STRAVROUPOLIS
Thrace, Greece.
A modern market town near the Nestos river, 17 km straight
NW of the modern city of Xanthi. There is no known
ancient settlement either in Stavroupolis or its neighborhood, but 2 km SE of Stavroupolis near the E bank of
the Nestos, a Macedonian tomb was discovered in 1950.
This probably belonged to the first half of the 2d c. B.C.
The tomb, built of marble blocks in a pseudo-isodomic
style, has a total length of ca. 12 m. It consists of a
vaulted dromos ca. 5 x 2 m, a prothalamos chamber
2 x 3 m, and the burial chamber 3 x 3 m. The floor of
the prothalamos and the burial chamber are paved with
rectangular marble slabs. The entrance to the burial
chamber is closed by two marble door leaves with some
ornamentation. At the back of the chamber are two marble couches set at an angle to each other, each having
two double pillows. The feet of the beds are decorated
with painted encaustic palmettes, spirals, rosettes, and moldings.
A painted molding 0.20 m wide, made up of Ionic and
Lesbian kymatia runs around the prothalamos and the
burial chamber at the level of the springing of the vault.
On the kymatia and on the door leaves the vivid painted
decoration is in encaustic. Although the tomb had been
robbed, two gold rings and fragments of terracotta figurines (now in the Kavala Museum) were found in the
excavation. Three of the figurines are winged adolescent
Erotes, with lively movements. The careful plastic rendering of body and face makes these figurines resemble monumental sculptures.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
X. I. Makaronas,
Ἀνασκαφή τοῦ παρά τήν Σταυρούπολιν-Ξάνθης “
Μακεδονικοῦ”
τάφου,
ΠΑΕ (1953) 133ff; D. Lazarides,
Νεάπολις Χριστούπολις Καβάλα,
Ὁδηγός Μουσείον Καβάλας (1969) 160,
πίν.61.
D. LAZARIDES
