GREECE 3000 YEARS AGO.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 6 October 1924, Page 7

GREECE 3000 YEARS AGO.

SADDLE ROOFS USED. Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, heading the Swedish archaeological expedition, which is excavating the ancient city of Asine. Greece, has unearthed evidence that the so-called saddle roof was known in Greece more than 3000 years ago. The architecture of that Mycenaean, or pre-Hellenic, period is partly illustrated by fragments and ruins found at Mvoenae. It has long been a question whether these house’s had fiat or sloping roofs, but word has just come from Greece that the Swedes at Asine have discovered and explored a tomb, -which no one has entered or disturbed for SOOO years, and have found that this tomb is in the shape of a house about 24 feet square, cut into the rock, wdth the top cut into the exact form of a saddle-roof, with sloping sides and gables at tlie ends. , The Crown Prince’s expedition, which has now' been at work for a number of years, has just completed the spring tei'in of excavation, and is returning to Sweden to make a scientific study of the treasures found. Up to date more than 500,000 important treasures and fragments have been found, which are being classified and studied at Lund University, by special permission of the Greek Government, to which the hulk of the finds must eventually he returned. The finds include decorated vases, funeral, urns, gold ornaments, silver and copper coins, etc., which illustrate the civilisation and art-.during thousands of years of history in Asine. This city, situated on the Greek Peloponnessns, flourished and fell a number of times during the pre-Christian era. And a discovery just made by the Swedish expedition points to a surprising gap in its history. The excavators, after having cleared the strata which contained relics dating to about 300 8.C., found that the level directly beneath this contained 'a. layer of relics undoubtedly belonging to a period about 1600 B.C. The scientists are now' hoping that other excavations may throw some light on what had happened during the intervening 1300 years.

One of the most interesting discoveries amde at Asine this year is that of a house which archaeologists from other countries pronounce the first house of the geometric period thus far excavated. A description of this house is. however, not now available.

The Swedish expedition will resume its field work in the autumn of this year.