Decline, Destruction, and Aftermath

387 It is generally assumed that the decline of the Mycenaean states was triggered by a first series of destructions at the end of LH IIIBI. At Mycenae several palace-related buildings outside of the citadel were destroyed and abandoned. At Tiryns the structures on the knoll below the palace (the Lower Citadel) were destroyed, and the palace of Thebes was also damaged. Earthquakes have been blamed for the destructions at Mycenae and Tiryns. At other sites causes cannot be defined with certainty.

388 In LHIIB2 the circuit wall of Mycenae was extended considerably and the Lion Gate was built. AT Tiryns the Upper Citadel received the strong fortifications still visible today, and the Lower Citadel was enclosed with a Cyclopean wall. The extensive fortification walls of Midea and the enceinte around the Athenian acropolis were also built at this time.

389 It is difficult to assess, in this connection, the first appearance in the Aegean of metal objects that had first been developed during the thirteenth century BCE in Italy, the northwestern Balkans, and central Europe.
There is also evidence for economic problems. Too specialized and too centralizing, the Mycenaean palace economies apparently did not react adequately to disruptive factors.
overexploitation of arable lands and soils

390 all palace institutions functioned normally until the very end
tablets found at Thebes that were burned while still wet
Dorian theory now rejected on archaeological grounds

393 With regard to the absolute chronology of LHIIIC, there are almost no clues. Because the exchange of goods with the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt had more or less come to an end after the fall of the palaces, LHIIIC contexts have so far not produced imported objects that could connect the relative chronology of the postpalatial Aegean with the historically established chronologies of the Near Eastern civilizations. The only Aegean-Near Eastern synchronism that can be used for the absolute dating of LH IIIC rests upon the fall of the kingdom of Ugarit, where Mycenaean LH IIIB2 pottery was found in the destruction levels. Ugarit still existed during the reign of the pharaoh Siptah (1194-1188BCE) and possibly also of Queen Tewosret (1188-1186 BCE). According to the report of Ramses III (1184-1153), Ugarit no longer existed when he defeated the Sea Peoples in the eight year of his reign (1177 BCE). It is therefore generally agreed that the end of LHIIIB and the beginning of LH IIIC should be dated to ca. 1190 BCE or shortly thereafter. New radiocarbon dates seem to corroborate synchronism of the end of LH IIIC with the end of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt, around 1070 BCE. Otherwise, radiocarbon dates are few and provide only a general dating of LH IIIC in the 12th century BCE. At present, the postpalatial Mycenaean period can thus be assigned generally to the span between ca. 1190 and 1070 BCE. Between these two limits, absolute dates are arbitrarily assigned to the subphases of LH IIIC and to Submycenaean, based on rough estimates of the duration of settlement phases or of generations (20, 25, or 30 years).

395 "handmade burnished ware" or "Barbarian ware" first appeared in LM IIIB contexts in Crete, and the final phase of the Argive palaces, in LHIIIC early, handmade & burnished pottery found at Tiryns, Mycenae, Lefkandi, and other sites. even in 12th century BCE Cyprus

396 is likely that people from various parts of the Aegean banded together and set off for Cyprus. unclear whether they were part of, or identical with the ominous "sea people" and furthermore whether they were responsible for the widespread destruction in Cyprus
their move not prompted by the fall of the palaces, since it took place too late, end of LH IIIC Early

397 palace areas reoccupied, smaller buildings restored, but palaces never rebuilt

398 no new tholos tombs built, some reused
cremations a little more common, though still a minority

399 pottery-making, bronze work, and shipbuilding in LH IIIC, otherwise no evidence of fine arts and crafts. some failed attempts
fresco painting may have enjoyed a limited survival, but fresco painters may have mainly transferred their skills to other media

400 pottery painting got better
depictions of warriors and male-oriented activities
weapons got better
new types of weapons from Adriatic regions

Aegean and beyond

363 little textual evidence for trade between Mycenaean states
none for overseas trade
palaces may have depended on independent merchants

364 Uluburun, late 1300s BCE, late LHIIIA
probably had 2 Mycenaeans on board, Greece may have been one of the intended stops
Near Eastern vessel, possibly headed west from Ugarit to Cyprus

365 Gelidonya wrecked a century later

Mycenaeans exported textiles, perfumed oil, maybe pottery maybe not

366 Phylakopi on Melos partly destroyed by fire LMIB
LHIIIAI megaron constructed, and Mycenaean pottery shows up, maybe takeover, maybe not

368-369 Dodecanese also Mycenizes, burials look very Mycenaean, probably include some settlers

370 Macedonia had contacts with southern Greece from the MBA, imported pottery, but mostly locally made

371 Troy has exceptionally large amount of Mycenaean pottery for the northern Aegean covering a long period of time.
Troy major trading center
Mycenaean exports probably destined for Troy, not often the Black Sea (no pottery found there)

372 Troy VIh earthquake in LH IIIA2
Troy VIIa besieged and sacked, LH IIIB/C on the mainland, lots of problems there, so probably not a coalition of states
VIIb1 rebuilt immediately, some Mycenaean pottery there, contact with the southern Aegean must have continued in LHIIIC

373 late LM I fire destroyed Miletus, then rebuilt
pottery produced at Miletus mostly Mycenaean, only 5% Anatolian
LHIIIA2 another fire, possibly deliberate
subsequent massive circuit wall

374 evidence for Mycenaean and Hittite contact, but not close or fruitful relationship
Hittite king addresses ruler of Ahhiyawa as "Great King, my equal" so probably not just the eastern Aegean western Anatolian settlement, but more likely the ruler at Mycenae or Thebes?

