Archaeologists on Greek island uncover ancient tomb

Greek archaeologists have uncovered an intact tomb and what was likely a Roman theatre on the Ionian Sea island of Cephalonia, the culture ministry announced Wednesday. Archaeologists found gold earrings and rings, gold leaves that may have been attached to ceremonial clothing, as well as glass and clay pots, bronze artifacts decorated with masks, a bronze lock and copper coins. The vaulted grave, a house-shaped structure, had a small stone door that still works perfectly — turning on stone pivots. On a nearby plot, archaeologists also located traces of what may have been a small theater with four rows of stone seats, the ministry said. Previous excavations in the area have uncovered remains of houses, a baths complex and a cemetery, all dating to Roman times — between 146 B.C. and 330 A.D. Further digging will occur to better identify the monument, the ministry said. It is the first of its kind to be discovered on a Greek island in the Ionian Sea which separates Greece from Italy, according to the ministry. It is similar to theatres found in Ambracia in western Greece and Alexandria in Egypt. Fiskardo, the village on the island where the discoveries were made, was an important maritime port in the ancient world between Italy and Greece.