In the beginning of the 2nd century AD, four members of a rich, feudal family died one after the other. They were cremated and buried in the same spot, close to the road that led from Adrianoupolis to Philipoupolis. In this location a great burial tomb was constructed to keep the memory of the dead alive.The area belongs to the municipality of Orestiada today and is situated close to the villages Mikri Doxipara and Chelidona.
The excavation revealed four big ditches that contained the cremation residue of three men and one woman together with numerous offerings such as clay, glass and bronze pots, bronze lamp stands and lamps, weapons, jewelry, wooden boxes etc. The five carriages in which the dead were transported were buried in the same space together with the horses. Next to them, another five horses were buried. The metal functional and decorative parts of the carriages remain intact, whereas the wooden parts can still be seen in two of them.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.