Ancient gravestone unearthed in Kerameikos

A gravestone fragment of the classical period was unearthed few days ago during an excavation project by the German Archaeological Institute and Greek archaeologists in the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos, in the center of Athens. In the ancient times, Kerameikos was a settlement by the river that flooded frequently. Due to the flooding problem the area was converted into a cemetery. The artefact discovered was probably part of a larger family grave-stele, dating from the 5th-4th century BC.

The tombstone shows a woman carrying a child in the front and another woman and a bearded man in the background. The figures are found under an engraved inscription, from which only the name Demostratos is distinguished. Archaeologists estimate that this tombstone was reused as a construction material and again as a sewer cover in the 6th century AD, when the sewage system of Athens was being constructed.