375 lots of LHIIIA-LHIIIB Mycenaean pottery in Cyprus

376 some upheavals and settlement abandonments on Cyprus around 1200 BCE (Sea Peoples?), but Cyprus mostly flourishes
maybe some Mycenaean settlers show up, but not en masse as cultural continuity largely remains, albeit with a lot more Mycenaean pottery

376-7 11th century sees more settlements abandoned in favor of sites that would become Iron Age city kingdoms
more Mycenaean burials, another influx of settlers is suspected

377 Mycenaean pottery in Syria-Palestine, may have been offloaded in Cyprus and then shipped further east sans any actual Mycenaean people except rarely

378-9 No correspondence surviving between Egypt and Mycenae, but possibly royal gifts with Amenhotep
Furthermore, Mycenae is one of the places named in the "Aegean list", inscribed on a statue base in the mortuary temple of Amenhotep at Kom el-Hetan. The list also includes Knossos, Phaistos, Amnisos, Kydonia, Kythera, Messenia, Nauplion, and Troy
a few pieces of possible LMIB or LHIIA pottery
LHIIIA2-B pottery found all the way down Egypt to Nubia, although mostly at Amarna, Akhenaten's city
possible depiction of Mycenaean mercenaries in an Amarna chapel
No Mycenaean pottery from LHIIIC in Egypt

Mycenaean religion

346 sanctuaries and cult places identifiable on the mainland for M & LH are few

Death and the Mycenaeans

328-329 tholos origins hazy: from similar Minoan structures? or from tumulus which goes back to MH 500 years before the Mycenaeans and continued in use?
tholos, shaft graves, and tumuli are designed to be reopened
chamber tomb cut out of rock
tholos has vaulted dry stone walling

330 pit-grave excavated out of the ground
cist grave has sides lined with slabs or walling and would be covered like a box
pithos burial common in MH, surprisingly rare in Mycenaean Greece

336 swords had symbolic value, often more swords buried than could have been used
sword buried with a child at Argos
single graves frequent but still a minority
women underrepresented, not many infants, but still some children with lots of attention/offerings lavished on them

337 in early LBA, no palatial architecture yet, but even before Linear B, elaborate tombs requiring many man-days were built from stone coming from all over Greece, so some power structures must have already been in place

338 women took the lead in the prothesis. faces may scarred and hair shorn, larnakes show that corpse wrapped in a shroud

339 very specific possessions are not very common, like tools, cymbals, ivory caskets
in rare cases, horses sacrificed and buried beside the tomb
skulls & skeletons of horses, dogs, cattle, & other animals suggest more general rite of animal sacrifice

in a good number of cases, excavators have observed that tombs and graves contained no skeleton in situ, even though the blocking or cover was intact and there was no sign of robbing. This is our best evidence that the Mycenaeans conducted a second funeral, sometimes called secondary burial. Such a custom is known in many different cultures and normally explained as a "rite of aggregation", whereby the spirit of the dead person is thought to pass from a liminal and ambiguous status, belonging wholly neither to the living nor the dead, to one where the deceased joins the ancestors.

(no subject)

310 horizon debatable when Knossian administration of the island ended: early 14th century (LMIIA2) or early 13th (early LMIIIB)

311 At least two major destructions are attested in the palace at Knossos in the 14th and 13th centuries, but it is assumed that the horizon in which the majority of the preserved archives were burnt marks the final collapse of Knossos' political control over much of the island.

312 not yet clear whether Knossos' political domination on Crete in LM II-IIIA2 early was an entirely new phenomenon, or the continuation of a system that had already existed in the Neopalatial period. certain elements undoubtedly new. settlement destruction and possibly even marked depopulation across the island at end of LMIB, recovery swiftest at Knossos, but the elite had to reconsolidate its authority

314 certain amount of continuity from Neopalatial period. Old palatial centers incorporated into an administrative network of second-order centers subordinate to Knossos

315 LMII-LMIIIA other sites more subdued but Knossos flourishes, mainland influence in fresco imagery alongside Minoan traditions; innovative burial practices, lots of warrior symbolism, along with Linear B tablets with lists of chariots, etc.

316 mainland influences on fine ware ceramics
LMIIIA2 increase in ostentation at second-order centers, increase in regionalism, decrease in ostentation at Knossos

317 cemetery at Phournoi, LMIIIA2 horse and bull sacrifice found with one burial. Horse looks more mainland than Minoan

318 LMIIIB decline everywhere except at Chania, which sees some resurgence. Chania only known Linear B archive from LMIIIB
end of LMIIIB, depopulation and destruction everywhere, new sites established in defensible locations