Another
central aspect of Mycenaean material culture were their cyclopean
tombs. Using their famed masonry style they built spectacular burial
chambers for the nobility. Earlier kings and nobles were buried in
the so-called two grave circles at Mycenae, which were areas of shaft
graves surrounded by a low limestone wall. Later nobles were buried
in large and elaborately decorated beehive-shaped buildings, called
tholos tombs. Sometimes the bodies were buried in a sitting position,
or underwent slight mummification. Some wore rich masks of electrum
or gold. These interesting traditions stand in stark contrast to the
iron age practices of cremation, then deposition in a golden funerary
urn (both of which are seen in the Iliad). It is estimated that in
total (in both grave circles) there were around 30 pounds of gold.
Grave
Circle B, Mycenae
Mycenae
has two examples of cyclopean tombs, both of which greatly illuminate
the social condition of the city's nobility. The earliest one is
Grave Circle B (GCB). It was built outside the citadel between
1,675-1,650 BCE and used for around 100 years til 1,550 BCE. It is
comprised of a 92' circle surrounded by wall 5' thick and 4' high. It
houses 26 graves: 14 shaft and 12 cist, and in the 14 shaft graves
were 24 bodies. 6 of the 14 shaft graves were solely reserved for
families and each of which had multiple occupants. The shaft graves
were marked on the surface by a tumulus, yet 4 of which had stele.
The stele monuments reached up to 7' high, and 2 stele (Alpha and
Gamma) were engraved with hunting scenes.
A diagram of GCB and shaft graves at Mycenae |
During
its first period, from 1,650-1,600 BCE, burials were small and
shallow without many grave goods. This was similar to other MH period
burials. Throughout the first 50 years graves became larger, filled
with more goods, and female burials begin. Diadems are found on all
sexes and age groups, although eventually female burials begin to
contain an increased amount of ornaments. These early Mycenaean
elites had begun to festoon their eternal possessions with expensive
foreign objects, by 1,600 BCE up to 50% of graves had Cycladean
imports.
A reconstruction of GCB during this period, 1,650-1,550 BCE |
During
the latter 50 years of use (1,600-1,550 BCE) these trends continued
and accelerated. Nobles were buried by this period with even more
Cycladean imports and now with Minoan imports as well. More women
were buried than men, and male burials in comparison were poorer.
Perhaps Mycenaean culture during these 50 years began to adopt the
Minoan social function and prestige of a priestess class. Even while
that occurred, these 50 years heralded the emergence of a male
warrior aristocracy in Mycenae, with male burials becoming associated
with sets of tableware, drinking vessels, and various weapons.
Besides their possible difference in social status, the men and women
buried during these 50 years were undoubtedly rich. The women are
dressed in ornate clothing bedecked with earrings, necklaces, gold
bands, and silver pins. Men are dressed with weapons, and gold
trimmed clothing. Grave Nu shows traces of a boar tusk helmet,
expressing its owner's wealth.
By
far the most interesting artifact recovered from GCB is an electrum
death mask. This metal mask was found not on someone's face, but on a
box beside a body. This is the earliest precious death mask found,
death masks are found in both GCB and the later Grave Circle A (GCA)
but in the later graves are gold and are stylistically different. In
shaft Gamma, the male electrum mask wearer was found with his sister,
suggesting a clan based nobility. Many of the men buried had wounds,
which were most likely caused from warfare and some of which may have
been fatal. GCB charts the rise of early Mycenaean elite culture, one
in which rich women attained prominence while men fought and died in
battle. The identity of the individual buried with the electrum mask
is unknown, possibly a king. Besides the death mask, another
fascinating object found in GCB is a rock crystal duck-shaped bowl,
found in shaft omicron. It is disputed whether it was made by a
Mycenaean or a Minoan, either way it is a magnificent piece of both
labor and artistry.
The electrum death mask from shaft Gamma at GCB, Mycenae, 1,650-1,550 BCE |
The rock crystal bowl with a duck from GCB, Mycenae, 1,600-1,500 BCE |
GCB
was miraculously found intact, being reached by archeologists only
because it was not looted in antiquity. Many later (15th
century and onward) Mycenaean tombs suffered that terrible fate.
Around 1,550 BCE for whatever reason GCB became disused, with the
nobility setting up the nearby GCA for their burials. Depending on
the accuracy of the dating, there may have been some overlap as the
latest graves of GCB (Alpha, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Omicron) are
contemporaneous with the earliest graves at GCA. The newer GCA
between 1,600-1,550 BCE as GCB fell into disuse. It was built in a
similar manner to the other grave circle, also being built outside
the palace walls and used as a repository for the ruling elite of the
city. It contains 6 shaft graves, with 19 bodies in total. Each grave
at GCA had a mound and a stele erected above it. Both GCB and GCA
were local continuations of this widespread MH (middle Helladic)
tradition.
