Mycenaean Achaea

Peloponnesian Achaia has become, in recent decades, the object of a growing interest in historical and archaeological studies. We know better and better the Mycenaean post-palatial phase and that of the VIII cent. B.C., in which is placed the colonial movement that connects to Achaea some of the apoikiai in southern Italy. Studies on the ethnic identity of the Achaeans have also intensified; at the centre of interest there is a complex of Mythological traditions by which the Greeks tried to explain the existence, in historical times, of two populations, in the north of the Peloponnese and in the Thessalian area, which bore the same ethnic, Achaioi, designating in the Homeric epic the "Greeks" of the age of heroes, in terms of a very remote syngeneia between the two populations or, sometimes, of migrations, during the Bronze Age, from northern Greece in the Peloponnese. The volume aims to dissolve this 'tangle', through an examination of the regional reality of Achaia between the Late Bronze Age and Early Archaic Age that intends to overcome critical approaches reconstructing socio-political and settlement aspects of Mycenaean age starting from traditional nuclei related to the heroic age, but elaborated in a chronological horizon fully historical, and therefore to be placed, instead, within the "intentional history" and as evidence of the structuring process of the ethnic identity of the peloponnesian Achaeans in the Archaic and Classical Age. For this purpouse, some interconnected nodal themes are examined: Achaea as a case study of the Mycenaean periphery in the Palatial era and its socio-political structure during the IIIA-B TE (XIV-XIII sec. B.C.); the regional archaeological scenario in the transition from the post-palatial era (LH IIIC and Submycenaean) to the Early Iron Age and finally to the Geometric Age, with the definition of the regional population and the identification of the possible models of social organization of the Achaean communities at the time of colonization (XII-VIII/VII cent. B.C.); the processes of definition of the Achaean identity, developed by the Early Archaic Age on, between Achaia and Achaia Phthiotis (VII-IV cent. B.C.).

The Trojan War is the foundation of Greek history. If Greek historians had little doubt of its existence they remained extremely skeptical regarding its mythological origin. Archaeology has confirmed one essential point: there was indeed a general conflagration in the Greek world around 1200 BCE, the assumed period of that war, which caused the disappearance of two powerful empires: Mycenaean on one hand and Hittite with its vassals on the other hand. The inscriptions of Ramses III's year 8 describe actually a general invasion of the Mediterranean by the "Sea Peoples", but without giving any reason. A precise chronological reconstruction, based on few absolute dates, shows that the annexation of the kingdom of Cyprus (Ala!ia), closely linked to the Mycenaean world, by Hittite King Tudhaliya IV (1241-1209) played a role of detonator in the confrontation between a Greek heterogeneous confederation, consisting of pirates and privateers on one side and a set of vassal kingdoms of the Hittite empire, as Troy and Ugarit, on the other. This struggle to control a vital sea path, from Crete to Egypt, via Cyprus, which ended with a complete mutual destruction in 1185 BCE, the climax of the famous Trojan War, had begun 10 years earlier. Surprisingly, this conclusion was already that of Eratosthenes (276-193). Historical and epigraphic context shows that Homer wrote his epic shortly after Queen Elissa founded Carthage (c. 870 BCE).
https://www.lulu.com/shop/gerard-gertoux/the-trojan-war-chronological-historical-and-archaeological-evidence/paperback/product-22620667.html

Despite much intensive archaeological fieldwork, several regions of Greece
still have not yielded any evidence for palatial structures. It may be, therefore,
that they never gave rise to full palatial states. Rather, in regions such as
Achaia, local elites may have functioned within less-articulated organizational
orders (perhaps chiefdoms), which did not require the centralization of
economic activities. These polities existed alongside the more complex palatial
states, but it is not necessary to posit that they were subjected to or dependent
on the palaces economically or politically, although their opportunities may
have been constricted by the presence of the larger power. After the collapse
of the palatial system around 1200 b.c., some of these smaller polities seem
to have flourished in the LH IIIC period.

Mycenae culture became due to its own merits, the most important one in continental Greece for more than four centuries all along the II Millennium B.C. Its commercial importance due to the fact they took advantage of the minoans exchange routes and their own economic interests made them reach far regions even in Central Mediterranean and the Near East. But all of that must’ve been difficult if they hadn’t encountered a powerful army who support their colonial and commercial adventures. Numerous Lineal B writings, pictorial and archaeological remains are witness to the importance the military world provides to those former Mycenaean. Therefore, in this article we will try to show the diverse aspects related to the Mycenaean army who supported its power in continental Greece in spite of this, neither the reforms taken in 13th century B.C. got that mycenaeans culture survival, when their settlements were destroyed.

