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1/ One never tires of the Greek isles and the archaeology there. #Archaeology_Online today travels to one of the most important sites in mainland Greece, the site that lent its name to a whole culture, Mycenae. A #thread. >>
@nickfshort @nidgethompson
@nickfshort @nidgethompson
2/ >> Gates have always been an important part of a city's defence system, and are the facade of the city. The gate in Mycenae is no different, excavated by Heinrich Schleimann it is a magnificent gate built in Cyclopean Masonry with a pair of lions carved above it. >>
3/ >> But I would like to concentrate on Burial Circle A in Mycenae. Circle A is actually a royal cemetery dating to the 16th century BC. Located within Mycenae city walls to the south of the entrance gate to the city. Circle B was found later outside the city walls. >>
4/ >> Excavated in 1876, the circle is 27 meters in diameter and has six shaft tombs inside. 19 skeletons were found inside the grave, including men, women and children. The dead were buried with many gifts and offerings, most of them made of gold. >>
5/ >> Many of the items found in the grave actually symbolized the social rank of those buried, decorated daggers which can not be considered usable weapons.
Minoan influence can also be seen, such as bull heads and double axes, but above all the finds are the funerary masks. >>
Minoan influence can also be seen, such as bull heads and double axes, but above all the finds are the funerary masks. >>
6/ >> Five golden funerary masks were found in Graves IV and V inside the circle. Funerary masks are placed on the face of the buried and express his likeness. Among the masks was a mask that Schliemann dubbed "Agamemnon's Funerary Mask". >>
7/ >> Gold and silver cups were also found, and a bull shaped Rhiton, an elaborate drinking vessels, all of this makes Burial Circle A in Mycenae is one of the important finds for understanding the Mycenaean culture during the Late Bronze Age. >>
8/ >> The amount of luxury items uncovered in the Burial Circle indicates the economic wealth of Mycenae during that period. Agamemnon's mask is an amazing item, but affiliating it to Agamemnon is questionable in the least.
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