The Acropole Tomb was excavated on 6 February 1901 by

Jacques de Morgan Jean-Jacques de Morgan (3 June 1857 – 14 June 1924) was a French mining engineer, geologist, and archaeologist. He was the director of antiquities in Egypt during the 19th century, and excavated in Memphis and Dahshur, providing many dra ...

on the so called acropolis in

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

, Iran. The Achaemenide burial was found intact and contained a high number of personal adornments, many of them made in gold. The burial dates around 350 to 332 BC. Most of the objects are now on display in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. It is one of the most important Achaemenide treasures ever found. The burial was found within an undecorated bronze coffin, that resembles a bath tub. There was found a skeleton lying on the back. Jacques de Morgan assumed that this was the burial of a woman due to the high number of personal adornments. However, golden jewelry appear also in burials of men. Most importantly the deceased was wearing a

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few hav ...

. Torcs were only worn by men in the Achaemenid Empire. Two types of objects were found. There several items placed next to the deceased. These include two alabaster vessels and a silver bowl. All other items were found on the skeleton. There are several necklaces made of different materials. A torc was found around the neck and has end pieces with lion heads. The torc is made of gold with inlays in other materials. Two similar armlets were found. They are also made of gold and decorated with inlays.Françoise Tallon: ''Torque with Lion's-head Terminals'', in: Prudence O. Harper, Joan Arux, Françoise Tallon (Hrsg.): ''The Royal City of Susa'', New York 1992, , pp. 246 (Louvre Sb2761, 2762)

References

Literature

*Constantine Frank: ''The Acropolis tomb'', in: Jean Perrot (editor.): ''The Palace of Darius at Susa'', London 2013, , pp. 337–355 *Jacques de Morgan: ''Découverte d’une sépulture achéménide à Suse'', in J. de Morgan et al, ''Recherches archéologiques: Deuxième serie'', MDP 7, Paris, 1905, pp. 29–5
online

External links

Susa: The Acropole Tomb, auf achemenet
{{coord missing, Iran Susa Archaeology of the Achaemenid Empire 1901 in Iran 1901 archaeological discoveries Tombs in Iran Archaeological discoveries in Iran