University of Cincinnati's ancient history buffs just scored major street cred, per a report by World Archaeology Magazine. A UC classics crew, led by Professor Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker, Senior Research Associate, struck gold – quite literally – in a Greek olive grove. They unearthed a 3,500-year-old tomb packed with a plethora of artifacts dating back to Mycenaean Greece and belonging to one high-flying leader, dubbed the Griffin Warrior.
Digging around Pylos, Greece, back in 2015, their find included weapons, armor, and enough bling to make any museum-goer swoon. Stocker and Davis were on an excavation when they happened upon an intact tomb, the resting place of the warrior who was apparently living large at around 30 to 35 years old before he bit the dust. Fun fact: the guy likely ruled the very same hood he was born in, a DNA analysis suggested. So much for wanderlust.
Not ones to rest on their laurels, the UC Classics duo dug up more tombs nearby, which were basically ancient time capsules brimming with religious and mythical figures etched into the artifacts. A literal link to the actual Iliad and Odyssey homelands – talk about OG fan service. Their discoveries are all neatly packed into a book, appropriately titled "The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Mycenaean Greece," according to UC News.
Last year's show at the J. Paul Getty Museum gave the public a first peek at the Griffin Warrior's cache on this side of the pond. Claire Lyons, museum curator, name-dropped both the Iliad and the Odyssey, reminding us that Pylos was kind of a big deal as the stomping grounds of King Nestor – no, not a hipster coffee shop, but a Homeric VIP.
Past UC titans of archaeology add to the legacy, like Carl Blegen, who uncovered the Palace of Nestor way before anyone even dreamed up World War II, partnering with fellow history hound Konstantinos Kourouniotis. Fast-forward to today, and Davis, Stocker, plus team are still geeking out on the Griffin Warrior's goods. Everything from Minoan art likely shipped in from Crete, to Mycenaean pieces, and even some Egyptian flair showing a little goddess Hathor love are in the mix, proving the ancients were all about that multicultural life. Plus, Blegen's 600 tablets, scripted in what's essentially Greek pre-emoji text, Linear B, are the cherries on top.