Grave
Circle A, Mycenae
In
the early 1,500s BCE when GCA was built, Mycenae proper included a
small unfortified palace. Throughout the life of GCA Mycenaean
nobility began to become fabulously wealthy, much more so than their
predecessors. GCA was only used for around 50-100 years until 1,500
BCE when it too fell into disuse. By 1,500 the wealthy had stopped
using shaft graves in a funerary area and became to built themselves
individual grand tholos tombs. The native funerary tradition which
developed both GCB and GCA had been superseded, as the wealthy
desired even more elaborate tombs. Tholos tombs themselves had first
developed around Messenia in the southern Peloponnese, and had spread
throughout the Mycenaean world.
Golden diadems and other objects found in GCA by Heinrich Schliemann |
Detail of the golden diadem from Shaft grave III at GCA, Mycenae |
Inside
the graves at GCA are gold masks, weapons, ornate staffs, gold rings,
buttons, bracelets, and gold and silver cups. Of the 19 bodies in
GCA, 8 are men, 9 are women, and 2 are children. Each shaft contained
2-5 bodies and only grave II had a single burial. Boar tusks for
helmets were found in grave IV, and golden masks were found in graves
IV and V. The most famous Mycenaean object ever found was a gold
death mask from grave shaft V at the GCA: The Mask of Agamemnon.
Other precious objects such as “Nestor's cup” and the silver
Siege Rhyton were lying by the side of the deceased in shaft IV as
well. Most graves had a full panoply of weapons, especially swords,
which had beautiful carvings on them showing various hunting and
fighting scenes. It is obvious that such activities were the common
past times of the nobility during this period, yet the artistry
involved shows that there was a vast network of artisans working
silently behind such high status individuals. The decorate daggers
are specifically considered objects d'art, they are worthless to use
in actual combat. This is precisely because they were never intended
for actual use, but signify the rank of the individual they are
buried with. The ornate staffs and a scepter also found in shaft IV
were also products of conspicuous consumption.
An elaborately decorated gold box from grave V, GCA |
Various Mycenaean gold ornaments from GCA and GCB |
A silver rhyton in the shape of a deer, from grave IV, GCA |
Shaft
graves IV and V are by far the most elaborate of any graves at GCA or
the earlier GCB. Shaft grave V includes various gold and silver
objects such as: The Mask of Agamemnon, Nestor's Cup, and the Siege
Rhyton. Grave V also includes two other golden funerary masks,
complete with weapons suggesting these burials were of elite
warriors. Shaft grave IV also includes elaborate weapons, ornate
staffs, a scepter, and three other funerary masks. While III is not
as elaborate as IV or V, it does include the burials of two children
covered in gold leaf suits, one of which has holes made for its eyes.
In total in shaft grave IV there are 11 silver vases, 5 golden vases,
22 bronze vases, 8 clay pots, 2 gold rhytons, 3 silver rhytons, and 2
oyster shell rhytons (which were imported). In addition to all these
objects, in this shaft is an alabaster vase imported from Egypt, and
amber seals imported from the Baltics (carved locally). It is
entirely unknown who (more specifically who's family) is buried in
shaft IV of GCA. In classical myths, the Perseides are the founders
of Mycenae yet this fact is entirely ahistorical. Whoever this family
was, they were one of the richest and most powerful families in
Mycenae. They would have been one of the most powerful families
across the Mycenaean world during their culture's early period.
On the left, an alabaster vase most likely imported from Egypt, found in GCA shaft V. On the right, a gold lion's head from GCA |
A beautiful wooden box with dogs from either GCA or GCB, at Mycenae |
Two gold leaf funerary suits made for children, from shaft IV at GCA |
One of the five golden masks found in shaft graves IV and V at GCA, made in a similar style to the much earlier electrum death mask in GCB |
One of the five golden masks found in shaft graves IV and V at GCA, this one was made with a sly smile revealing the bearer's personality |
Graves
in GCA included many objects of foreign influence during its lifespan
(1,600-1,500 BCE). The inclusion of Minoan objects such as bull heads
and double axes show an adoption of certain aspects of Cretan
culture. Most of the objects in the shafts are decorated in a
quasi-Minoan style but were most likely made locally. While the
artists and nobility of the city looked to their Minoan neighbors for
stylistic guidance, the objects they created do show the skill of
their native artisanal talent. There were aspects of Mycenaean art
which were unique to their culture alone, such as specific hunting
and fighting scenes, not every detail was copied from Crete.
