Key sites

• Mycenae site

  1. sally port
  2. cistern
  3. cyclopean walls
  4. lion gate
  5. grave circle A
  6. grace circle B
  7. Tomb of clytenmestra
  8. tomb of aegisthus
  9. treasury of atreus
• Tiryns site

  1. walls
  2. main entrance
  3. galleries
  4. palace and megaron
  5. defences
  6. tholos tomb of tiryns
• Sally port

  • gap in outer wall so defenders could ambush attackers
  • two sally ports; southern and postern
  • postern gate had similar structure to lion gate
  • south gate was visible from a distance; (was it a defensive measure)
• Underground cistern

  • corbelled entrance that cuts through fortification
  • 18m down there was a water supply from a natural spring; created underwater aqueduct + supply of water to city
• Cyclopean Walls

  • made up of blocks of limestone 12m high
  • some blocks moved to higher areas via rollers or by construction of earth ramps
  • walls originally only surrounded top half of city in first phase of construction
• Lion Gate

  • approach to gate was along uphill path
  • lintel weighed 20 tones; above lintel is a corbel arch
  • two lions carved into corbel arch (didn’t survive due to difficulty of preserving limestone detail)
  • Main entrance to citadel (other entrance was postern gate)
• Grave Circle A

  • contains 6 shaft graves with 9 women 8 men and 2 children
  • deeper than grave circle B
  • thought to be royal burial site; rich contents found within + walls rebuilt once lion gate was built suggesting its sacred
  • stelae set over burials depicted chariot scenes
  • Homer described Mycenae as “rich in gold”; possibly accurate depiction
• Grace Circle B

  • contains 26 grave; 14 shaft, 12 cis (6 of shafts were family graves)
  • over half of graves thought to be for members of royal family
  • uncarved stelae indicates burials of a female + carved stelai indicates male
• Tomb of clytemnestra

  • named after wife of agamemnon
  • situated west of city
  • reconstructed roof after it collapsed in 1951
  • robbed of treasure in ancient times; none found once excavated
• Tomb of aegisthus

  • located west of lions gate
  • earliest tholos tomb
  • also no treasure remained when excavated; likely to have been robbed
  • top of tholos collapsed + interior is open to air
• Treasury of atreus

  • potentially could be actual tomb of atreus; dates back to period of his supposed lifetime
  • Robbed prior to discovery in 1950s
  • Pausinais, descriptions of greece (ancient roman geographer)= “underground resting place of atreus and his children” ; suggests tholos could be family graves
• Mycenae site

  • hills to the north and south of city
  • built on a hill 40-50m above sea level
  • ravines surrounding hill
  • spring 400m away; supply of water
• Tiryns site

  • built on a hill; earliest building at 2500BC
  • 13th BC= wall on western side added with curving defence and stairway
  • Illiad= “mighty walled” Book 2
• Walls of Tiryns

  • similar to Mycenae as they had been believed to have been built by cyclopes
  • west wall has a deliberate curve and a straight leading to a corridor
• Main entrance

  • approach to entrance on cyclopean ramp
  • similar construction to lion gate; 3m tall and 3m wide
  • death passages/ killing boxes where enemies are funnel through and can be attacked from both sides
• Galleries

  • built in outer walls with corbelling arches
  • site extended to north by adding loop to wall; area of extension contained workshops and houses
• Palace

  • situated on acropolis/highest point
  • destroyed in 1180BC by a fire
  • contains two storeys of rooms for royal family; megaron was surrounded by receptions storerooms and workshops
  • walls and floors believed to have been highly decorated
• Megaron

  • central hall used for wanax meetings of foreign officials, guests and banquets
  • contained hearth surrounded by 4 pillars
  • surrounded by series of rooms like storerooms and workshops
• Defences of tiryns

  • death passages at entrance funnels attackers in
  • cyclopean ramp overlooked advancing enemies
• Tholos tomb of tiryns

  • built into hillside 0.5 miles away from tiryns
  • corbelled roof of entrance
  • lathe stone within could indicate an altar to a god
• Troy Layers

  1. Troy VI
  2. Troy VIIa
• Evidence supporting Troy VI being homers troy

  • destroyed around 1250BC; homers troy dated to 1200
  • rich city that contained lots of artefacts
  • stone walls over 7m high; Illiad described “high walls of troy”
  • extended over large area suggests 10,000 people within it
• Evidence against Troy VI being Homers Troy

  • archaeology suggests it was destroyed by an earthquake and not a fire like it states in illiad
• Evidence for Troy VIIa being Homers Troy

  • destroyed by a large fire
  • human remains show they died violently
  • arrowheads suggest conflict was common
  • storage jars sunk deep into ground
• Evidence Against Troy VIIa being homers troy

  • doesnt sound as rich as homers troy
  • sunken jars could indicate lack of space in an overcrowded city