peninsula Type: Pyramid / Mastaba
Nearest Town: Argos  Nearest Village: Kefalari
Latitude: 37.587311N  Longitude: 22.671413E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Antonios : Pyramid at Hellenikon. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Pyramid in Peloponnese Peninsula

Pyramid at Hellenikon. The pyramids at Hellenikon and at Ligourio are known from reports by the 2nd century historian-traveller Pausanias. They are both made of carved megalithic (cyclopean) limestone rocks. The Hellenic pyramids are miniature in size compared to the Egyptian ones.

According to Pausanias the grandsons of Danaus, Proetus and Akrissius after the fratricidal war buried their dead relatives in the pyramid. It was a burial monument "polyandreion" and covered this monument with their bronze Argolid shields. The leaders and the soldiers for first time used shields.

With the method of optical thermoluminescence the monument was dated at 2730 BCE, the period in which metallurgy in Greece was in its peak. The archaeological excavations from the lower stratigraphy unearthed protohelladic II or Early Bronze Age findings.Because of the long-lasting presence of habitation in and around the pyramid there are artefacts from Classical, Hellenistic, Roman and Protochristian periods. The dating technique of thermoluminescence concerns the inter-block surfaces of the limestone building blocks and relies on the electron traps responsible for thermoluminescence in the surface layer of the carved limestone blocks have been bleached by sunlight prior to the blocks being incorporated into the structure.

The access to the Pyramid at Hellenikon is very easy, from Argos we go south to Kefalari which is an idyllic place with spring waters, rich vegetation and a neolithic cave.From Kefalari 3 kilometres to the village of Hellenikon at the left side of the road across from the church. Can't miss it.
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Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Antonios : Site in Peloponnese Peninsula Greece: Entrance to the pyramid. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Antonios : Site in Peloponnese Peninsula Greece: Pyramid at Hellenikon. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Hajo : Hellenikon: view from the "pyramid" to the Argolic Gulf. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Hajo : Hellenikon: part of an ancient millstone, perhaps Roman, inside the "pyramid". (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Hajo : Hellenikon: detail of the inner gate.

Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Hajo : Hellenikon: view to the outer gate and the corridor.

Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Hajo : Hellenikon: my plan of the building, based on measurements by V. Katsiadramis.

Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Hajo : Hellenikon: the inclined outer wall of the "pyramid"

Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Hajo : Hellenikon: overall view

Hellenikon Pyramid
Hellenikon Pyramid submitted by Antonios : Site in Peloponnese Peninsula Greece: Interior of the pyramid.

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 5.8km SE 134° Lerna (Myloi)* Ancient Village or Settlement
 6.5km NE 41° Argos Agora* Ancient Village or Settlement
 7.4km NE 47° Argos Museum* Museum
 11.2km ESE 102° Nafplio Museum* Museum
 11.4km E 83° Tiryns.* Stone Fort or Dun
 12.5km E 85° Tiryns Tholos* Chambered Cairn
 13.9km NE 41° Plataniti Temple of Hera* Ancient Temple
 15.4km E 81° Tiryns Mycenaean dam* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
 15.6km ENE 60° Dendra* Chambered Tomb
 15.8km ENE 57° Midea* Ancient Village or Settlement
 17.1km NNE 25° Treasury of Atreus* Chambered Cairn
 17.1km NNE 24° Panagitsa Tomb* Cairn
 17.1km NNE 23° Cyclopean Tomb* Cairn
 17.2km NNE 24° Pano Fournos Tomb* Cairn
 17.2km NNE 23° Tomb of the Genii Cairn
 17.2km NNE 24° Mycene tomb (9) of the Cyclops* Chambered Tomb
 17.4km NNE 23° Kato Fournos Tomb* Cairn
 17.5km NNE 25° Tholos Of Aegistus* Chambered Cairn
 17.6km NNE 25° Tholos Of Clytaemnestra* Chambered Cairn
 17.6km NNE 25° Mycenae.* Hillfort
 17.6km NNE 25° Tholos Of the Lions* Chambered Cairn
 17.7km NNE 25° Mycenae Museum* Museum
 19.1km ESE 110° Asine* Ancient Village or Settlement
 22.0km W 270° Mantinea Ancient Village or Settlement
 23.4km E 88° Kazarma Bridge* Ancient Trackway
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Stone Journals - journeys to the mysterious standing stones of Europe by Patrick Ford

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"Hellenikon Pyramid" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: Hellenikon Pyramid by Hajo on Monday, 17 April 2023
(User Info | Send a Message)
Sorry to disappoint all fans of ancient Greek pyramids: the Hellenikon structure never was a complete pyramid nor a burial monument ("polyandreion") and its construction was much later than the 3rd millennium BC. The early dating due to thermoluminescence has been criticized methodically and because of its interpretation. Also the argument of its alignment with the belt of Orion at a certain time is quite questionable. Why should it be the belt of Orion and not Sirius? And there are enough stars in the sky that any building is aligned with a star at some time.
As can be seen in the masonry of local grey limestone, the Hellenikon structure has always been a truncated pyramid, the external walls rising with a gradient of 60° up to a height of 3,50 m. The building sits on top of Helladic remains so it must be younger. There is an outer and an inner entrance, once with wooden doors that opened to the inside from where they could be bolted by wooden beams. (This does not make sense for a "polyandreion"). Unwanted intruders who overcame the outer entrance then found themselves in a narrow corridor, where they could be attacked from above on their unshielded right side.
It is now general belief that the “pyramid” of Hellenikon is one of the ancient forts that controlled the arterial roads and which are also known from Lefkakia and Ligourio. It is dated to the end of the 4th century BC.
For many more photographs see here.
See also: Louis E. Lord, “Watchtowers and Fortresses in Argolis“, American Journal of Archaeology - https://www.jstor.org/stable/499135
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