In this paper we treat changes in weaponry and armament, which occurred in the Aegean and Levantine regions between the late 14th and the early 12th century BC. We aim at reconstructing these changes in a sequence as fine-phased as possible and try to identify the regions in which they originated. As a case study we use a sword of Naue II type found at Ugarit. As it has no clearly stratified context, we try to fix its chronology on one hand by reference to the overall stratigraphy of the site, and on the other by discussing better datable archaeological evidence from the Aegean and Cyprus. Swords of the Naue II group belong to new weapon types introduced to the eastern Mediterranean a few decades before the breakdown of many palace states around 1200 BC. There are different reasons that lead us to believe that these new weapon types arrived together with their users and producers from the central Mediterranean and cannot be seen as a result of goods exchange.

Teichos Dymaion, the only prehistoric cyclopean fortified citadel of western Greece, occupies astrategic position between two lagoons (Pappas and Prokopos) at the southeastern tip of the so- called Mavra Vouna (black mountains), on a low rocky hill, roughly 60 m above sea level. The earliest documents of human presence are ceramic finds dating to the final Neolithic (late 4th-early 3rd mill. BC). The first permanent settlement was established during the Early Bronze Age (2800-2000 BC). Pottery finds of the Early Helladic III period (ca. 2200-2000 BC) indicate that Teichos Dymaion was part of a wider network of contacts along the central and eastern Mediterranean. The middle Helladic period (2000–1600 BC) is represented by a considerable pottery assemblage and more scanty architectural remains. The acme of the settlement was reached during the Mycenaean period (1600-1000 BC). The site took its current form during the 13th and 12th c. BC, with the expansion of the settlement and the construction of the cyclopean fortification. Teichos Dymaion became the gateway of western Achaea towards the west, a kind of naval base of the Mycenaean rulers of the region. The site remained in use more or less constantly until late antiquity. Modifications in the fortification, were carried out during the middle Byzantine period (11th c. AD). Habitation was sporadic during later periods and by the18th c. the site was practically abandoned. A large scale restoration project was implemented between 1998 and 2008. The site is now open to the public.

During the entire Mycenaean period Achaea maintains relations - direct or indirect ones - with the rest of the known world. Not only with the regions of the large mainland centers, but with the Aegean islands too, such as Rhodes and Crete and even further as far as Cyprus.Imported artifacts have come from Syro-Palestine and Egypt to the east, Italy and central Europe to the west. Achaea in turn would export its products to the coast and the inland areas around the Corinthian Gulf, to the Argolid, to the northern neighbors in Aitolia (Thermos) and Acarnania (Loutraki), Elis, the Ionian Islands, even reaching the Italian peninsula and Adriatic Sea. During the 12th and 11th centuries B.C., Achaea seems to have been taking part in the regional commerce, taking advantage of a road network that had been created and maintained, with the axis towards Elis being probably the most important; this network also facilitated indirect contact with other regions and ports outside its immediate control, thus providing access to goods traded away from the Achaean coasts. Achaea was also actively involved in sea-trade, particularly in the safe waters of the Corinthian Gulf, indirectly benefiting from the roads that reached the northern coast of the gulf from Epirus and central Greece. It is not known whether Achaean merchants organized voyages to the Adriatic and Italy, where Achaean LH III C pottery has been found. Contact with these regions, proved to be beneficiary in the shaping of local Achaean culture. At the same time, this culture haw also influenced its neighbors.
    The study of the data regarding Mycenaean Achaea is expected to yield valuable new elements that will help reconstruct all aspects of this unique culture. The Society for the Study of Mycenaean Achaea aims at helping this effort and coordinating the endeavors of all those who are interested in the region's prehistory. At the same time, the society will also work for the promotion of Achaean culture in a way that will help put Achaea in its rightly deserved place in Greek prehistory.
    The book is sent free of charge to the members of the Society.

The excavation on Mygdalia hill provides a unique opportunity in Achaea to investigate the life frame of a local Mycenaean society in Patras region, the settlement, the cemeteries, and the resources available (arable land, areas for herding, water supply).

