Marmariani, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Marmariani in Thessaly

The Protogeometric and Early Geometric pottery of Thessaly is represented by vases from Marmariani, an inland site at the foot of Mount Ossa 20 km north-east of Larissa
Six tholos tombs excavated here at the end of the 19th century contained successive burials dating from the late 11th to just after the middle of the 9th century B.C.
The form of the tombs goes back to the Mycenaean tradition , however the early handmade undecorated or painted vases (kantaroi 4, 5, 6 and jugs with cutaway neck 1 3 19) and the iron or bronze jewellery and weapons that accompanied the dead, which are on display indicate that the earlier inhabitants of the settlement to which the tombs belong enioyed relations with and traced their descent to the area of Macedonia. The communications between the inhabitants and the coast led to the introduction of of the potter's wheel about 950 B.C.
The characteristic handmade local shapes are now wheelmade, and Attic influence is perceptible in their decoration with, for example, concentric circles and semicircles and in the adoption of new vase types, such as large kraters, which continued to be produced throughout the 9th century and are the typical shape of the workshop. Shapes like the askos continued the north-Greek tradition

National Archaeological Museum, Athens