The Collapse of Mycenaean Palatial Civilization and the Coming of the Dorians

[polymathy]

houses outside the walls destroyed by fire
necks smashed off stirrup jars filled with oil, Wace took to mean the fire was started deliberately after the places were doused with oil
"Potter's Shop" at Zygouries
palace/citadel of Gla
part, if not all, of palace of Thebes destroyed, not by fire

fortifications at Mycenae strengthened, underground water system
lots of fortification strengthening at Tiryns
Cyclopean walls around Acropolis, subterranean water system at Athens
Corinth wall

evidence for earthquake at Tiryns

walled city of Midea destroyed by fire
small settlement at Iria southeast of Nauplion destroyed by fire
Menelaion destroyed by fire
palace at Pylos burnt
massive depopulation more striking in Messenia than elsewhere in Greece
influx into Achaea, more tombs
influx into Ionian islands

evidence for violent destruction of Acropolis, but agent(s) cannot be identified

LH IIIC at least two major incursions of Mycenaean refugees to Cyprus

Andronikos
neo-Marxist explanation fails to explain widespread depopulation of large & fertile areas such as Messenia and Laconia

Vermeule
Sea Peoples disrupted commerce

Desborough
invaders from the north, but no good evidence
foreign objects occur even in good Mycenaean contexts as imports, could have been imitated later

Mylonas
different failures for different reasons, but why should this result in a complete collapse with no rebuilding?

Carpenter
drought
droughts can occur, but no definite evidence either way for this period
would have been Mycenaeans sacking the palace trying to get to supplies, not outsiders

Iakovides
Sea Peoples disrupted commerce but not active near Greece, only indirect impact
Pylos shows scarcity of raw materials

Rutter and lots of people
Coarse Ware evidence of invaders from the Danube, not in large numbers
not enough pottery to show this

Winter
barbarian invaders don't leave a bunch of archaeological evidence behind, adopt the culture of the conquered

Betancourt
Mycenaean economy too specialized

Drews
changes in the nature of warfare
too simplistic