The LH IIIB?LH IIIC Transition on the Mycenaean Mainland: Ceramic Phases and Terminology

Abstract

In this article the author reconsiders the transition from Late Helladic IIIB to Late Helladic IIIC on the Greek mainland and proposes an alternative ceramic phasing based on quantitative changes in chronologically sensitive indicators. The later part of IIIB (traditional IIIB2) is divided into IIIB2 Early and IIIB2 Late. These phases are followed by an initial stage ofLH IIIC, preferably termed LH IIIC Phase I, as suggested by Rutter in 1977, rather than Transitional IIIB2-LH IIIC Early, as recently proposed by Mountjoy.