Setting the Story (Mostly) Straight: Archaeological Experiment Shows How Mycenaean Stone Masons Cut Stone

Ancient Origins

Experimental archaeology can be a very useful asset when we are trying to gain a better insight on how things were done in the past. One way it helps us is to gain some understanding of the techniques our ancestors used to get through the tasks of daily life. It can also aid an archaeologist in testing out methods and deciding how accurate our recreation of past ways really is. For example, no one today can say exactly what a Bronze Age pendulum saw would have looked like or the specific method in which ancient Mycenaean stone masons used it. But a creative archaeologist in the USA has come across a form and technique which seems to mirror past ways.

 As ScienceNews points out, no Bronze Age frameworks or blades have been found in the archaeological record to date. However, there has been a popular belief for the last 30 years or so that a swinging sharp metal blade was a preferred method for cutting rock by Greece’s Mycenaean civilization . Curved incisions are all that we have today to hint at the procedure.

A limestone block displays a curved, Mycenaean-style cut made by a curved blade, A, and a shallow, wobbly incision made by a triangular blade, B. ( N. Blackwell/Antiquity 2018 )

With no ancient blueprints or artifacts to give them clues, Nicholas Blackwell, an archaeologist at Indiana University Bloomington, and his father George decided to create an experimental pendulum saw. Nicholas provided his knowledge of the Bronze Age and George gave his construction knowhow. ScienceNews describes the contraption:

“a device with two side posts, each studded with five holes drilled along its upper half, supported by a base and diagonal struts. A removable steel bar ran through opposite holes on the posts and could be set at different heights. In between the posts, the bar passed through an oval notch in the upper half of a long piece of wood — the pendulum. The notch is slightly longer than a dollar bill, giving the steel bar some leeway so the pendulum could move up and down freely while sawing.”

The pendulum’s blade was a tricky feature. Thus, they created four versions of bronze blades – a long, curved one, a triangular blade with a rounded end, and short and long versions of straight edged saws. Water and sand were added during the experiment to increase lubrication and cutting power.

Blades on the top left and bottom right produced Mycenaean-style curved incisions in rock. A triangular blade, top right, created a wobbly groove. A short, straight blade, bottom left, repeatedly became stuck as it swung into a rock’s surface. ( N. Blackwell/Antiquity 2018 )

Blackwell and his brother-in-law, Brandon Synan, were in charge of testing the pendulum saw on some limestone. With some strong arms and trial and error, they eventually gained a result - a functioning pendulum saw which cuts through stone following the distinctive curved mark found on Mycenaean Bronze Age pillars, gateways and thresholds at palaces and some large tombs.

Detail of the entablature of the Lion Gate relief, showing the location of tubular drill holes and saw marks. The arrows indicate the erroneous saw cut and the unknown filling material within it. ( Blackwell/AJA 2014 )

While Blackwell and others seem convinced that the pendulum saw was the method of choice for Mycenaean stone masons, not everyone agrees. One of the main challengers to the pendulum saw is archaeologist Jürgen Seeher of the German Archaeological Institute’s branch in Istanbul - the only other known archaeologist to have built and tested a reconstruction of a pendulum saw.

  Seeher published a paper in 2007 stating that “a long, curved saw attached to a wooden bar and pulled back and forth by two people, like a loggers’ saw” [via ScienceNews] would have been superior to the pendulum saw. He argued the two-man saw would have provided ancient stone masons with an easier way to obtain precision than the pendulum saw.

Two young men using a cross-cut saw on the St. Lucia Farm School, 1936. ( Public Domain )

But Blackwell explained away this problem to ScienceNews, stating that the ancient Mycenaean stone masons likely had training and obtained their skills with the pendulum saw as people learning a trade still take apprenticeships to increase their knowledge and abilities today. Furthermore, he suggests people would have worked in teams to make the difficult task a little easier.

The results of Blackwell’s recent experiment are published in the journal Antiquity.

