A Monumental Hellenistic Funerary Ensemble at Callatis on the Western Black Sea

The Documaci Tumulus: Volume I

Edited by Valeriu Sîrbu Edited by Maria-Magdalena Ștefan Edited by Dan Ștefan

Book cover: A Monumental Hellenistic Funerary Ensemble at Callatis on the Western Black Sea

Extent: 342 pages

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing

Subjects: Classical Studies

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(July 2021)

ISBN: 9781789694369

8.07 x 11.46 inches

Price: $73.00

In stock

Documaci Tumulus, a spectacular early Hellenistic funerary monument recently excavated on the western Black Sea coast, was built at the threshold of the 4th to 3rd centuries BC in the cemetery of the Greek City of Callatis. Excavations offer a glimpse into a complex and interconnected world of Hellenistic architects and artists.


A Monumental Hellenistic Funerary Ensemble at Callatis on the Western Black Sea presents one of the most spectacular early Hellenistic funerary monuments, recently excavated on the western Black Sea coast by a Romanian-Bulgarian-Polish interdisciplinary research team. Documaci Tumulus, covering a painted tomb, and marked by a monumental statue, was built at the threshold of the 4th to 3rd centuries BC in the cemetery of the Greek City of Callatis. The sophisticated construction techniques and the remains of commemorative rituals attest to the dynamic political arena of the Diadochi wars in the Black Sea area and offer a glimpse into a complex and interconnected world of Hellenistic architects and artists. The monument will fuel discussions about the mechanisms of ritualised identity expression in mixed cultural environments, functioning under the pressure of political change, or about community membership, symbolic discourse and ancestors- all reflected in ‘le jeu des miroirs‘ of the funerary practices.

Introduction Chapter 1: The History of Research at Documaci Tumulus Chapter 2: Research Objectives and Methodologies Chapter 3: Broader Context Documaci Tumulus Chapter 4 The Place Chapter 5 The Enclosure Wall (krepis) Chapter 6 The Mound Chapter 7: Sema Chapter 8: The Tomb Chapter 9: Plasters and Pigments Chapter 10: Analysis of Stones Found in the Area of the Funerary Complex of the Documaci Tumulus Chapter 11: The Hellenistic Tomb under the Documaci Tumulus - a Cult Space During The Medieval Period Chapter 12: Catalogue of Ceramic Finds Chapter 13: Small Finds Chapter 14: Analysis of Faunal Remains Found in the Ritual Deposits of Documaci Tumulus Concluding Remarks References, Introduction ;

Chapter 1: The History of Research at Documaci Tumulus ;

Chapter 2: Research Objectives and MethodologiesChapter 3: Broader Context ;

Documaci TumulusChapter 5 The Enclosure Wall (krepis)Chapter 6 The MoundChapter 7: Sema

Valeriu Sîrbu is a senior archaeologist of the second Iron Age with more than forty years of experience. His main contributions are in the archaeology of ritual, magic, human and animal sacrifices, and sacred places and fortifications in Pre-Roman Dacia. ;
Maria-Magdalena Ștefan is an archaeologist dealing with tumuli graves in the Lower Danube area, Hellenistic tomb architecture and decoration, multi-cultural interactions in border zones and ancient identities. ;
Dan Ștefan is an archaeologist and geophysicist and an experienced analyst of archaeological landscapes with non-invasive methods, including LiDAR and aerial prospection. He has worked at more than one hundred archaeological sites in Romania, the Republic of Moldavia, Bulgaria and Greece.

  • Edited by Valeriu Sîrbu
  • Edited by Maria-Magdalena Ștefan
  • Edited by Dan Ștefan

‘The welcome first volume of publication of the spectacular Early Hellenistic Documaci Tumulus at Callatis, investigated by an international and interdisciplinary research team. Between Introduction and the concluding remarks come 14 chapters an account of objectives and methodologies and the ‘Broad Context’ of Callatis in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.’ – Gocha R. Tsetskhladze and James Hargrave (2024): Ancient West and East Volume 23

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