Architectural Research of the Ancient Messene in Greece

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The three grave monuments in the Gymnasium area in Messene are dated to the 3rd century B. C. K1 was built right in front of the entrance of the West Stoa. K2 and K3 were built in a row towards the south. K1 was rectangular in plan with four steps and had wings on both ends. It had a tomb chamber with stuccoed wall and seven cist tombs in a row under the floor. The wall blocks on the east side have been preserved, but no roof block has been found. The sculpture of a lion hunting a deer was found from the inside and must have crowned the top of the roof. K2, the smallest among the three, had an almost square plan with four steps. Four cist tombs were built under the floor in a row and the tomb chamber was stuccoed as well as K1. K3 had the most unique form for its roof. It is square in plan and had eight cist tombs under the floor as well as the other two. The wall was built on the four steps in three courses with corner pilasters. The doorway was set on the south side and was accessed by a ramp. The roof was in concave conical form in 16 courses. The finial in Corinthian capital form was set on the top of the roof. There is no parallels of concave conical roof among the Hellenistic tombs. These grave monuments were unique for their location, because cemeteries or necropolis were usually located outside of the city walls.