Top Image: The Lion Gate at Mycenae. Source: Andreas Trepte/ CC BY SA 2.5

 By Alicia McDermott

Rare Tomb Shows Bronze Age Mycenaean-era Nobleman had a Fondness for Jewelry

Ancient Origins

After 3,350 years, a Mycenaean-era nobleman’s tomb has been re-entered and his favored possessions have been seen by modern eyes. Archaeologists consider his burial an odd one, with grave goods and the style of the tomb standing out against others from his time.

 The tomb was discovered during excavations near Orchomenos, Boeotia, Greece. It was unearthed during the first year of a five-year joint program between the Ephorate of Antiquities of Boeotia/Ministry of Culture and Sports and the British School at Athens/University of Cambridge. According to Euronews, the tomb is “the ninth largest of its kind to be discovered out of around 4,000 excavated in Greece over the last 150 years.”

Recording the bones in the burial chamber’s interior. (Greek Culture Ministry)

 The tomb has a 20 meter (65.5 ft.) long rock-cut dromos (passageway) with rock cut benches covered in clay mortar. This hall leads to the 42 sq. meter (452 sq. ft.) burial chamber. It is believed the height to the pitched roof originally measured 3.5 meters ( 11.5 ft.) However, it has been proposed that the roof had already begun to fall apart in antiquity; which slightly moved the burial but also served as some protection for its contents from looters.

View of the Mycenaean-era tomb’s façade and the dry-stone masonry that sealed the entrance. (Ministry of Culture and Sports)

Upon entering the burial chamber, archaeologists found the remains of a man aged around 40-50 years old. Various grave goods were placed alongside his body: ten pottery vessels sheathed in tin, a pair of bronze snaffle-bits (a bit mouthpiece with a ring on either side used on a horse), and bow fittings and arrowheads. The most intriguing of the finds however is the collection of jewelry made of different materials, combs, a seal stone, and a signet ring. Unfortunately, images of the jewelry found in the tomb have yet to be released. Nonetheless, this provides a unique element to the burial, as jewelry was commonly believed to only have been placed in female burials in that period.

Bronze bits found in the Mycenaean-era tomb. (Giannis Galanakis)

The style of burial is also considered rare for Mycenaean chamber tombs. It’s far more common for archaeologists to find chamber tombs from this period which were used for multiple burials and contain grave goods, oftentimes looted or broken, from different generations.

A final factor which sets this burial apart is the lack of decorated Mycenaean pottery in the tomb. Only two small stirrup jars were found, yet this pottery style was popular at that time. With so many different elements to consider, researchers expect this discovery to greatly improve their understanding of the variety of funeral practices used in this region during the Mycenaean period.

One of the two decorated stirrup jars found in the Mycenaean-era tomb. (Giannis Galanakis)

The Mycenaean era was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece and is remembered for its palatial city-states, artwork, and writing. This period collapsed at the end of the Bronze Age, possibly due to the mysterious ‘people of the sea’ (or Sea People), Dorian invasion, or natural disasters and climate change – or some combination of these. Ancient Origins has previously reported about the impact the Mycenaean era had on ancient Greek literature and tomb building:

 “Homer writes that the Mycenaean era was dedicated to Agamemnon, the king who led the Greeks in the Trojan War. The Mycenaean’s were keen traders, establishing contacts with countries across the Mediterranean and Europe. They were also excellent engineers and are also known for their characteristic ‘beehive’ tombs which were circular in shape with a high roof, consisting of a single stone passage leading to a chamber in which the possessions of the tomb’s occupant were also laid to rest.”

Gold death-mask known as the “Mask of Agamemnon.” (Xuan Che/CC BY 2.0) Homer writes that the Mycenaean era was dedicated to Agamemnon.

The tomb’s excavators believe that the recently unearthed site can be linked to the palatial center of Mycenaean Orchomenos – “the most important Mycenaean center of northern Boeotia during the 14th and 13th centuries BC.” They also call the site “one of the best documented burial groups of the Palatial period in mainland Greece.”

 In 2015, Ancient Origins reported on another impressive Mycenaean-era discovery in Orchomenos. A pre-classical era Greek palace was found on Aghios Vassilios hill. Some researchers believe that this is the long-lost palace of Sparta.

