Tombs, graves and burials
Cards (53)
- Burial customsDescribe the body of a wealthy Mycenaean and what we can assume from what we have discovered- adorned with jewellery found on neck and wrists of skeletons
- Burial customsWhat else has been found which was given as an offering to the gods? Why do you think the Mycenaeans did this?- drink offerings found in damaged cups on the floor at the entrance to tholoi- libation to the gods
- Burial customsWhat evidence do we have of a meal being eaten in honour of the dead?bones of animals and seashells found
- Burial customsWhy dont we have evidence of gifts offered to the dead?- decayed over time- robbed in ancient times
- Burial customsDescribe what happened as part of the burial custom- earth filled in- mound raised covered the area so that it was visible from a distance (tumuli)-steleplaced over tomb
- Burial customsWhat happened when another burial was made?the mound would have been dug again
- Burial customsEvidence that some bodies could have been put in a clay burial casketremains in Tanagra, Greece
- Burial customsRemains of painted scenes from a casket showing burial customs, Tanagra, Greece- women inthrenos- raising their hands to their heads- women not men near the body>> women had an important role in burials- a body lies on a bed and the dead person is wrapped in a short tunic
- Burial customsWhat are the limitations of the caskets found- extremely rare>> difficult to know if they represent what was typical of mycenaean burials
- Cist GravesWhat is a cist grave?- small, shallow pit dug in earth- most basic type of burial- used before the Mycenaean period
- Cist GravesConstruction- small, shallow pit dug in earth- sides covered in slabs of stone- piles of stone at the bottom for body to lie on
- Cist GravesHow would a body have been placed?the pits were so small that the body had to be placed in acurved position
- Cist GravesHow were the tombs used before and after the Mycenaean age?- before the mycenaean age, they were intended forsingle use- at the start of the mycenaean age, they began to begrouped togetherwith amound of earth(tumulus) raised on top
- Cist GravesWhat would happen when a new body needed to be buried?- the mound (tumulus) wasopened up- they might be placed inpithoi,fresh pitsor in re-dug earthbeside the original burial
- Cist GravesWhy do you think graves and tombs were reused many times?- to save labour- grouping families
- Cist GravesExamplecist grave found in Platmonas
- Shaft GravesWhen were shaft graves used?at the start of the mycenaean age
- Shaft GravesConstruction- narrow shaft dug 2.5m deep- at the bottom, a chamber built with low rubble walls and a roof support- stele used to mark the grave
- Shaft GravesHow does a shaft grave differ from a cist grave?- larger and deeper- had a stele to mark the grave
- What graves were found at Grave Circle B?- 14 shaft graves- 10 cist graves
- Shaft GravesWhat was found in the shaft graves in Grave Circle B?Grave SigmaGrave ZetaGrave Gammagrave sigma- large man- age 58- had gall stones >> tells us about the diet- only 3 of his teeth were diseased>> implies he was of a high classgrave zeta- man- age 49- skull had deep impressions >> hit in the head >> died in battle- spine + ribs show evidence of healing after fracture >> soldiergrave gammaone of 5 men found:- man- age 28- 2 fractures to his eye- singing of the eye >> possibly hit by a fire arrow- hole drilled into skull to treat injuries >> unsuccessful
- Shaft GravesHow were bodies positioned in a shaft grave?on their sides/backs
- Shaft GravesWhat was common in shaft graves?multiple burials in the same chamber
- Shaft GravesWhat happened when a second person was buried?- the first was pushed aside or moved to a corner to make room- a new stele may have been placed
- Similarities between cist graves and shaft graves- multiple people buried in one chamber- contain funerary items- found in the same area (grave circle b)
- Differences between cist graves and shaft gravesshaft graves larger + deeper-shaft graves have stelai to mark the grave, cist graves do not- cist graves have a tumulus, shaft graves do not- cist graves used before mycenaean age- cist graves do not have a roof over the body
- Tholos TombsWhat type of tomb do tholos tombs derive from?a tumulus
- What was a tumulus?a mound covering a cist grave
- Tholos TombsHow did tholos tombs differ from previous tombs?instead of a tumulus, had ahigh roofed domebuilt from stone, usingcorbelling
- Tholos TombsWho were these tholos tombs built for? How can we tell?- the most important members of society- would have been huge and time consuming to make
- Tholos TombsWhat was the main part of the tomb and how was this built?-moundwas build withstone- with achamberinside and adromosleading up to it
- Tholos TombsWhy was a side chamber dug?a body could be buried with more grave goods
- Tholos TombsWe think that these may have been constructed during the lifetime of the person intended to be buried in it? Explain why.- took a long time to build- so ready for the person when they die
- Tholos TombsWhy were tholos tombs rarely created after the 13th century?- too extravagant/expensive to build- mycenaean cities were being destroyed and were losing their wealth and prosperity
- Tholos TombsWhat was adromoswalkway leading up to the chamber
- Chamber TombsHow were less important Mycenaean nobles buried from the 14th century?in chamber tombs
- Chamber TombsWhat was a chamber tomb?- a tomb dug from rock- less important members of mycenaean nobility were buried here- always more than one body buried in chamber
- Chamber TombsSimilarities and differences between a chamber tomb and a tholos tomb+ built in the side of rocky hills with adromosand chamber+ had a wall of stones to block the entrance- not built using stone- used right up to the ned of the mycenaean period- always had multiple people buried in one chamber
- Chamber TombsWhy were they probably used as family tombs?several people could be buried in each, often in side chambers
- Chamber TombsHow long were they used?- till the end of the mycenaean period