The Shaft Grave Period and the

Rise of the Mycenaeans

BA Chronology

Crete Minoan (Minos - mythical king) Cyclades Cycladic (Aegean island chain) Mainland Helladic (Hellas = Greece)

• EarlyEBA EM EC EH (3100-2000)• Middle MBA MM MC MH (2000-

1650)• Late LBA LM LC LH (1650-1050)

MH Burial Types

• Pithos (jar) burial• Built Grave or

Warrior Grave (Kollonna, Aegina; Thebes)

• Pit Burial• Cist Grave

• Intramural or Extramural

Cist Grave

• Most Common MH Burial Practice

• Single Burials• Fetal Position• Return to

mother earth?• No, smaller

hole!

Mycenae• Grave Circle A

• “Mycenae Rich in Gold”

• Schliemann

Shaft Grave: Grave Circle A

Shaft Grave Ware: Mainland Polychrome

Shaft GraveStructure

enlarged cist grave entered from above through a shaft several feet deep

dug from the contemporary ground surface

Inside the Shaft Grave

• Extended body• Multiple burials

over time possible

• Older Remains pushed to side

Marking the Grave

• Slabs, waterproof clay cover

• Shaft filled • Rectangular border of

stones may mark spot• Stele (1st large-scale

relief sculptures on Greek Mainland)

Shaft Grave Sites

Mycenae(Intact)

Lerna (robbed out)

Ayios Stephanos, Lakonia (bare bones)

Argos

Lavish Grave Goods• Rhyton, Rhyta

The Dead

• Bigger, sturdier than earlier MH corpses or contemporary burials in other sorts of graves

• Why bigger?

Big Eaters or Big Invaders?

• Better nutrition for elite group?

• Different racial group?

Who are they?

Mycenae: Grave Circles A & B

Grave Circle B

• Earlier than Grave Circle A

• John Papademetriou & Greek Archaeological Society

• 14 Shaft Graves out of 24 tombs

Grave Circle Origins

• MH Tumulus at Vrana

• Plural Tumuli

The Shaft Graves and Myth

• 2 Heroic Periodsa) Late MH to LHI-IIShaft Grave period & laterb) LHIII

• Danaos & the Shaft Grave Period

• Trojan War & LHIII

FAMILY TREE OF DANAOS

POSEIDON_____________LIBYA I

________I________ I I AGENOR BELUS

________I______ I I AEGYPTUS DANAOS I I I I 50 SONS 50 DAUGHTERS

The Danaids• Danaos & daughters

flee Egypt, but sons of Aegyptos follow

• Danaids marry, then kill sons of Aegyptos

• Mercy of Hypermestra• Purified by gods• “Widows” have

difficulty attracting new husbands

• No dowry, daughters as sports prizes!

• Danaans (Greeks), children of Danaids

Danaids Historical?

Danaids = Hyksos?

• heka khasewet "rulers of foreign lands")

• Semitic, Hurrian, Indo-Aryan people?

• Migrants/Invaders?

Theories from Archaeological

Evidence?

Shaft Grave Dead as Cretan Conquerors?

• Minoan style artifacts

• Un-Minoan style burials

Nomadic Tribe of Central or Northern Europe?

• Chariots• Grave steles• New Art Style• “Aegeanized” by

more advanced local culture

• BUT no chariots in N or C Europe. Only in Near East, a MORE sophisticated culture

Locals looted Crete?

• Lots of Minoan style treasures

• BUT wealth gradually accumulated

• No evidence of destruction on Crete

• Minoan naval strength

Mercenaries Rewarded by Egypt against Hyksos?

• But Hyksos BETWEEN Mycenae and Egyptian Thebes

Mycenaean Control of

Trade Route for Valuable Commodity?• Tin (for bronze)?• Disruption of Near

Eastern trade for tin by Hyksos, Hittites, Hurrians, et al.

• Evidence for Mycenaean trade with Northern Europe (pottery, amber)

Gold (& Amber) from Transylvania (Romania)

• Mycenaeans: lavish use of gold

• Minoans: economical use

• Gold traded for Early Mycenaean daggers

Identity, Origins & Source of Wealth Still Matters of Debate

Readings for Next Class: Iliad 9, Rutter 20

(Mycenaean Residential Architecture)