The palace, which had 10 rooms, was probably built around the 17th to 16th centuries BC. Inscriptions written in Linear B script have also been found around that excavation site. They relate to religious practices and names and places. Archaeologists also discovered objects used for religious ceremonies, clay figurines, a cup adorned with a bull’s head, swords, and fragments of murals. Evidence suggests the palace was probably destroyed by fire at some point in the late 14th or early 13th century.

Mycenean Palace foundations at Orchomenus. (CC BY SA 4.0)

Top Image: Detail of the Mycenaean-era tomb’s façade and the dry-stone masonry that sealed the entrance. Source: Ministry of Culture and Sports

By Alicia McDermott

New Information Comes to Light on a Unique Mycenaean Tholos Tomb

Ancient Origins

Preliminary results have been provided on a Mycenaean tholos tomb discovered in 2014 on the slope of the Amblianos hill near Amphissa on the Greek mainland. The tomb is considered a special find in West Locris and is one of the few funeral monuments of this type in Central Greece.

 Archaeology News Network reports the tomb has a long dromos (road) of about 30 ft. (9 meters) in length, leading to a circular chamber, 19.5 ft. (5.90 meters) in diameter, with a plastered floor. Even though the slab-like stones which were the superstructure of the tholos have crumbled, the walls of the chamber are in a pretty good condition. Archaeologists believe the tomb was used for more than two centuries, from the 13th to the 11th century BC.

The Finds Inside the Tomb The site Archaeology Newsroom says that a variety of osteological material was found inside the funeral chamber, especially in the center and around the walls. The finds also include several pottery vessels, Phi and Psi type figurines, weapons, a large quantity of jewelry, beads of semi-precious stones, and seals portraying animal scenes.

Example of "Phi" figurines (because they look like the Greek letter Φ) from Mycenae. (13th century BC) (Public Domain)

The newly discovered group of seals is especially interesting. They mostly portray simplified animals sitting next to branches or trees and date back to the last periods of Mycenaean seal-making. Among the figurines, another intriguing group of finds includes the image of a bull leaper, like one discovered at Methana.

Clay finds include miniature pieces of furniture such as a three-legged open chair and pieces of two other creations which could be offering tables or even funeral biers. The list of grave goods is completed with bronze vessels and objects made of gold, faience, and glass paste.

Mycenaean figurines from Agios Konstantinos, Methana. (14-13th century BC) Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, Greece. (Schuppi/CC BY SA 3.0) It is clear that the relatives of the people who were buried in the tomb cleaned out the burial chamber pretty often by removing earlier offerings to the dead, especially pottery, into the dromos or in an apothetes sealed with a low wall at the end of the dromos.

This led into the slow rise of the floor level of the dromos and the erection of a small staircase before the chamber’s entrance to make access easier. The archaeologists mostly found drinking vessels and vessels for mixing liquids in the apothetes. Some of the vessels impressed the archaeologists with their beautiful decoration.

The Importance of the Discovery
The study and presentation of this rare burial site is very significant for understanding the Mycenaean period in north Boeotia and Phocis - ancient Greek locations for which little is currently known. According to Archaeofeed, both the quality and the quantity of the pottery and the other discoveries from this tomb are important additions to the small, known group of examples from the neighboring sites of Kirrha, Krisa and Delphi, enlightening researchers about a number of matters regarding the local production of pottery and small artifacts.

The tholos at the Delphi archaeological site, Phocis, Greece. (Arian Zwegers/CC BY 2.0)
Furthermore, the tholos tomb reveals significant information about the topography of the area and the commercial and cultural elements of the local community situated in the periphery of the Mycenaean world. This makes historians wonder even more about the use of this type of monument by local elites in the past.

The study and the publication of this tomb is the result of work by a multi-disciplinary group of scholars, coordinated by Dr. Elena Kountouri, head of the Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture. Dr. Kountouri will present the information on the tholos tomb found at the site of Amblianos in Amphissa as part of the Mycenaean Seminar series in the University of Athens on November 24, 2016.

