Architectural fragment

[MM 1974:014](http://kulturarvsdata.se/SMVK-MM/GreekRoman/html/3101607), Fragment of Corinthian (or composite) column capital; only one volute and part of an acanthus leaf preserved; drill-holes in leaf; plastic profile on the right hand side; yellowish white large-crystalline marble. Bequest of H.M. King Gustaf VI Adolf 1974. The earliest remains in the area of the sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis date back to the Bronze Age, but whatever structures there were at that time were abandoned at the end of Mycenaean civilization, around 1200 BCE. However, the nature of these structures are highly unclear and it is unknown if they represent an early form of a sanctuary. Instead, the evidence for the existence of a sanctuary proper stretches from the eighth century BCE until the end of the fourth century CE, when Eleusis was sacked by the Goths. There was no attempt to rebuild the sanctuary after the sack and the mysteries faded into obscurity.