Another important aspect about burial in the Aegean during the Dark Ages, and the reason why so many artifacts are discovered in tombs, is the practice of giftgiving at burials. Ian Morris discusses giftgiving in the Aegean during the Bronze Age in his article entitled, “Gift and Commodity in Archaic Greece.”(Morris) The Greek people experienced many different levels of exchange, and perhaps after the steady use of coined money, the giftgiving tradition continued on in the area of funerals.

Morris points out an important aspect, and one that lends itself to the reason for finding so many artifacts in tombs. He says, “the main problem for the archaeologist is of course the invisibility of most of the social contexts of gift exchange. Gift giving at weddings, initiation ceremonies of various kinds and the establishment of guest-friendship cannot be expected to produce a recognizable material residue,” as would funerals. (Morris) However, Morris does say that giftgiving was used primarily to ensure that ties of friendship and business were created. Therefore, it is interesting to note that in the case of burial, such large-scale giving is present. Perhaps, the tradition of giving carried over into such an aspect of life, even when no tie with the person receiving is possible. Another possibility, which also makes sense, is that a tie may be sought with persons surviving the dead.

The types of remnants uncovered in the tombs at Lefkandi vary. A large portion of the gifts include ceramic bowls and pitchers – all being placed with a specific Helladic period. Also, remnants uncovered include objects made of bronze and iron as well as some gold coins. By far however, the most numerous artifacts recovered from tombs at Lefkandi were ceramic.