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Over the past seven years, excavations at Tenea have yielded a huge amount of grave goods from the archaic cemetery all the way to later Hellenistic tombs. It appears that in archaic times, offerings accompanying the dead are rare or sparse, but in Tenea they were found in profusion. One Hellenistic grave in particular, contained a gold-plated wreath, together with jewelry, richly decorated vessels, painted bone objects and large numbers of lamps decorated with gladiators and masks. These images clearly referred to a theater, which was eventually unearthed, as well as an Odeon and a Stadium. Last year, Tenea’s public baths were located, including a solarium.
As late as 2018, archaeologists were able to trace a two-lane road from the late Mycenaean era that was still used far into the Roman times. The houses along this road were luxurious Hellenistic examples with marble floors, sewage pipes and more common objects testifying of an active community.
The agora with its surrounding workshops brought more interesting objects to light such as 30 gold seals, glassware, jewelry and scales that were apparently left behind after a raid or some natural disaster.
Recently, archaeologists were able to expose a Roman Mausoleum that had been looted in antiquity but other Roman burials yielded a rich collection of vessels, jewelry, together with glass and bronze artefacts. So much so, that they state that these burials offerings alone could fill a museum! So far, they retrieved an average of 300 coins a year!
It seems that excavations till now were concentrated around the rich cemeteries since nothing much has been said about the theater, the Odeon, the Baths or the Stadium – unless those remains are in a very poor state.
Since Tenea
has being continually inhabited from the 6th century BC to the 6th
century AD, it is quite amazing that it has not been better documented. After
all, it lies only some