Tomb Of Clytemnestra Research Articles

In Search of Agamemnon: Early Travellers to Mycenae

In Search of Agamemnon: Early Travellers to Mycenae

THE DATE OF THE TOMB OF CLYTEMNESTRA

The construction date of the Tomb of Clytemnestra at Mycenae is disputed, opinion being divided over whether the tomb was erected at the end of Late Helladic IIIA or towards the end of Late Helladic IIIB. The article attempts to resolve this debate by examining all of the dating evidence for the tomb. It stresses that the most valuable clues to the date of the tomb come from the excavations that were carried out in 1952 and 1953 on either side of the Great Poros Wall, the retaining wall that supported the eastern side of the earthen mound above the tomb. Several trenches of these excavations are discussed in detail, specifically V and M, both of which were sunk into the earthen mound behind the wall, and L, P, III and IV, all of which were located immediately in front of the wall. The information on these trenches is drawn not only from the published reports, but also from the original excavation notebooks. The pottery from them is used to determine the date of the tomb. What emerges is that the Tomb of Clytemnestra was, in fact, built at the beginning of Late Helladic IIIB.

Pottery from Late Helladic IIIB 1 Destruction Contexts at Mycenae

Whether it was caused by enemy action or by earthquake, the destruction of the houses outside the walls at Mycenae, particularly the group beside the modern road, south of the Tomb of Clytemnestra, has left a unique collection of pottery. For the Clytemnestra group at least it is a reasonable hypothesis, which the pottery and tablets do much to support, that the houses were destroyed in a single disaster. Though relatively complete publications of the several buildings in this area have already appeared, the pottery has not been published in detail nor considered as a whole. In this article it is intended to consider solely the evidence which this material gives for the definition of a period in the development of the pottery of Mycenae. This material consists entirely of whole or restorable vases and in this and other respects it is complementary to the group of fragments from the Prehistoric Cemetery (Central), published in the preceding article in this series, which illustrates the same or perhaps a slightly earlier phase.Four major buildings were excavated in the area: the House of Shields, the House of the Oil Merchant, the West House, and the House of Sphinxes Fig. 1. Very little pottery was found in the House of Shields but in each of the others there was a considerable number of vases both painted and unpainted.

A Group of Late Helladic IIIB 1 Pottery from Mycenae

The L.H. IIIB deposits from Mycenae fall into two distinguishable groups. The earlier, called L.H. IIIB 1, is represented by the pottery from the destruction level in the houses east of the modern road and south of the tomb of Clytemnestra. The destruction to which we owe these deposits appears to have occurred late in the L.H. IIIB 1 phase, and probably also affected the houses on the Atreus ridge. The later group, classified as L.H. IIIB 2, has been found in buildings within the Citadel and also in isolated contexts outside the walls. The deposits from within the Citadel come from the debris of a second, more widespread, destruction which affected other centres as well as Mycenae. The differentiation of the two periods was confirmed in the Citadel House area by the finding of deposits of L.H. IIIB 2 stratified above others of L.H. IIIB 1 character. The pottery of both these phases from the Citadel House will be published in the general account of the excavations which have taken place in that area since 1959. The detailed publication of the whole vases from the L.H. IIIB 1 destruction level of the houses outside the walls is planned for the next article in this series.

Part III. Notes on the Construction of the ‘Tomb of Clytemnestra’

In 1950 the Anastelosis Section of the Greek Archaeological Service began the restoration of the ‘Tomb of Clytemnestra’, Fig., Plate 35. In view of our previous researches on the tomb, Dr. Papademetriou and the Anastelosis Section invited us to observe the work and to collaborate by a careful examination of the threshold and other points. Dr. Papademetriou has already published an account of the work himself, and the following notes with the plan and photographs are offered as a supplement to what he has written. We are much indebted to him for his friendly help.

Part IV. The Perseia Area

The following is an account of several excavations that I undertook on behalf of Professor Wace during the seasons of 1952 and 1953 at Mycenae. These were roughly confined to the area between the so-called Tombs of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, but also included an extension to the east of the Perseia Fountain House, excavated in 1952. The excavations are dealt with under four sections which are as follows:1. Area Z (the extension east of the Perseia Fountain House).2. The East–West Wall (south of the Perseia Fountain House).3. The area round the Tomb of Aegisthus.4. The Great Poros Wall (on the east flank of the Tomb of Clytemnestra).

Part II. The Perseia Fountain House

In 1892 Tsountas in the course of exploration on the top of the ridge between the ‘Tomb of Clytemnestra’ and the Lion Gate found a painted circular cap of poros (o·61 m. in diameter), which from the cuttings in it clearly seems to have been connected with some form of installation for water (Plate 14, b). It bears an inscription which as restored refers to Perseus. This inscribed cap Tsountas says he found among later ruins, but he did not specify the exact position. In 1922 therefore we investigated the ruins of apparently Hellenistic date which lie directly to the south of the modern carriage road on the top of the ridge to the north of the ‘Tomb of Clytemnestra’. A long terrace wall of ashlar work in poros was found running in an east-west direction along the south side of the modern road. In front of it, against its north side, lie two cement-lined basins (Plate 14, a). When these were first found and partially examined in 1922 it was suggested that they might be part of a gymnasium of Hellenistic date. At the same time a trial trench XIa by side of the steps was dug down about 0·25 m. into the soft rock below. In 1939 further trials were made behind (to the south of) the western part of the main terrace wall. Trench VII, which was dug to rock, was part of this work. At the same time the curved wall was exposed and part of the ‘votive deposit’ was excavated. The pottery then found, which was lost in the Nauplia Museum during the war, was of the same character as that found in 1952 and described below. In 1952, as part of the programme of exploration on the top and sides of the ridge which runs westward from the Lion Gate, it was decided to clear these ruins completely and study and plan them afresh.

