Pylos: From Princes To Palace In Messenia

World Archaeology Magazine highlighted the startling discoveries of stunning ancient Greek artifacts by researchers with the University of Cincinnati's Department of Classics.

UC Classics Professor Jack Davis and Senior Research Associate Sharon Stocker discovered a 3,500-year-old tomb for a leader they called the Griffin Warrior after the mythological figure emblazoned on his ivory plaque.

Last year many of the artifacts went on display in North America for the first time at an exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum. The exhibition titled Kingdom of Pylos closed on Monday after a six-month run.

"Pylos is mentioned in both the Iliad and the Odyssey as the homeland of King Nestor, the wise elder statesman of the Trojan War," museum curator Claire Lyons told World Archaeology Magazine.

UC has a long history of scholarship and discovery in Greece. The late UC Classics Professor Carl Blegen discovered the Palace of Nestor with Greek research partner Konstantinos Kourouniotis of the National Museum in Greece while working in Pylos prior to World War II.

Researchers continue to pore over the weapons, jewelry, armor and other objects from the discovery to learn more about this ancient civilization. Stocker and Davis said many of them are works of Minoan art, perhaps from Crete or the Greek mainland. Others are Mycenaean, reflecting its culture and practices.

Meanwhile, other pieces discovered by Davis and Stocker reflect Egyptian influences such as depictions of the goddess Hathor.

The magazine also highlighted Blegen's discoveries of 600 tablets inscribed in Linear B, an early Greek language.

Read the World Archaeology Magazine story.

Featured image at top: A sealstone depicts mortal combat in exquisite detail. Photo/Jeff Vanderpool/UC Classics