A year ago I visited the incredible Macedonian tombs at Mieza, where six chamber tombs have been excavated in the area.

But you haven’t seen chamber tombs like these! Each one preserves an amazingly colorful plaster facade with fantastic architecture!
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#greece #archaeology

The largest of these is the so-called Tomb of Judgement, an architectural and artistic best-hits of your favorite building traditions!

The pediment went the way of the plough, but we see an Ionic colonnade with false doors atop a frieze, all of which sits atop a Doric facade!

The frieze, rendered in relief, likely depicts a battle between Macedonians and Persians. The metopes, however, are painted in grisaille—rendered in 2D to appear like they too were in relief!

The triglyphs & guttae preserve a rich blue, contrasting with the red of the taenia!

The tomb gets is name from these four figures, rendered in between each of the Doric columns at the lowest part of the facade.

To the left of the door, the deceased is shown approaching Hermes, who will lead him to be judged in Hades by Aeacus & Rhadamanthus on the right!

Each figure is placed atop a colorful moulding—again in paint rather than relief—preserving some of the most exquisite large-scale paintings from the 4th c.!

Take a look at the way the artist captured the drapery of Hermes, fully suited up to transport the tomb’s inhabitant!

But there’s more to Mieza than the Tomb of Judgement! The Tomb of the Palmettes might be more recent than its more complex predecessor, but its facade is completely intact!

The tomb gets its name from its amazing acroteria and the tombs inhabitants can be seen in the Tympanum!

One last tweet, just to highlight the amazing architectural elements rendered in plaster and preserved under the immense tumulus! Take a look at how color is applied to highlight particular elements in the capitals and the entablature!

There’s some cool stuff up north!