Mygdalia belongs to the group of Mycenaean settlements that were founded and rose to local prominence in the Early Mycenaean period. Substantial architectural remains, floor deposits and a tholos tomb furnished with pottery, that now finds parallels in settlement strata, will help define this important period in Western Achaea. The ongoing excavation of the large elongated building complex on Terrace 3 has provided some intriguing evidence for the level of sophistication that Mygdalia has reached towards the end of Early Mycenaean Period. Its floruit seems to have declined in the beginning of the Palatial period and continuation of habitation on the hill remained restricted until its new floruit in the 12th century BC. The mansion on top of Mygdalia hill (Terrace 1) and a large storeroom (Terrace 2) provide solid evidence for the social organization in the Postpalatial period, the time of chamber tomb cemeteries and the warrior graves in Achaea. At the onset of the 7th century B.C., when the village had become a lush meadow, the inhabitants of the area had returned, this time to build at the top of the hill an early Greek temple and dedicate the place to the gods.

THE MYCΕNAEAN CEMETERY AT PORTES
The prehistoric cemetery at Portes lies in SW Achaea on the border with Elis. The site comprised part of a wider communication network that connected central Greece and western Peloponnese via the Gulf of Corinth. Archaeological research has revealed all types of burial monuments spanning the Mycenaean times. The architecture, the burial customs, and the rich burial offerings are representative of a complex social and political structure.

Wooden doors on Mycenaean chamber tombs.
Following a burial in a Mycenaean chamber tomb, the stomion was sealed as a rule by means of a dry stone wall and more rarely by a stone door. Generations of archaeologists have grown up with this assertion so that when excavating a chamber tomb we are certain in advance what awaits us at the doorway. Every time the dry stone wall or stone door is esposed, the conviction finds further substantiation. But can we be sure of this, or is there perhaps something we are overlooking? In the following article a new proposal is put forward: when an excavation reaches the dry stone wall or the stomion of a tomb, we must ask ourselves whether originally a wooden door stood in front of it. Characteristic examples of the existence of wooden doors in Mycenaean tombs are considered and, among other things, the various support mechanisms of wooden doors are discussed. The presence of wooden doors is linked on the one hand to Mycenaean eschatological concepts and on the other to the good state of preservation of the dry stone walls.

Ξύλινες θύρες θαλαμωτών τάφων.
Το σφράγισμα του στομίου των θαλαμωτών τάφων μετά από μία μυκηναϊκή κηδεία γινόταν ως επί το πλείστον με το χτίσιμο της ξερολιθιάς και σπανιότερα με τη χρήση μίας λίθινης θύρας. Η παραπάνω φράση μεγάλωσε γενιές αρχαιολόγων, ώστε όταν σκάβουμε έναν θαλαμωτό τάφο να είμαστε σίγουροι εκ των προτέρων για το τί περίπου θα συναντήσουμε στην είσοδο. Και όταν αποκαλύπτεται η ξερολιθιά, ή η λίθινη θύρα, η παραπάνω πρόταση επιβεβαιώνεται για μία ακόμα φορά. Πρέπει, όμως, να είμαστε σίγουροι, ή μήπως υπάρχει και κάτι άλλο που παραβλέπουμε; Στο κείμενο που ακολουθεί παρουσιάζεται μία νέα πρόταση: Όταν κατά την ανασκαφή συναντούμε την ξερολιθιά ή το στόμιο ενός τάφου, πρέπει οπωσδήποτε να αναρωτηθούμε εάν μπροστά από αυτά υπήρχε κάποτε μία ξύλινη θύρα. Εξετάζονται χαρακτηριστικές περιπτώσεις ύπαρξης ξύλινων θυρών σε μυκηναϊκούς τάφους και προσεγγίζονται οι διάφοροι τρόποι στήριξης της ξύλινης θύρας. Η παρουσία των ξύλινων θυρών συσχετίζεται με μυκηναϊκές εσχατολογικές αντιλήψεις και συνδέεται με την καλή διατήρηση των ξερολιθιών έως τις μέρες μας.

