Synchronizing the Destructions of the Mycenaean Palaces

This paper presents results of the Archaeological Society’s excavation (2000–2013) of the structure known as ‘Petsas House’ in Mycenae’s settlement The building complex, destroyed late in the LH IIIA2 period, was used for habitation, ceramic production and storage, and is one of the few examples, so far excavated, of multi-use space in a palatial settlement during this period of expansion and centralization In particular, this paper examines the nature of the destruction of Petsas House, and its immediate aftermath, along with a presentation of the extensive ceramic evidence for dating this event Based on this, evidence for destruction and rebuilding elsewhere at Mycenae during this period, including the palace, is critically detailed in order to define a possible destruction horizon at the site and investigate the potential impact on and historical implications for the center, its inhabitants, and their sociopolitical and economic trajectory.

Keywords: Mycenae, LH IIIA2, Pottery, mudbrick, well, earthquake

During the excavations of the northern tip of the Lower Citadel of Tiryns by Klaus Kilian2 in 1982–1983 and by Joseph Maran (campaigns 2000–2003),3 a sequence of late Palatial and Post-palatial Mycenaean layers and architectural structures was uncovered They provide evidence for several turning points in the history of this location, which allow us to reconstruct a detailed pottery sequence from LH IIIB Early to the final Post-palatial period. In this paper, based on the pottery sequence in the area of Building XI and the Passageway to the North Gate the development of the painted Mycenaean wares from LH IIIB Early–Middle to LH IIIC Early will be outlined The results of the study of the pottery found during the 2000–2003 campaigns will be supplemented by the material found in this area by Kilian The focus will be on the local painted Mycenaean pottery Preliminary observations on the development of local unpainted and local and Aeginetan cooking wares from this area will be given as well Since the non-local ceramic vessels from this area provide important evidence for international goods exchange in the Palatial period, one section will be devoted to pottery of foreign origin From the methodological point of view, the monocausal method was used to date stratigraphic contexts In addition to this method, the polycausal method4 will be presented here based on the example of painted deep bowls.

Keywords: Tiryns, Lower Citadel, pottery sequence, LH IIIB Early–Final, LH IIIC Early

In 1997, in the plot of the Municipal Conference Centre (MCC) of Thebes on the N-NW part of the Kadmeia Hill, the contents of a Mycenaean storeroom were partially excavated, about 250m N-NW of the Kadmeion It comprised a bronze corselet, an agate seal depicting a cow suckling her calf, traces of melted lead and pottery All the items had fallen from a higher level and were found in a fill of red earth, probably deriving from the disintegrated mudbricks. Areas of black earth with charred wood and signs of burning on several of the finds indicate fire as the cause of destruction. Thirty-five vases were complete or nearly complete: twenty-four of coarse or plain ware (storage vessels, lamps, a small amphora, shallow cups, ladles, kylikes), ten decorated closed vessels (stirrup jars, jugs, a hydria, a based askos, a small amphora), and one Group A deep bowl The pottery is dated to the end of the LH IIIB period, when some features of the LH IIIC Early pottery had already appeared The pottery from the storeroom is discussed in connection with pottery groups from other sites in Thebes as well as from other Mycenaean palatial centers.

Keywords: Mycenaean pottery, Thebes, Kadmeia, end of Mycenaean palaces

The aim of this paper is to reassess and refine the chronology of two significant destruction horizons that occurred in the area of the Palace of Nestor at Pylos between the 14th and the early 12th centuries BC This contribution also provides a methodological case study concerning the use of pottery for chronology within its broader archaeological context The bases of our analysis are the contexts brought to light during the old excavations carried out by the University of Cincinnati under the direction of Carl Blegen This information is integrated with and enhanced by preliminary data from ongoing archaeological investigations conducted at Pylos by Sharon Stocker and Jack Davis, again under the aegis of the University of Cincinnati Our results suggest the existence of possible compositional and functional differences between the assemblages recovered in different areas located within and around the Palace of Nestor. Our understanding of the data indicates that the first destruction occurred shortly after the start of LH IIIA2. The final destruction, on the other hand, is assigned to the very beginning of LH IIIC. Our refined chronological sequence also allows a reliable synchronization of the Pylian horizons with other relevant deposits from the southern Peloponnese and the wider Greek mainland.

Keywords: Palace of Nestor at Pylos, pottery analysis methodology, formation processes of archaeological contexts, Mycenaean relative chronology

Iklaina is fulfilling the prediction that it would be an important Mycenaean site, and one of the major second- order centers of the Pylos state. Several different sectors are being uncovered, differentiated by function. This paper concentrates on the South Sector, where excavation has produced evidence for a monumental structure with frescoes, as well as other buildings, an outdoor pit shrine, roads and a gateway The North Sector, which includes both residential and industrial buildings, is still under study, as is the residential East Sector Iklaina is clearly a larger and more complex site than Nichoria, the other excavated second-order center in Messenia Four architectural phases can now be distinguished This paper outlines these phases and their ceramic dating In the light of this ceramic and stratigraphical evidence, the paper addresses current thinking about the town’s historical development and particularly about its relationship with the palatial center at Pylos (Englianos).

