Mycenaean civilization e-book

Author: Eiji OKUBO
Sales Network: Amazon.com / Amazon.co.jp

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Written by Eiji Okubo, Printed books and e-books
Heritage of Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations
Detailed data on Ruins and Excavated items

Legacy of the Mycenaean Civilization 230 carefully selected Excavated Items

subtitle: Touring to Mycenaean civilization with precise illustrations of excavated artefacts
language: English
format: e-book / Web-download to Amazon-kindle, PC, e-book-reader, tablet-device, mobile-phone
size: 288 pages (kindle screen) / capacity: 367Mb
sales: Amazon Network / Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk

Sumary:

 This e-book is written in English, a "Precision Illustration & Data Book" of the main excavated items from the Prehistoric Mycenaean Civilization ruins in Greece.

 This e-book picks up "200 carefully selected excavated items" found in important archaeological sites such as the Peloponnese Argolis region and Messenia region, mainly the Mycenae Palace ruins, which was the largest center of the Mycenaean Civilization.
 More than 90% of the excavated items in this e-book explained are depicted in Precise Illustrations, and the rest are published in Photographs.

 This e-book will invite you to the "World of Crafts and Arts" of the Mycenaean Civilization through important works carefully selected from among the countless excavated artifacts exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and other archaeological museums throughout Greece. 

Sample Page(excerpt)
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 Eye-popping jewelry goods excavated from in the Mycenaean Palace and the surrounding ruins of the Mycenaean civilization, especially gold jewelry items have been found those who owned them to have lived in the palace, judging from the preciousness of the material, the style, and motifs expressed in the works.

 It can be concluded that they, owners of gold jewelry, were extremely noble people such as members of the royal family, their relatives, and of the nobility class.
 In addition, if it limits to the excavated items of high-quality jewelry, the number of unearthed articles is slightly less from the ruins of palace buildings or mansions, but most of them have come from the excavation of tombs inside and near the palace, where royal families and nobles were buried.


II-1-01 Gold Goblet

            Mycenaean civilization, Shaft Grave IV, GCA, Mycenae Palace、Gold goblet

Site: Shaft Grave IV, GCA, Mycenae Palace
Shape & Decoration: Gold Goblet with ring-handle, rosettes in repoussé, granulation technique
Era: LHI, ca. 1550 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 351
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
11km north-northwest from Argos town / 90km west-southwest from Athens
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


Related: Grave Circle A (GCA), Mycenae Palace

 In 1876, German businessman J.H. Schliemann discovered a double stone slab circle with a maximum outer diameter of 27.5 m inside the citadel of the Mycenae Palace ruins in the Peloponnese-Argolis region, currently a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 The circular ruins were a large cemetery called "Grave Circle A," which dates back to the 16th century BC. Grave Circle A in the Mycenae Palace is located immediately to the right of the interior after entering through the Lion Gate, the main gate of the palace area.

 In Grave Circle A, the Shaft Grave I to Grave V were discovered during Schliemann's excavation work, and later the Shaft Grave VI was discovered by Greek researcher Panagiotis Stamatakis. Schliemann called initially this area of Grave Circle A the "Agora" which later meant a public square and market place in Ancient Greece.


          Mycenae Palace, Grave Circle A

Site: Grave Circle A, Mycenae Palace
Situation: A unique Mycenaean cemetery
a) double slab circle=outer diameter 27.5m, inner 25m
b) center left tomb=largest Shaft Grave IV
c) center right tomb=Shaft Grave I
Era: MHIII-LHI, 1625-1500 BC
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese / 11km north-northeast from Argos city
Photo: 1982
GPS: 37°43'49.50''N 22°45'23''E / ALT 240m


            Plan Grave Circle A, Mycenae Palace

Site: Plan of Grave Circle A & surroundings, Mycenae Palace
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


 Grave Circle A had a structure in which double circle-shaped stone slabs surrounded the ground surface. The stone slab circle is not a perfect circle, but a slightly distorted, almost circular shape, with the maximum outer diameter of the outer circle being approximately 27.5m, and the inner diameter of the inner circle being about 25m.

 A total of 19 bodies had been buried in Grave Circle A, including eight adult men, nine women, and two children. The burial persons are undoubtedly members of the second or third generation of the royal family who lived in the Mycenae Palace approximately 3,600 to 3,500 years ago, or members of the royal family or relatives, such as the king's brothers.


Burial bodies in GCA:

Shaft Grave I: 3 women
Shaft Grave II: 1 man
Shaft Grave III: 3 women and 2 children
Shaft Grave IV: 3 men and 2 women
Shaft Grave V: 3 men
Shaft Grave VI: 1 man and 1 woman


II-1-02 Gold Cup

          Mycenaean civilization, Chamber Tomb 10, Dendra, gold cup, ivy

Site: Chamber Tomb 10, Dendra
Shape & Decoration: Gold Cup, impressed decoration of ivy & rosette patterns
granulation technique
Era: LHIIIA1, 1400-1375 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 8743
mouth diameter D130mm, height H50mm excluding handle
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese / 7km north-northeast from Tiryns Palace
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO
GPS: 37°39'24''N 22°49'32''E / ALT 60m