R. Jung - I. Moschos - M. Mehofer, Killing in the Same Way: Peaceful Relations on War between Western Greece and Italy during the Late Mycenaean Times (in greek)

Western Achaea and the Ionian Islands are of strategic importance for maritime traffic and communication of all kinds between Greece and Italy. Controlling this region means to control the goods exchange between central and eastern Mediterranean. At the same time it also means to be the first area affected by military aggressors which originate in and operate from the Adriatic Sea.
Thus, it is not surprising to detect strong influence from Italy in the local Achaean and Cephalonian weapons technology during the 12th and 11th centuries BC and particularly in Naue II swords of types Cetona and Allerona, spearheads with cast socket, a dagger of Pertosa type and greaves with wire fittings.
A fundamental issue related to the weapons of relative Italian typology is their provenance, on which all further perspectives of interpretation depend. One of our research aims is to answer precisely the question if these Italian-type bronzes are imports from the Adriatic regions or local products made according to central Mediterranean prototypes. We do not study these weapons based only on their typology, but we also try to answer these questions taking in consideration the technological knowledge as well as the respective methods of the era.
On the one hand EDXRF as well as lead isotope analyses are made to get an overview over the chemical composition of the objects. These can give us information about the provenance of the metal and at least about the location of the ore deposit used for the production of the metal. On the other hand, we analyse the construction schemata of these weapons which are directly connected to the combat style. By these analyses of typology, archeometry and technology we aim at explaining the changes in fighting techniques from the 13th to the 11th century BC.

"The Mycenaean cemetery of Achaea Clauss is located at the SE edge of the modern city of Patras. It was first discovered and excavated by Nikolaos Kyparissis in the late 1930’s . Eventually, 40 years on, Thanassis Papadopoulos excavated 16 new tombs  providing the opportunity to re-evaluate the older material and add to the discussion of the Late Mycenaean Period in Achaea. The study of the skeletal remains has been undertaken by Dr P.J.P. McGeorge, while Constantinos Paschalidis is the sole responsible for the study of the rest of the archaeological finds and for the final publication.
This paper presents the preliminary results of the cemetery' s study and sheds light on various aspects concerning terms of life, society and death towards the end of the Mycenaean era in NW Peloponnese."

From ca. 1600 – 1000 BC, builders across southern Greece crafted thousands of rock-cut chamber tombs similar to earlier and contemporary ‘beehive’ tholos tombs. Both tomb styles were designed with multiple uses in mind, filling with the remains of funerals forgotten over generations of reuse. In rare cases, the tombs were used once or seemingly not at all, cleaned thoroughly or sealed and abandoned entirely. Rather than focus on the missing or muddled record of funeral and post-funeral activities, this book reexamines Mycenaean tomb architecture and the decisions that guided it.

From minimalistic to monumental, builders designed tombs with forethought to how commissioners and witnesses would react and remember them. Patterns suggest that memories of what tombs should look like heavily influenced new construction toward recurring shapes and appropriate scales. The wider debates over cost from ‘architectural energetics’ and perception in Aegean mortuary behaviour are thus revisited. Both can find common purpose in labour measured through a relative index and collective memory – how labourers and patrons saw their work. That metric for comparison lies within a median standard: in this instance, tombs expressed in terms of correlative shape and simple labour investment of the earth and rock moved to create them.

This was accomplished here through photogrammetric modelling of 94 multi-use tombs in Achaea and Attica, verifying a cost-effective alternative for local authorities warding off information loss through site destruction from looting and earthquakes. Since most labour models suggest the tombs were not burdensome, commissioners held extravagant building in check by weighing the social risks and rewards of standing out from the crowd.

The Mycenaean Cemetery at Achaia Clauss near Patras: People, material remains and culture in context comprises the study of the finds from the excavation of the Mycenaean cemetery of Clauss near Patras, carried out by the University of Ioannina and the Archaeological Society at Athens from 1988 to 1992, under the direction of Professor Thanassis Papadopoulos. In the course of the excavation project, fifteen chambered tombs were located and researched in detail, to be added to those already known from the pre-war excavations by Nikolaos Kyparissis. The presentation of the topic expands into seven thematic chapters: from a general review of the cemetery space and the sites, to analytical description of the excavation, remarks on the architecture, study of the finds, analysis of the burial customs and finally, narration of the overall history of the cemetery according to chronological period and generation of its occupants. The eighth and last chapter is an addendum including a brief presentation of the anthropological analysis of the skeletal material by Photini J. P. McGeorge and Wiesław Więckowski. The Mycenaean cemetery at Achaia Clauss near Patras presents fragments of the life and death of some members of a local community that existed for almost four centuries at the western end of the Mycenaean world.