Part IV. The Epano Phournos Tholos Tomb

The tholos tomb, known as the Epano Phournos (see Plan, Fig. 42 and photographs Plate 24), is one of the five tholos tombs which were known at Mycenae when modern archaeological research began there with Schliemann's excavations in 1876. The other four are: the Treasury of Atreus, the Lion Tomb, the Kato Phournos, and the Tomb of Clytemnestra. All these are marked on Schliemann's plan and that of Steffen, and the first three with the Epano Phournos were seen by Leake and Gell. Thus the Epano Phournos, especially since it stands high on the top of the ridge, has probably been known for many centuries, and has often no doubt been subject to the activities of treasure seekers. It was first excavated by Tsountas in 1892, who says he cleared it. It is not absolutely certain that the Epano Phournos is the tomb referred to by Tsountas, but it is most probable. He seems to have cleared the dromos and the front of the doorway and to have dug into the centre of the ruined tholos. He makes no mention of any finds from the tomb, and no objects from it seem to be recorded in the National Museum at Athens. In 1922 in our re-examination and planning of the tholos tombs we cleared the dromos again and excavated the doorway as far as could be done with safety.

Mycenae 1950

In the summer of 1950 it proved possible to continue the British excavations at Mycenae which had been suspended in 1939 owing to the war. The Greek Government courteously granted the necessary permission and Dr. Papademetriou, Ephor of Antiquities for Argolis, and Mr. Petsas cooperated most cordially throughout. The work was carried out under the aegis of the British School at Athens which made a generous grant towards the funds and Mr. J. M. Cook, the Director, and Mr. Sinclair Hood, the Assistant-Director, who both took part in the excavations, afforded all possible assistance.The excavations were especially concerned with the following points: the further exploration, within and without the Cyclopean walls, of the Prehistoric Cemetery to which belonged the royal Shaft Graves found by Schliemann; an attempt to trace the line of the Middle Bronze Age wall of the earliest citadel which preceded the Cyclopean fortress; the re-examination of Tsountas' House, an important building within the walls first excavated in 1886; the clearing of the Epano Phournos tholos tomb; the further exploration of the Cyclopean Terrace Building discovered in 1923; and the investigation of a newly discovered building, now known as the House of Stirrup Jars, near the so-called Tomb of Clytemnestra. The architect of the expedition, Mr. Charles Hobbis, R.I.B.A., also assisted the Greek authorities at their request in the conservation and repairs in progress at the Tomb of Clytemnestra and the Lion Gate.

The Date of The Treasury of Atreus

Professor Karo and the excavators of Tiryns have welcomed the publication of the report of the excavations which I conducted at Mycenae for the British School at Athens from 1920 to 1923, and have expressed themselves as in general agreement with the results. In the last two numbers of this Journal, Sir Arthur Evans has queried one or two points and the editors have kindly allowed me to reply to his questions here. This is necessary because some of the facts are not quite correctly stated by him. He is inclined to doubt the architectural evolution of the beehive tomb as set forth in our report, and thinks that the two which are most advanced in construction, the Treasury of Atreus and the Tomb of Clytemnestra, should be assigned to an earlier date. Secondly, he would suggest a somewhat different classification and dating for Late Helladic III. pottery. These two questions hang together, since L.H. III. sherds were discovered under the threshold and under the dromos walls of the Treasury of Atreus. It seems best, however, to treat them separately, and we will deal first with the architectural and other evidence for the dating of the two tholos tombs, and later with the problems of L.H. III. ware. In doing so every care must be taken to prevent the danger of allowing theories or preconceived prejudices to outweigh the facts, that is to say, the archaeological evidence obtained by excavation.

§ IX.—The Tholos Tombs

At the time of Schliemann's excavations in 1876 six tholos tombs were known at Mycenae, the Treasury of Atreus, the Tomb of Clytemnestra, the Lion Tomb, the Epano Phournos, the Cyclopean Tomb and the Kato Phournos. Most of these had been seen by earlier travellers, such as Leake and Dodwell. Lord Sligo and Lord Elgin had conducted explorations in the Treasury of Atreus: Veli Pasha had attacked the Tomb of Clytemnestra, and apparently was responsible for the destruction of its dome. Steffen marks all these six on his excellent map of Mycenae and its environs. Schliemann in 1873 and 1876 was the first to begin the excavation of the tholos tombs. He made some tests in the Treasury of Atreus, and Mrs. Schliemann superintended the operations intended to clear the Tomb of Clytemnestra, but she was unable to complete them. By 1879 Stamatakes had cleared the dromos and chambers of the Treasury of Atreus, which, till then, as shewn clearly in the Elgin drawings preserved in the British Museum, were blocked with a large accumulation of earth. In 1886 Tsountas commenced his long and fruitful series of excavations, and among other important finds was rewarded by the discovery of three more tholos tombs.

§ X.—The Cyclopean Terrace Building

In 1922 we had heard rumours of the existence of a Cyclopean building to the west of the Lion Tomb and on the north or reverse side of the ridge from the Tomb of Clytemnestra. We dug here for one day then and verified the presence of big walls. Accordingly, during our brief campaign in 1923, we could not resist the temptation to see what this building might be, as it lies well outside the acropolis and outside the Hellenistic wall of the lower town, and in an area where no Mycenaean ruins have yet been excavated.The plan in Fig. 91 shews the extent of wall we were able to trace. On the west at the foot of the slope we found a very heavy wall built in Cyclopean style with large blocks of limestone. It is 2·70 m. thick, in places as much as 2 m. high, and runs along for a distance of 15 m., and may have extended still further northwards. A wall returns at right angles from this straight into the hillside, and divides the space behind it into two sections, which we have provisionally called the north and south chambers.