Ritual and Tombs around the Decline and Collapse of the Pylian State

Summary

The palatial society of the Greek Late Bronze Age collapsed around 1200BC. There were signs of widespread mass destruction throughout Greece and several of the palaces and settlements were abandoned. Two of the largest palaces, however, Mycenae and Tiryns in the Argolid, showed evidence of rebuilding of houses in and around the palaces after the first major destruction fire. The century after the initial destruction of the palaces was a period of turmoil and filled with more devastating fires at the palaces. In contrast to this image from the Agolid, the post-destruction occupation of the Palace of Nestor in southwestern Greece was limited to small areas in the palace that survived the fire. Despite the lack of evidence for habitation in the area, several of the tombs, which are the primary evidence of ritual during this period, were used after the collapse. This re-use of the tombs, some of which had not been used for several generations, beg the question of the relation of ritual to the collapse of the society and its role in attempts at stability and regeneration in a period of turmoil.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Ritual during Periods of Decline, Collapse, and Regeneration in Archaic States

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16215