An ornamental bull's head object from shaft IV at GCA, showing artistic influence from the popular Minoan bull head rhytons |
While
GCA fell into disuse around 1,500 BCE, hundreds of years later it was
re-purposed by Mycenaean rulers. Around 1,250 BCE (about 250 years
after the last burial) it was enclosed by a wall within the acropolis
at Mycenae. At this time it was given a double ringed peribolos wall
of nicely cut low limestone slabs. The site itself became a temenos,
or sacred precinct as a circular construction (likely an altar) was
built above a grave at the site. Older stele were re-erected, being
refurbished for a new viewing public. Three of these newer stele
include chariot scenes, a reminder of who the audience is, as well as
the warfare of the period. The entire GCA complex had been re-planned
in the mid 13th century BCE Mycenaean nobility as a
monument to their now historic and mythical rulers living hundreds of
years previous. The structure's existence as a symbol of its people
had become remade, refashioned into a cultic site so as to link their
current 13th century rulers to their 16th
century forebears.
A reconstruction of GCA during this period, by Professor Wace |
This
redesign also included changing other structures around the city. GCA
was incorporated into the walled area of town, and nearby Lion Gate
was built around this time. These actions were surely connected, as
the kings of Mycenae cemented the loyalty of their citizens and
ancestors they could not rely on these things alone. They had to
ensure their people's survival through cyclopean walls and its
ever-staring lions. The Lion Gate is the ego of the king writ large,
built to imitate the Hittite capital's Lion Gate and thus to inspire
in Mycenaeans a potential for their own wide-ranging empire.
The
Treasury of Atreus
The
Treasury of Atreus, as seen at the entrance
Also
during the great re-design of 1,250 BCE, besides the fearsome walls
and painted gravestones, the nobles of the period created a glorious
tomb fit for a king. This was a tholos tomb, built very unlike the
shaft graves of the 16th century BCE. It is called the
Treasury of Atreus, although it is unknown who is actually buried
there, and it was built just outside the citadel. It is a large round
structure resembling a beehive, with a long hallway leading to its
inner chamber. Many believe the burial to be the city's Wanax or
another high leader, as it is by far the most impressive tholos yet
excavated in the whole of Mycenaean Greece. The lintel stone above
the doorway weights 120 tons, and for over 1,000 years it was both
the tallest and widest dome on earth (usurped by the Temple of Hermes
in Baiae and the Pantheon in Rome during the CP). It was still
awe-inspiring enough to be mentioned by the Roman writer Pausanias
and then almost two thousand years later still visible in 1879 when
Heinrich Schliemann excavated GCA.
A diagram of the Treasury of Atreus |
Reconstruction of the entrance of the Treasury of Atreus |
Reconstruction of the carvings around the facade of the Treasury of Atreus |
Reconstruction of one of the columns at the Treasury of Atreus, now at the British museum |
You
enter the tholos through an uncovered hall, called a dromos, which is
36 meters long. At the entrance are Mycenaean half columns made from
green limestone and intricately covered with zigzag motifs (one such
object now seen at the British museum since being stolen by Lord
Elgin). The entrance also includes rosette designs above the
architrave of the door, and beautiful spiral decorations with red
marble. The capitals of these columns seem to be influenced by
Egyptian examples, and includes inlays of rare materials such as red
porphyry and green alabaster. The interior of the tholos was
decorated with plates of a metal, possibly gold, silver, or bronze.
The elaborate beauty and detail put into the construction of the
Treasury of Atreus marks it as a late blooming flower placed
precariously in a soon-to-be-plowed field.
A view from the interior of the Treasury of Atreus |
Visitors entering the Treasury of Atreus |
Within
50 years the palace structure of Mycenaean society would collapse,
eventually leading to the erasure of its foundational culture. The
builders of this tomb were some of the last truly wealthy nobles of
the rich Greek bronze age. While there was never a period in which
there were no nobility in Greece, by 1,000 BCE people who
lived in a similar social position would have no palaces, no scribes,
and no grand tholos tombs. The entire renovation of Mycenae would end
up being a futile last grasp at their fading power. While the
megalithic buildings in their city may have convinced the populace
that their strength would be unchallenged, not even the worst fears
of their kings could have prepared them for their stark fate. No king
could have imagined the extent of their utter annihilation. The sole
remnant of their existence was reduced to portraying the scenery
within a myth, creating a parody of their true lives lived.
A Mycenaean chariot in combat, by Panaiotis |
References
Media
Related to GCA, wikimedia
commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Grave_Circle_A
Shaft
Grave 4 at GCA, Mycenae http://bit.ly/1BJOgFc
Aegean
Art, Khan Academy http://bit.ly/1Ej4B6i
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