Grave Circle B in
Mycenae
Mycenae ( ; ; or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines, Greece, Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos; and sou ...
is a 17th–16th century BCE royal cemetery situated outside the late
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
citadel of Mycenae, southern
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. This burial complex was constructed outside the fortification walls of Mycenae and together with
Grave Circle A represent one of the major characteristics of the early phase of the
Mycenaean civilization.
Structure

Grave Circle B, with a diameter of , is situated at a distance of west of the
Lion Gate
The Lion Gate () is the popular modern name for the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in Southern Greece. It was erected during the thirteenth century BC, around 1250 BC, in the northwestern side of the acropolis. In modern time ...
, the main entrance of Mycenae.
[.] The burial structure was enclosed by a circular stone wall, thick and high.
[.][.] The Circle hosts a total of 26 graves; 14 of which are
shaft graves and the rest simple
cists. A total of 24 persons were found in the shafts,
[ while six of the shaft graves were family tombs in which several occupants were found.][
Most shafts were marked by a pile of stones and on four of them ]stelae
A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
were erected. The latter were up to high.[ Two of the stelae, on graves Alpha and Gamma, were engraved with hunting scenes.][.]
History
Mycenaean shaft graves are essentially an Argive variant of the rudimentary Middle Helladic
Helladic chronology is a relative dating system used in archaeology and art history. It complements the Minoan chronology scheme devised by Sir Arthur Evans for the categorisation of Bronze Age artefacts from the Minoan civilization within a his ...
funerary tradition with features derived from Early Bronze Age traditions developed locally in mainland Greece. During the first phase of use of the Grave Circle, the interments were typical of the burials of that period; they were small and shallow with small and poor goods found next to the deceased.[.] The graves became gradually larger, richer and more numerous in goods, while female burials were also introduced.[ Moreover, ]diadem
A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty.
Overview
The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fro ...
s were found in both sexes and in all the age groups buried. The number of ornaments was also considerably increased and especially associated with female burials. An additional new feature was that half of the graves, regardless of the sex of the deceased, were equipped with imports from the nearby Cyclades
The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...
islands.[ The number of imports continues to grow steadily in the early Late Helladic period (ca. 1600–1550 BCE), while the first objects of ]Cretan
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
origin make also their appearance.[.]
At its latest phase of use, more women than men are buried in the Circle, while the male burials appear to be relatively poor compared to the female ones.[ Male burials are associated with sets of tableware, usually drinking vessels and their military force is stressed by weapons of various types.][ This points to the emergence of an elite warrior class in Mycenaean society.][
Meanwhile, Grave Circle A, a new elite burial place of similar architecture was found nearby, which seems to be a continuation Circle B. Thus, the latest graves of Circle B (Alpha, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Omikron) were contemporary with the earliest of Circle A.][.]
Findings
The graves were not looted in antiquity as happened to other monuments such as the latter (15th–12th century BCE) Mycenaean tholoi tombs.[ The women in the graves were richly dressed and decorated with various ornaments,][ such as earrings, necklaces, bands of gold and silver pins. On the other hand, swords, daggers and arrowheads were found next to the deceased males and their clothing was trimmed with gold.][ In grave Nu, traces of a boar's tusk helmet, typical of Mycenaean warfare, were recovered.][
A death mask of ]electrum
Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Its color ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the proportions of gold and silver. It has been produced artificially and is ...
has been also unearthed. However, it wasn't found on the face of the deceased male, but in a wooden box next to him.[ On the other hand, the burial costumes differed from those of Grave Circle A. The latter included death masks of different artistic style and made of gold, like the Mask of Agamemnon.][.]
Excavations
The burial complex was discovered in 1951 by accident, when workmen were digging at a nearby 13th century BCE tholos tomb, known as the Tomb of Clytemnestra. Extensive excavations were conducted by archaeologists Ioannis Papadimitriou and Georgios Mylonas in 1952 and lasted for two years.[ Each shaft grave was assigned a letter from the Greek alphabet, in order to be distinguished from the graves of Circle A, which bear Latin numbers.][
This group of 26 graves can be dated into the late Middle Helladic through early Late Helladic period, in ca. 1675/1650–1550 BCE.][.] Their exceptional number, as well as the fact that they were not looted, enabled the archaeologists to extract a detailed analysis of the ruling Mycenaean society of that time.
Further research
The remains of the deceased found in the Grave Circle were generally in a good state of preservation and have been since extensively examined. Many of the males have signs of injury, probably received on the battlefield,[.] while some of them died in battle.[.]
Researchers from the University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
have carried an ancient DNA
Ancient DNA (aDNA) is DNA isolated from ancient sources (typically Biological specimen, specimens, but also environmental DNA). Due to degradation processes (including Crosslinking of DNA, cross-linking, deamination and DNA fragmentation, fragme ...
study of 22 skeletons found in the site and obtained authentic mitochondrial ancient DNA sequences for four individuals. The results were also compared with facial reconstructions of the skulls and archaeological data. They have also concluded that two bodies from "Gamma" shaft, where the electrum death mask was found, were brother and sister. Based on this, it has been argued that both female and male family members, held a position of authority by right of birth.
References
Sources
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{{Archaeological site of Mycenae
Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century BC
Mycenaean_tombs
Mycenae