Keywords: Iklaina, Pottery, Pylos, administration, Destruction

The newly discovered palace at Ayios Vasileios offers the first evidence for the use of Linear B clay tablets in Laconia. The palace was destroyed by a severe fire during which the room that hosted the Linear B archive was burnt down The suggested date of this destruction is placed close to LH IIIB Middle The present paper discusses the related evidence from the pottery and stratigraphy available so far Moreover, the destruction of Ayios Vasileios is placed in a wider geographical context, suggesting that the mid-13th century in southern Greece was marked by several similar events. Finally, the paper offers some preliminary results about the date and character of reoccupation in the area of the court.

Keywords: Ayios Vasileios, Laconia, palace destruction, Pottery, LH IIIB Middle

In ten years of fieldwork at the newly discovered site of Ayios Vasileios near Xirokambi, plenty of evidence has been collected to identify this site as the political center of Laconia during the Mycenaean Palatial period We are, however, still at the very beginning of understanding the process and implications of its rise, operation, and fall One precondition to do so is to get the archaeological record in chronological order Secondly, it is our belief that any report on the significance of Ayios Vasileios requires a synopsis of all available evidence. In this paper we would therefore like to contribute to this synopsis by briefly presenting all currently available evidence from the Early Mycenaean cemetery in the north of the Ayios Vasileios Hill concerning the Palatial and early Post-palatial period The margins of the North Cemetery yielded evidence of later use of the area in the form of architectural remains and ceramic deposits that may help to synchronize phases of construction and destruction at Ayios Vasileios In our attempt to approach the political and cultural development in central Laconia between the 15th and the 12th century BC, we also include in our discussion significant aspects of the ceramic sequence and settlement development at the Menelaion, the best researched site in the region.

Keywords: Ayios Vasileios, North Cemetery, Pottery, Chronology, Menelaion, political development, Mycenaean Laconia

Over the past quarter-century, the published evidence for variability in the nature and extent of ceramic regionalism within LM II–IIIB Crete (c 1450–1180 BC) has increased dramatically Assessing the implications of that evidence, however, has been hampered by the continuing failure of pottery specialists to agree upon criteria for defining ceramic phases that apply throughout the island, as well as by the lack of established metrics whereby varying degrees of ceramic uniformity or regionalism can be determined By reviewing some results of a recent determined effort on the part of specialists to explore incremental ceramic change as well as regionalism during the 13th century in particular, the suggestion is made that the appearance of dark-surfaced Handmade and Burnished Ware (HMBW), agreed to be of south Italian ancestry, and its imitation in local pale-firing fine fabrics on Crete as well as on the southern and central Greek mainland can be used to correlate the ceramically based relative chronologies of these two Aegean regions The short-lived LH IIIB2 Final through earliest IIIC destruction horizon of mainland palatial centers occurred during the phase termed LM IIIB2 (or LM IIIB Late) on Crete Thus, mainland refugees from those destructions can be expected to be recognizable on Crete before LM IIIC begins Indeed, their arrival may have played a significant role in the dramatic changes in settlement pattern that are observable throughout much of Crete during the later LM IIIB period.

Keywords: ceramic regionalism, Chania, Dimini, Handmade Burnished Ware, Late Minoan III

This paper dealing with the demise of the Mycenaean palaces is intended as a plea for an interpretive reset and a departure from any search for a single ‘prime mover’ allegedly responsible for this historical watershed The doubts regarding the validity of the ‘earthquake hypothesis’ should be perceived as an opportunity to look for alternatives to previous explanatory approaches that were too simplistic In order to do this, attention must shift away from events and towards assessing those structures and processes that enabled the palaces’ demise In this respect, three closely interrelated factors of historical, political, and social relevance to which I ascribe a crucial importance will be discussed: first, conflicts among the elites; second, large-scale construction projects; and, third, changes in the palatial armed forces. It is argued that the palaces were brought down first and foremost by internal contradictions that had long built up in the palatial polities and were exploited by members of the elite Alongside antagonistic fault lines that developed over a long period of time, centrifugal forces were unleashed by social groups pursuing their own interests and forging alliances to strengthen their power base.

Keywords: Mycenaean palaces, destructions, medium- and long-term factors, collective violence

The different destructions of the Mycenaean palaces on the Greek mainland and on Crete unfold their historical relevance on two different levels. Firstly, and in a very concrete way, they signify the sharpening crisis and subsequently the final and definite demise of the Asiatic Mode of Production (or else the Palace State) in southeastern Europe Second, these palace destructions happened during a period, in which various circum-Mediterranean societies were undergoing profound social and economic changes Similarly to Greece, those changes were marked by violent destructions of political and economic centers in a number of different regions. Since the developments of the societies living along the central and the eastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea were interconnected in stronger or weaker relationships of uneven and combined character, especially so during the 14th and 13th centuries BCE, the question arises whether it is possible to uncover causal connections between events separated by many hundreds of kilometers In order to fully perceive and explain the historical importance of the Mycenaean palace destructions, it is therefore necessary to widen the geographical perspective As the precondition of any interregional historical analysis is the precise localization of specific events in time, this paper explores the timeline of major eastern Mediterranean destruction events with reference to the palace destructions in Greece as well as in terms of absolute chronology (mainly in relation to Egyptian and Near Eastern rulers’ reigns). A comparison of stratified pottery assemblages forms the basis for this endeavor.

Keywords: Cyprus, Late Cypriot IIC, Late Bronze Age II, Mycenaean pottery, Syria