(no subject)

old frescoes very similar to late frescoes
the tenacity of Mainland fresco painting traditions can be compared with the tenacity of oral poetry like Homer
fresco developed by Minoans, although some Mycenaean figures have more in common with Theran/Cycladic stuff, suggesting that fresco tradition may have come not directly from Crete but via Cyclades
fresco painting so formulaic that "pattern books" may have circulated
some stuff changes so much, like bull-leaping, that people question whether maybe the Mycenaeans didn't practice bull-leaping at all and misunderstood/forgot what was going on, rather than differences reflecting changes in the practice of bull-leaping

Minoan & Mycenaean marine motifs usually on the floor (with exceptions)
whereas in Thera, extensive marine wall scenes

Pylos fresco depicts feast in which bard recites and plays lyre

1390-1190 Mycenaean koine pottery so similar, it's impossible to tell where in the Mycenaean world a vase was made

Troy Vi

8 sub-phases, a-h
Late Troy VI outer walls battered
towers so they can fling fire down
walls overlapping so attackers have to expose themselves to attack on 2 sides at once

Troy VIh destroyed in massive earthquake, despite leaving cushion of earth (neither bedrock nor virgin soil) between foundations and bedrock, which maaay have been an antiseismic precaution
Trojan walls a solid mass of ashlar masonry
contrast Cyclopean walls, which have two "skins" with layer of rubble between
fortifications more or less constant during Bronze Age, Trojan rulers probably used them as continuous public works, like Old Kingdom pyramids

exterior city wall, later robbed out by builders in historical times
no palatial architecture survives, since Greek & Romans shaved this area down to levels well below Troy VI
rings of concentric terraces evidence for urban planning
houses of late Troy VI large, with no standard plan

cremation burials in jars
poor grave goods
not sure if cremation was normal, because we don't have cemeteries from any other period, and we don't know when in Troy VI
if late, could be exceptional cremation after the earthquake caused major loss of life & bodies had to be burned before disease became rampant
but similar jar burials at Basik Tepe, 8 km southwest of Troy
often identified as the local docking point for any fleet attacking Troy, but also natural stopping point for fleets awaiting favorable south winds to pass through the Dardanelles
one warrior had a large krater above his ash urn

sharp pottery difference between Troy V and VI
even more startling given continuity from I-V
first appearance of horse bones
horse bones actually appear somewhat earlier at Tiryns & possibly Lerna in EH III

Troy VIh no convincing signs of a general conflagration

Mycenaean trade

Cape Gelidonya shipwreck
ship did not survive, because the strong currents kept the marine silt from settling over it, which is how timbers survive underwater
ship was 10 meters long

1490-1436 Tuthmosis III on, representations of oxhide ingots appear frequently in Egyptian art
1190-1162 Ramesses III the latest, but probably copy of 13th century
so no evidence after 1200
oxhide ingots not meant to be shaped like oxhides
not a unit of currency, as did not weigh the same

source of tin for the Bronze Age Aegean is a hotly disputed question
5 scarabs found in the cabin area, probably belonging to members of the crew
from 1785 to late 13th century
a single cylinder seal, possibly the captain's, from the 18th century
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infrared spectroscopy to determine sources of amber
earliest Greek amber from GCB 1725-1675 using the high chronology

(no subject)

Mycenaean gateways generally designed so that attackers would have to present their right (unshielded, because they want to use their offensive weapons) sides to the defenders
Mycenae Lion Gate & Tiryns inner gate are nearly identical, one an imitation of the other, though we can't tell which is earlier
Gla has four major gates located roughly at the four points of the compass...unusual
most people think later 14th & 13th centuries a single Mycenaean monarch ruled the Argolid
by no means impossible that the major Mycenaean centers in the Argolid were ruled by independent princes
Tiryns at least as impressive as Mycenae, may have been independent administrative center based on tablets at both
maybe arms race!
Pylos in Messenia had no fortifications, ruled single province, so maybe didn't fear outside threats from other Mycenaean polities
Drews has suggested that the 7 against Thebes & Epigonoi were Thessalians rather than Argives, which DP thinks makes way more sense

chamber tombs, unlike built tholos tombs, were cut out of rock
chamber tombs multiple inhumations
cremation very rare until LH IIIC, appears sporadically, probably from the Near East (Anatolia?) but not common in Greece until the Protogeometric phase at the beginning of the Iron Age

Mycenaean palaces

Menelaion 1450-1400 LH IIB-IIIA1
MTT 1400-1340 LH IIIA2
Pylos, Gla 1340-1200 LH IIIB

LH IIIA1 Menelaion destroyed
early LH IIIB Gla palace destroyed
late LH IIIB Menelaion rebuilt
LH IIIB end MTT, Pylos, Menelaion destroyed

Mycenaean palaces centripetal, Minoan palaces centrifugal
far fewer recurrent features in Mycenaean palaces than in Minoan, less standardized
many features probably designed at whim of individual rulers

The Mycenaean heritage from Crete in terms of palatial architecture seems to have been the use of the palace as an administrative center; the megaron form itself is based on ordinary Mycenaean house design
Minoans emphasized circulation of light and air
Mycenaean palaces closed & stuffy,

Pylos: palace but not citadel
Thebes: palace but perhaps not citadel
Mycenaea, Tiryns, Athens: palace and citadel
Gla: citadel but not palace

1680-1500 : LH I - LH IIA : Pre-Palatial
1500-1400 : LH IIB - LH IIIA1 : Protopalatial
1400-1200 : LH IIIA2 - LH IIIB : Neopalatial
1200-1050 : LH IIIC : Postpalatial

Mycenaean Tholos Tombs & Early Mycenaean Settlements

circular, subterranean burial chamber roofed by a corbelled vault and approached by a dromion
usually in slopes/hillsides
burials in shafts, pits, or cists
nine tholoi at Mycenae
Aegisthus, Atreus, Clytemnestra, Lion Tomb, Tomb of the Genii,

Treasury of Atreus:
relief sculpture on the stomion
rectangular side chamber opening off the main tomb chamber, principle burials probably placed here
two fragments of relief sculpture which feature bulls

all tholoi at Mycenae found robbed

Mycenaean tholoi were covered by an earthen mound if their uppermost portions protruded above ground
huge portal doorways
Dickinson & Cavanagh deny any connection between earlier Mesaran tholoi & later Mycenaean tholoi
DP says the time gap has been narrowed to minimal or nonexistent
DP attributes all architectural differences to aboveground vs belowground

Dickinson dates 6 of the 9 tholoi to 1500-1450
so probably not independent kings, maybe corollary royal branches