The Chamber tombs of the Trapeza, Aigion. Preliminary observations on rituals of a small Mycenaean community

The papers presents some prelinary results from the excavation of the Mycenaean cemetery of the Trapeza, near Aigion, included in a project of the Greek Ministry of Culture. Main objectives of the stratigraphical and geoarchaeologicla approach consist in: - setting parameters and a methodological agenda for predicting depositional and post-depositional dynamic patterns involving chamber tombs; - identifying the detailed sequence of past actions traceable in the stratigraphic record in order to reconstruct the complete life-cycle of each funerary structure; exploring patterns of use and re-use of material culture in the funerary contexts in order to read the palimpsest of the social abd cult practices performed in, at and near the tombs. Gathering data relevant to the interpretation of the role of eastern Acahea in the network of east-west oriented relationships via the Corinthain sea in te Late Bronze Age is an additional special aim.