BSA Course Day 5 - Kerameikos, Byzantine Museum & Benaki Museum

Weather - Hot & humid with occasional rain and storms, 29 degrees

Step count - 17011

Another beautiful start to the day with a sunny walk to the kerameikos, the cemetery area of Athens, which has been in use as a burial site since Neolithic times.

We learned about death and burial through time, and what the grave sites in and around the kerameikos, usually dated through associated pottery, tell us about different periods.

Evidence of social organisation, either 'top down' (decided by those at the top of the social hierarchy) or ‘bottom up’ (decided by those within the community) can be seen through the orientation of Bronze Age burials, as individuals were placed with the head toward the north and feet toward the south. Early Iron Age (proto-geometric) burials showed an abrupt change from inhumation (burial) to cremation, where individuals were placed in a pit grave together with the grave goods which were burned together, with the remains being placed in funerary jars before burial.

Both types of burial took place throughout the Archaic period, with funeral pyres held outside the grave, and channels for grave goods and offerings can be seen linking graves of individuals within a family group, or perhaps with a common political association. The size and ornamentation of stele increased leading up to the Classical period, where inhumation massively outnumbered cremation, before becoming smaller and simpler after the reforms of Cleisthenes in 508 BC. He instigated the reorganisation of the political structure of Athens into 10 tribes, in an attempt to promote equality and reduce the influence of powerful family groups. Stele again reduced in size and decoration towards the end of the 4th Century BC before the site was abandoned in the Hellenistic period, although there is later evidence of burials in simple earth trenches along the roadside which date from Roman imperial times.

We next considered the topography of the landscape, and how it related to the main social and economic centre of the city. The kerameikos was located at the entrance to the city, so visitors and those returning to Athens would have passed by the monuments, understanding the stories they told of the deceased and of the family and friends that remembered them.

Reaching the Street of the Tombs, we started to decipher the messages the sculptures and other visual representations on the grave markers were intended to convey, which is particularly useful if the inscription no longer survives. A single figure depicts the deceased, perhaps frozen in time at a particular moment that their living relatives wanted to immortalise, or shown with a particular attribute, such as bravery, that they were known for in life. Hairstyles and clothing assist in dating the dedication. The deceased person may be seated, and/or shown ‘breaking the fourth wall’; gazing towards an afterlife that those who remain cannot see. These both assist in differentiating the departed from other members of a group, who may gaze instead at their lost one, if more than one figure is shown. A particularly poignant feature is the dexeiosis, or clasping of hands, a gesture of farewell between the living and the dead.

It was so moving to consider that rituals and remembrances associated with death are common to all societies, despite differences in values, beliefs and practices, and that thanks to these final acts of commemoration we know so much about those who came before.

Walking along the Sacred Way towards the Dipylon Gate, where the Panathenaic procession began and where sources tell us that Pericles gave a speech honouring the dead of the Peloponnesian Wars, we came across the ancient walls of Athens. We were able to distinguish several different phases of the many times they have been repaired or rebuilt, from the base which was laid in 478 BC under the direction of Themistocles as a defence against invasion during the Persian Wars, to the uppermost layer placed by the Romans in 550 AD. Changes in building material and organisation of stones, perhaps in different shapes and sizes, tells us that something of import has happened. Walls were (re)constructed or repaired after natural occurrences such as earthquakes and floods, as well as during and after wars, which would have been done quickly and explains the inclusion of grave stele amongst the stones.

Our last stop gave us the chance to put our archaeological skills into practice by analysing the remains of a building. We had to use our acting skills too as we ‘became’ the features we identified, as well as the people and animals that used them. As the Lego Classicist, and BSA virtual artist-in-residence for 2022, Liam Jenson says, ‘to do history is to play’, and it certainly worked for us as course director Michael guided our observations before revealing that the building was the former fountain-house.

The weather forecast predicted more storms for the afternoon, so the itinerary was tweaked to allow us time indoors.

Tutor Rossana Valente took us on a chronological tour through the Byzantine period, which commenced with the split of the Roman Empire into east and west in the late 4th century AD and the establishment of the eastern Roman capital of Constantinople, and ended when the city fell to the Ottoman Turks in the mid-15th century.

Photo credit: British School at Athens

It is difficult to condense what we learned about 1000 years of history into a few short paragraphs, but what I found particularly interesting was how Greek mythological art and themes were re-imagined following the Christianisation of the Roman Empire under Constantine. Earlier in the week we came face to face with the Archaic Moschophoros, or 'Calf Bearer', at the Acropolis Museum, so it was interesting to see a later version based on the same prototype which depicted Christ as a shepherd carrying a lamb.

Christian iconography could also be seen in the domestic items dating from the early Byzantine period, such as crosses and fish; the Greek word for fish is 'ichthus', and the letters represent the Greek for 'Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour'. We also see christograms, combinations of letters that form the (abbreviated) name of Jesus, such as the Chi Rho where the first two letters of Jesus’ name in Greek are superimposed.

Classical temples, including the Parthenon, were adapted to become churches, and from the 6th century AD mosaics decorating churches depicted religious motifs, rather than the largely secular designs seen in the previous centuries.

The majority of Byzantine art was religious in theme, but was not particularly realistic until later exposure to Italian and western influences as it was intended to educate the masses in the stories of the Bible. It was fascinating to see a rare example of a late 13th century mosaic icon depicting the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus, as the majority consisted of paintings, or sculpture which was mainly used for the decoration of churches.

Our final stop for the day was the Benaki Museum, a private collection of antiquities, art and artefacts relating to Greek culture from prehistoric to modern times.

We ended the afternoon with a ‘treasure hunt’ through the 18th and 19th century galleries, pinpointing objects and art which can assist us in seeing how the topography and culture of the areas we study developed in later periods.

My personal favourite was the item my group had to find, which was a watercolour map drawn by G M. Verneda, a Venetian army officer and eyewitness to the bombardment of the Parthenon on 26th September 1687 during the siege of the Acropolis. It shows the moment that a Venetian round of fire hit the Ottoman gunpowder store held inside the temple causing a massive explosion that destroyed large parts of the temple, the damage from which we can still see today.