Top Image: The tholos tomb discovered in Amblianos, Greece. Source: Archaiologia

By Theodoros Karasavvas

Archaeologists discover Mycenaean palace and treasure trove of artifacts in southern Greece

Ancient Origins

Greek archaeologists have discovered a pre-classical era Greek palace at Aghios Vassilios hill dating from the Mycenaean Age, which some researchers believe is the long-lost palace of Sparta. Important archaic inscriptions found at the site may help to shed light on the political, administrative, economic and societal organisation of the Mycenaean society around Sparta where the discovery was made.
The Greek Culture Ministry said that the palace, which had around 10 rooms, was probably built around the 17^th to 16^th centuries BC, in a statement reported by the Phys.org website. The archaeologists also discovered a number of important artifacts at the site, including objects used for religious ceremonies, clay figurines, a cup adorned with a bull’s head, swords and fragments of murals.

New excavations at a site near historical Sparta may have uncovered the lost ruins of a Mycenaean Spartan palace. Among the treasures found at the site was this bull's head. Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture

Excavations in the area, conducted since 2009, have revealed inscriptions on tablets, written in the Linear B script, relating to religious practices and also names and places. Linear B is the oldest script to be discovered in Europe and first appears in the historical timeline in Crete from around 1375 BC. It took until the mid-20^th century for experts to decipher it properly.
The palace was probably destroyed by fire at some point in the late 14^th or early 13^th century, according to available evidence.

A photo released by the Greek Ministry of Culture on Aug. 25 shows an excavation site near Sparta in the Peloponnese region with remains of a palace of the Mycenaean period.

The Mycenaean era was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece and is characterised by palatial city-states, works of art and writing. It was at this time that the city-states began to become established, including Pylos, Tiryns, Midea in the Peloponnese, Orchomenos, Thebes, Athens and Iolcos in Thessaly. The most prominent of them was Mycenae in Argolid which was the influence for other settlements in Epirus, Macedonia and on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, the Levant and in Cyprus and Italy. Mycenaean Greece collapsed at the end of the Bronze Age and the most popular theory concerning its demise places the blame of the mysterious ‘people of the sea’ (or Sea Peoples). Other theories focus on the Dorian invasion or on natural disasters and climate change. Much ancient Greek literature is based on heroes and deities from the Mycenaean era, the most notable of which is the Trojan Epic Cycle.
Homer writes that the Mycenaean era was dedicated to Agamemnon, the king who led the Greeks in the Trojan War. The Mycenaean’s were keen traders, establishing contacts with countries across the Mediterranean and Europe. They were also excellent engineers and are also known for their characteristic ‘beehive’ tombs which were circular in shape with a high roof, consisting of a single stone passage leading to a chamber in which the possessions of the tomb’s occupant were also laid to rest.

Grave circle and main entrance of the citadel at Mycenae, one of the major centres of the Mycenaean civilization. (Wikipedia)

Mycenaean craftsmen produced distinctive items of pottery and bronze, as well as carved gems, jewellery, vases made from precious metals and glass ornaments. Oil and wine were among the major commodities traded by them.
Not much is known about the religious practices of the time, but it is likely that the Mycenaean’s practiced ritual animal sacrifice and enjoyed communal feasting. Images of the double axe in art suggest links with the Cretan Minoan culture. Robert Graves also drew much of his inspiration for his books on the Greek Myths, and later on The White Goddess, from the Mycenaean culture, casting a more romantic slight on the period. It was during this period that the tales of deities such as Dionysus, Hephaestus, Poseidon, Artemis, Hera and Potnia began to emerge. The later Greeks regarded many of the deities in the Mycenaean pantheon more as heroes or demi-gods rather than powerful gods and goddesses in themselves and so undoubtedly there were many interesting tales that were lost to history as a result.
"Tradition tells us that Sparta was an important site in the Mycenaean period," Hal Haskell, an archeologist who studies the ancient Mycenaean culture at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, told Live Science. Yet no palace had been unearthed in the Spartan plain. Haskell believes the new site could be that lost Spartan palace.
Featured image: A handout photo released by the Greek Ministry of Culture shows the excavations site with remains of a palace of the Mycenaean period, bearing important inscriptions in archaic Greek, discovered near Sparta in the Peloponnese region of Greece. Image credits: Greek Ministry of Culture
By Robin Whitlock