Greece’s Ministry of Culture has announced what’s being called a “monumental find,” as excavators unearth a site identified as the fabled city of Tenea in southern Greece.
Greek officials now claim archeologists have found the lost city supposedly built by Trojan War captives after the fall of the legendary classical city in Asia Minor. Tenea, according to ancient texts, was constructed by prisoners from the war after the sack of Troy sometime in the fourth century B.C. According to the story, Greek King Agamemnon allowed the captives to build their own city just south of Corinth. Tenea was the most important place in Corinth, and it is said the Teneans worshipped Apollo as the Trojans did.
Archaeologist Elena Korka and her team have uncovered walls, door openings, floors, and pottery dating from the fourth century B.C. through the late Roman period at the site. Cemeteries have also been found nearby, with burials containing coins, lavish vases, as well as gold, copper, and bone jewelry. This year, the team also found nine burials. The archeologists say the people of Tenea seemed unusually affluent.
The Ministry of Culture announcement said September and October excavations turned up ‘proof of the existence of the ancient city’ of Tenea, until now known mostly from ancient texts. Lost for centuries, Tenea survived the Roman destruction of Corinth and thrived during Roman times.
According to news from the area, excavation work continues on the cemeteries, which are located near the modern village of Hiliomodi about 100 kilometers southwest of Athens.
It appears to have suffered damage during a Gothic invasion in the late 4th century A.D. and may have been abandoned around the time of Slavic incursions two centuries later.