On 15 January, 1962, during the widening of the national road leading from Thessalonica to Kavala, a large unlooted cist grave was discovered at Derveni, some 10 km to the north of Thessalonica. The following day another similar but even larger cist grave came to light 4.5 metres away. The Greek Archaeological Service undertook a systematic excavation of the graves and the surrounding area between January and August 1962, under the direction of C. I.Makaronas and under the supervision of Petris Themelis. This survey led to the discovery of five more burials: the looted cist grave Γ, the cist graves Δ, E and H, and the pit grave Z. The tombs and their grave goods proved to be of outstanding importance in many respects, but the two most notable objects are the stunning bronze krater with a Dionysiac scene found in tomb B, and the remains of a charred papyrus scroll which was discovered, through the attentiveness of P. Themelis, among the remains of the funeral pyre on top of the covering slabs of tomb A.

Thanks to the recent full publication of the Derveni tombs by P. Themelis and J. Touratsoglou, we can now get a clear idea of the site. As the archaeological context might be relevant for the understanding of the papyrus, let me summarise the most important points on the basis of their description.

The site was located on the chora of the ancient settlement of Lete. It is not clear, however, whether or not the burial ground was directly connected with the city. The tombs were built in the pass of Derveni, along the road known as the via Egnatia.