Vaulted Tomb of Kaplani
Between the villages of Kaplani and Zizani, at the top of the hill Vigla in Messinia, about 12 kilometers from Koroni, has been excavated the Mycenaean vaulted tomb in Kaplani, as it is called. It has a diameter of 5 meters, preserved height of approximately 2,5 meters, while for its construction has been used slate local stone. The corridor of the vaulted tomb in Kaplani has a length of 6 meters and is also built of stone.
The vaulted tomb in Kaplani has been plundered since ancient times, but it has retained the undisturbed burial of two dead in a pit on the floor of the vault. At a short distance southeast was found a second vaulted tomb with approximately the same size, while the surrounding findings do not exclude the existence of more tombs in the area.
Tombs, such as the vaulted tomb in Kaplani, first appeared in the territory of the kingdom of Nestor in Messinia, which is considered “the hometown of the vaulted tomb”, before being spread to the rest of Greece. In Messinia exists the majority of vaulted tombs of all Greece, dating back to the late 17th century BC and here is found the whole chain of their architectural development up to 1200 BC, when the construction of luxury monuments ceased to exist.
