A grave stele was unearthed by Greek and German archaeologists of the German Archaeological Institute, during excavations at the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos, central Athens. According to the press released published on the Institute’s web page, the shape and the type and style of the tombstone places the finding on the third quarter of the 4th century BC. On the first level of the stele, features a relief of a seated woman and a little girl while on the second, a bearded man and a woman.
The figures are placed under a relief pediment, which bears an illegible inscription with the name “Demostratos” to be slightly readable.
The Institute says, it is possible the stele had been originally placed in the ancient cemetery, along the road passing through the Sacred Gate, and at some unknown time it was used as a building material, specifically a doorsill.
The excavation will be completed at the end of the year and is expected to reveal the continuation of Iera Odos inside the archaeological site.
Christos Kalloniatis (Professor of the Department of Cultural Technology and Communication at the University of the Aegean), Iris Kritikou (Archaeologist-Historian of Art), Konstantinos Maniatopoulos (Director of the Stratis Eleftheriadis-Tériade Museum – Library, Visual Artist-Historian of Art), Irine Vasilopoulou