Archaeologist: I Found Trojan War-Era Throne

Greek culture ministry officials skeptical about the find
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 14, 2016 1:32 PM CDT
Archaeologist: I Found Trojan War-Era Throne
Greek archaeologist Christofilis Maggidis speaks next to a photo of a stone he believes belonged to the lost royal throne in the ancient palace of Mycenae, heart of the Mycenaean civilization, in southern Greece, during a press conference in Athens on Tuesday.   (Petros Giannakouris)

A Greek archaeologist believes he has found a fragment of the lost throne of the rulers of Mycenae, famous from ancient myth and the story of the Trojan War, the AP reports. Christofilis Maggidis, who heads excavations at the site in southern Greece, says the chunk of worked limestone was found two years ago, in a streambed under the imposing citadel. He told a press conference in Athens on Tuesday that the throne was among sections of the hilltop palace that collapsed during an earthquake around 1200BC.

Greek Culture Ministry officials, however, have distanced themselves from the identification, citing a separate study that ruled the chunk to be part of a stone basin. No other thrones have been found in mainland Greece's Mycenaean palaces. An older, smaller example was found on Knossos, Crete. (Archaeologists hit the jackpot when they unearthed a warrior's grave last year in Pylos, Greece.)

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