Thread by @hermahai

1/We often refer to the impressive artifacts with which the first kings of Mycenae were buried in Grave Circle B, marking the beginning of the Mycenaean era. But what was Grave Circle B, what secrets does it hide and what were the characteristics and habits of those buried in it?

2/ Grave Circle B was excavated by Greek archaeologists in the early 1950s on a small raised earthen mound a few meters outside the Acropolis of Mycenae. Inside an enclosure ca 28 meters in diameter that resembled the corresponding one of the later Grave Circle A, 👉

👉 26 tombs were found, most of which were shaft. Four shaft graves bore stelae. Most of the graves were oriented north to south, while the rest were oriented east to west. The men and women were sometimes buried in separate graves and sometimes together.

3/ A special element is the fact that the rulers buried in Grave Circles A and B came from different oikoi and when in the mid-13th century BC Grave Circle A was enclosed within the Acropolis, Grave Circle B remained outside the walls without being shown any particular respect 👉

👉 by the then ruling class of Mycenae. It is believed that during the early Mycenaean period and for some time in the 16th century BC the kings of these two dominant Mycenaean oikoi alternated in power, within an environment of intense competition for the power sharing.

4/ Within Grave Circle B, 35 people were buried - men, women and children, during the period between 1675/1650–1550 BC. The initial burials were poor in grave goods, while gradually the burials became more elaborate and richer in grave goods, many of which were refined artifacts.

5/ For example, the oldest notable burial is of a man from Tomb Beta, who was endowed with a bronze dagger, a gold amulet and a strip of electrum. The subsequent burials of the middle phase of use of Grave Circle B present an ever-increasing variety of exceptional 👉

👉 quality grave goods, reaching a peak during its final phase of use. The intense competition between the two royal oikoi is reflected in the grave goods of Grave Circles B and A, however the richer burials of Circle B cannot compete with those of Circle A.

6/ The burials found next to the men reveal that the early rulers of Mycenae were particularly warlike (warlords), as they were buried with a multitude of weapons, such as daggers, swords, spears and knives, many of which were found with damaged or worn points, 👉

👉 demonstrating their prowess in battle and hunting. At the same time, various weapons with special decoration were also found that probably had a ceremonial use (dagger blade inlaid with a strip of electrum, sword with an ivory pommel).

7/ Some of the women buried in Grave Circle B appear to have been prominent members of the ruling elite of Mycenae, as they were richly adorned with exquisitely crafted jewelry and other valuable personal items. For example, a woman from Tomb Ypsilon was buried with 👉

👉 a crown of bronze with gold leaves, a gold hair-ring, silver earrings and a double necklace of gold and silver beads, while another woman from Tomb Omicron was buried with a diadem of gold bands, necklaces of gold flying birds, amber, cornelian and amethyst.

8/ Out of 35 skeletal remains found in Grave Circle B, 22 of them have been studied with interesting conclusions (16 men, 4 women and 2 children). The interred were taller and stronger than the inhabitants of MBA Lerna. The men were about 1.71 m tall 👉

👉 and the women about 1.59 m tall, which means they were about 6 cm taller than the residents of Lerna, although they had the same genome composition. They lived on average around 38 years and were healthy, with good nutrition and strong teeth.

9/ The men were robustly built, strong and muscular, with large hands and feet, while the women were also strong and robust. Most men bear signs of injury, probably from participation in battle. One of them had undergone head surgery due to an injury, 👉

👉 while another had a healed fracture in the spine. Another suffered a shoulder bone injury, which was probably caused by chronically carrying a heavy shield slung over his shoulder. The clansmen of Mycenae gained wealth and glory through the steel of battle.

10/Nevertheless,the interred were healthy with few reports of infections or diseases resulting from their diet, which mainly included meat and vegetables. Studies have shown that those buried in the same graves or groups of graves had close family relationships with each other,👉

👉 while we also have similar examples between individuals from different burial ensembles. Parallel, attempts were made to reconstruct the faces of those buried with satisfactory results. Scientists have managed to determine with relative accuracy the basic facial features.

11/ Two characteristic reconstructions are of an imposing-looking man from Tomb Sigma and an elite woman from Tomb Gamma. The man appears to have been 1.75 m tall and died at the age of about 50 years. The evidence indicates that this man was an important warlord of his time as👉

👉 he suffered many injuries to his head, sides and shoulders,probably from his participation in battles or hunting expeditions. He had a narrow high forehead, small closely set eyes, narrow nose and strong jaw. The elite woman appears to have been 1.60m tall and died 👉

👉 at the age of 35. She was slender with a strong build, although she suffered from arthritis in her back and hands. She had broken her right arm but had successfully reattached it. She had a heart-shaped face with a pronounced forehead, strong jaw and small widely spaced eyes.

12/ So, the interred in Grave Circle B are members of a powerful, warlike ruling elite, who physique stood out from the rest of the population, and who contributed to the establishment of Mycenae as a leading Argolic power, before it evolved into the capital of all the Achaeans.

@blunkforEU 👉 of the ruling class that eventually prevailed in Mycenae and they were the ones who transformed Mycenae from a leading power in Argolid into the center of the Mycenaean world. By the 13th century BC, Grave Circle B had been marginalized.