meters and its height probably exceeded 6.50 meters. It contained four pits. The prominent position of the people buried there is attested also by the lavish grave goods which accompanied them: pottery vessels, sealing gems made of semi-precious stones and little items made of gold, ivory and faience. In a hole between the pits 1 and 2 was discovered a pile of bronze items and vessels, among which a bent sword with an ivory handle. It has been used in the course of the prime time of Nichoria (1400-1200 B.C.). However, there are also traces of use in the late classical and Hellenistic periods, related to the ancestors' cult, a practice particularly familiar in Messenia, but known also in the rest of Greece. Around the acropolis of Nichoria extends a necropolis with various kinds of tombs dating from the 15th to the 8th century B.C. Although the excavations were not carried out in the entire region of Nichoria, trenches opened in the region of Karpophora revealed remains of the settlement, such as the main street and parts of buildings which were used clearly for habitation. The most important among them was probably the apsidal megaron of the Sub-mycenaean period, one of the largest dated in the so-called “Greek Dark Ages” in the entire Greece: it was 13 m. long and 8 m. wide, and it was accompanied by a circular construction with paved floor. It has been suggested that it might have had a ritual-religious character. Two more megaron-type constructions were discovered, dated to the LHII and to the LHIIIA1 period respectively, i.e. in the peak time of Nichoria. Citations References Cities in ancient Peloponnese Mycenaean Greece Mycenaean sites in the Peloponnese (region) Populated places in ancient Greece Archaeological sites in the Peloponnese (region) Former populated places in Greece Late Bronze Age collapse Greek Dark Ages