The facade of the the Tomb of the Palmettes, first half of the 3rd century BC, Ancient Mieza (7263674714)

The entrance has crowning mouldings on the interior sides, decorated by coloured Doric and Ionic mouldings and taeniae.

There was no dromos leading to the tomb. The present staircase is a modern structure, designed to facilitate visitors and also to support the natural side walls of the excavated trench and prevent the monument from being covered with earth once again. Dimensions of the antechamber: lengh 2, width 408, heigh 5.14m ; dimensions of the main chamber: lengh 5.10, width 4.07, height 4.95m. The facade is 6.25m high, 5.25m wide, and is higher than the roof. The predominant colour on the facade up to the level of the capitals of the Ionic half-columns is white; this is the final thin layer of lime-plaster which was used according to the prevailing custom to cover the surface of the poros blocks, which was full of holes, and make it look like marble. From the level of the capitals upwards a variety of colours is used, the predominant ones being shades of red and blue applied to the individual decorative elements: Ionic and Doric mouldings, frieze, taeniaeeeeem astragals, Lesbian mouldings, and alternating palmettes and lotus flowers, which adorned the raking of the tympanum of the pediment of the Ionic architrave. The pediment ont the facade is crowned by three windblown palmettes with a strong chiaroscuro effect, produced by the deep relief of the leaves and the triangular tongue-heart at its center, with deep blue between the white-ochre and slightly pink leaves, and deep pink and red at the heart in the centre.