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The excavation of the burial tumulus of Mikri Doxipara-Zoni was started in 2002 by the 19th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Thrace, the regional subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture. The archaeologists in charge were Diamantis Triandafillos, then director of the Ephorate and Domna Terzopoulou. The work to date has been funded completely by the Ministry of Culture.
It was a rescue excavation, since in the past there had been many attempts to destroy the tumulus and plunder the contents. The excavation was included in the programme of rescue excavations in the northern Evros area in 1998, when the site was visited on the suggestion of Thanasis Dermentzis, resident of Mikri Doxipara, and it was observed that there were a number of illegal trenches in its surface.
The numerous chips and fragments of worked marble, which were scattered over the surface of the tumulus, led to the initial suggestion that it covered a built tomb or sarcophagus. This hypothesis was not confirmed and it is now believed either that there was a built monument on the summit of the tumulus, which had been totally destroyed, or that a monument had existed in, or close by, the location that was later covered by the tumulus.
In 1999 the topographic survey of the tumulus was completed, while in 2000 a geophysical survey with geo-radar, from the Laboratory of Geophysical, Satellite Remote Sensing and archaeo-environment of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies of Crete, took place under the leadership of Dr. Apostolos Sarris.
The excavation began on the 9th September 2002 and a few days later the wheels of the first wagon were uncovered. Four-wheeled wagons, buried with or without their horses, have been found in many areas of Europe and Asia. The discovery at the tumulus of Mikri Doxipara-Zoni is the first in Greece. The excellent state of preservation of the wagons and the skeletons of the horses, as well as the presence of wood impressions from two of the wagons, offer a unique and particularly vivid picture, which we have attempted to preserve by every way at our disposal.
The first results of the excavation were presented in February 2003 during the annual conference on Archaeological
Work in Macedonia and Thrace, provoking a significant response amongst the archaeological community as well as in the
wider one.
The excavation continued, under very difficult circumstances, throughout 2003. Four further wagons, five additional
horse burials and four large pits, which contained the remains of the cremation burials and the many gifts which had
been offered by relatives to accompany the dead into the afterlife, were gradually revealed.
Light shelters were constructed for the protection of the wagons, the horse burials and the cremations against the
weather. Under these the patient tasks of cleaning and uncovering were carried out until the excavation was completed
in 2004. Today the whole of the tumulus has been removed. The wagons and the horse skeletons are still in situ, while
the finds have been removed from the cremation burials. The conservation of the wagons and the small finds from the
cremations is in progress and a fully equipped conservation laboratory has been created on site.
In parallel with the detailed inventory of the excavation findings, a custom made database was created to help
store and document all objects. The system — named Hipparchia after the famous
female philosopher from Maronia — provides references to the finding location, excavation diary entries
and electonic images of every finding, including the various phases of each objects maintenace procedure.
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