See more, here:
https://archaeopress.wordpress.com/2018/11/20/the-mycenaean-cemetery-at-achaia-clauss-near-patras-people-material-remains-and-culture-in-context/?fbclid=IwAR0kIUSXOWb5nz40ePPxp2XKSMk3lBFSsqsf4fWOitiEEbG6gA6BoFQ3DOg

The study of the Clauss cemetery illustrates a smooth passing of the local society from the palatial to the post-palatial period and the emergence of new social structures, such as the birth of the warriors’ elite. The discussion of the post-palatial local elites occupies much space in contemporary Mycenaean bibliography and Achaea provides one of its best study-cases. The Clauss cemetery revealed a sequence of three generations of such warriors, well preserved and documented during the excavations, who shed fresh light on the matter of their appearance and role.
Finally, the study of the Clauss material achieved to distinguish all LH III C burials in six successive chronological phases, which correspond more-or-less to six generations of its people. This was accomplished with the combined and careful classification of the local pottery, workshops and styles, together with the tombs’ stratigraphy. The evaluation of such a sequence gave the unique opportunity to trace the biographies of its people. Through the identification of mothers, children, farmers, craftsmen, traders, noble 'ladies of the oikos', hunters and warriors – based on the grave goods and modes of burials – the story unfolds of a vivid local society at the periphery of the Mycenaean world towards the end of its era

The ongoing excavation at Mygdalia Hill gives us the opportunity of a comprehensive study of domestic and tomb material and provides a measure for understanding a full chronicle of the Mycenaean era in Western Achaea. Memory is inextricalbly linked to the life of a settlement, to real events that have direct consequences both to the living and the dead. At times the inhabitants embraced memory and at others they had to reject, maybe forcefully, the past.

"For the reconstruction of the military Mycenaean world scarcely
we possess the information extracted from diverse slats written in Linear B, as well as the remains of some pictorial representations and scanty archaeological remains extracted from warriors' diverse tombs. It is for it that the reconstruction of this important aspect inside the Mycenaean culture is not simple, and in this respect it turns out very interesting to manage to raise approximations as the one that occupies us. Across the analysis of few remains which we possess,It occupies. Across the analysis of few remains which we possess, authors of John Chadwick's taya have proposed interesting theories on the Mycenaean systems of defense and, in this case, we will try to approach each other the system that could be used in Pilo's accession."

The ongoing excavations on the hill of Mygdalia near Patras give us the opportunity of a comprehensive study of domestic and tomb material and provide means of understanding early Mycenaean western Achaia. Mygdalia was founded in the transitional MH III/LH I period and became a local centre in the early Mycenaean period. The settlement was built on three successive terraces. The lower terrace was supported by a massive enclosure and retaining wall that seems to be part of the original plan. Substantial architectural remains, including a large building, floor deposits, pottery and metal finds as well as a tholos tomb of LH IIB–IIIA1 date testify to the rise of a local elite. The transition to the Palatial period was troubled, as witnessed by the abandonment of buildings and the plundering of the tholos tomb.

Schutzwaffen aus Metall, wie etwa Helme, werden aufgrund ihrer relativen Seltenheit im Vergleich zu anderen Bronzeobjekten als etwas Besonderes betrachtet. Im Rahmen der archäologischen Interpretation können ihnen ganz unterschiedliche Bedeutungen zugewiesen werden, manchmal steht ihre „Prestigefunktion“ im Vordergrund, manchmal dominieren die funktionalen Aspekte. Die grundlegende Aufgabe eines Helms ist es, die schneidende Wirkung einer Angriffswaffe zu neutralisieren sowie die dabei auftretende Energie eines Schlages oder Hiebes abzufedern. Zum einen absorbiert das Metall durch Deformation einen Teil der Schlagenergie, zum anderen muss die restliche Energie und eine dadurch hervorgerufene Verformung durch ein darunter liegendes elastisches Material (Leder, Textil, etc.) aufgenommen werden. Die metallische Oberfläche eines Helms wie auch seine Form bieten reichlich Möglichkeit, ihn mit Verzierungselementen zu versehen, die weit über die eigentliche Schutzfunktion hinausgehen. Dies ermöglicht es dem Besitzer eines solchen Helms, durch eine besondere Gestaltung verschiedenste Bedeutungsinhalte zu transportieren und für sein Umfeld sichtbar zu machen. Dieser Symbolgehalt der Objekte, sei es die Verzierung, die Form oder auch der Kontext, in dem sie benutzt und genutzt werden, hat einen nicht unwesentlichen Einfluss auf ihr Erscheinungsbild und damit auf ihre Konstruktion, wie die folgenden Untersuchungen zeigen. Der Neufund eines bronzenen Helmfragments des Kammhelmtyps Pass Lueg im Anlauftal/Bundesland Salzburg ermöglichte es nun, im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojektes diese Helme archäologisch und archäometallurgisch zu untersuchen.