Vapheio Tholos Tomb

The Vapheio Tholos Tomb is a Mycenaean burial place built around 1500 BC. It was excavated by Christos Tsountas in 1888. While the tomb was found nearly untouched, the skeleton of the deceased had deteriorated. Inside the tomb were numerous gems and precious metal vessels, the most notable of which were two golden cups with intricate relief decorations. The cups, positioned as if to be held one in each hand by the deceased, have Minoan motifs in their decorations that have led some to believe that they were imports from Crete. Others have argued that one, which depicted bulls being lured and tethered, was Minoan in origin, while the other, which depicted bulls being violently captured, was created in Mycenae. Furthermore, one cup has much deeper and defined groves, akin to Minoan reliefs, while the other is more shallow and has superficial incisions. The origin of the tomb's most notable artifacts continues to be debated.