II-2-09 Gold Seal

          Mycenaean civilization, Nestor's Palace, Tholos Tomb IV, Gold Seal, griffin

Site: Royal Tholos Tomb IV, Nestor’s Palace
Shape & Decoration: Gold Seal, cushion shape
intaglio, a griffin spreading wings, triglyph pattern
back side=diamond (mesh) pattern
Era: MHIII-LHIIA, 1650-1450 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 7986 / L27mm, W21mm, T6mm
Local: Messenia, Peloponnese<br>
13km north from Pylos port, 35km west from Kalamata city
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


Royal Tholos Tomb IV, Nestor’s Palace

            Mycenaean civilization, Royal Tholos Tomb IV, Nestor’s Palace

Site: Royal Tholos Tomb IV, Nestor’s Palace (as of 1982)
Situation: from Dromos to Entrance
a) Tholos chamber: Semi-underground type, inner diameter 9.35m
b) ceiling: concrete restoration
Era: MHIII-LHIIIA
a) 1650-1450 BC=continuous burial for 200 years
b) 1450-1350 BC=intermittent burial for 100 years
Local: Messenia, Peloponnese / 13km north from Pylos port
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO
GPS: 37°01'38''N 21°41'42''E / ALT 195m


 A total of 19 people of the highest rank of the Mycenae Palace, including kings, queens, and members of the royal family, had been buried in the Grave Circle A.
 During Schliemann’s excavations, from the GCA, multiple gold death masks that covered the face of male burials and beautiful form gold cups were excavated, as well as gold crowns, and dazzling jewelry such as earrings and necklaces that would have been worn by female royals.
 In addition, an endless number of finely decorated daggers inlaid with gold and special metals, various silverware and bronze vessels, and many ceramics with a characteristic pattern of the early Mycenaean civilization have been unearthed from Shaft Graves of the GCA.


II-3-01 Gold Death-mask

          Mycenaean civilization, Mycenae Palace, Grave Circle A, Gold mask, Agamemnon

Site: Shaft Grave V, GCA, Mycenae Palace
Shape & Decoration: Gold Death-mask, in repoussé
Excavator J.H. Schliemann's conjecture: “Gold Mask of Agamemnon,” 13th century BC
scholar's judgment: Death-mask of a "King" over 300 years older than "King Agamemnon"
Era: LHI, ca. 1550 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 624 / H250mm, weight 168.5g
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Photo: 1987


II-3-03 Electrum alloy Death-mask

              Mycenaean civilizatiion, Mycenae Grave Circle B, Electrum alloy Death-mask

Site: Shaft Grave Γ, GCB, Mycenae
Shape & Decoration: Electrum alloy Death-mask, made by gold & silver alloy, in repoussé
a burial good of the pioneering of "mask-covered burial" in the Early Mycenaean period
Era: MHIII, 1625-1550 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 8709 / H240mm
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


V-05 Bronze Dagger, “Tangles type”

            Mycenaean civilization, Mycenae Palace, Grave Circle A, bronze dagger, lion and waterfowl

Site: Shaft Grave V, GCA, Mycenae Palace
Shape & Decoration: Bronze Dagger of the “Tangles type,” with inlaid decoration of gold, niello, electrum alloy
two lions (or leopards) attacking waterfowl, fish swimming in the river
Era: LHI, ca. 1550 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 765 / L165mm
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


VI-1-05 Spherical Jug

              Mycenaean civilization, Shaft Grave II, GCA, Mycenae Palace, spherical jug

Site: Shaft Grave II, GCA, Mycenae Palace
Shape & Decoration: Spherical Jug, horizontal line pattern and chained spiral
Era: MHIII, 1625-1550 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 200 / H295mm
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


VI-4-01 Pictorial style, Krater with leg

             Mycenaean stemmed krater pictorial style

Site: Citadel, Mycenae Palace
Shape & Decoration: Pictorial style, Krater with leg, whorl-shell pattern
Era: LHIIIB1, 1300-1250 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 1148 / H370mm
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


VIII-06 Fresco “Goat-headed Daemons”

          Mycenaean civilization, Mycenae Palace, fresco "Daemons"

Site: House of Tsountas, Citadel, Mycenae Palace
Shape & Decoration: Fresco “Goat-headed Daemons carrying palanquin poles”
Era: LHIIIA2-LHIIIB1, 1375-1250 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 2665 / L100mm
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


IX-12 Agate Seal

            Mycenaean civilization, Sanctuary, Mycenae Palace, agate seal, bull leaping

Site: Room of the Idols、Sanctuary, Mycenae Palace
Shape & Decoration: Circular lens-shaped Agate Seal, two bulls and a leaping man
Era: LHIIIB2, 1250-1200 BC
Museum: NFAM, inv. No. 69-813 / L22mm
(currently: MYAM, inv. No. 1861)
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


X-01 Minoan style Alabaster Vase

           Mycenaean civilization, Mycenae Palace, Grave Circle A, Alabaster vase with gold decoration

Site: Shaft Grave V, GCA, Mycenae Palace
Shape & Decoration: Made in Egypt, Minoan style Alabaster vase
gold coving the mouth and handles
Era: LHI, ca. 1550 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 829 / H170mm
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO


XII-03 Ivory Statue of Female or Goddess

              Mycenaean civilization, Mycenae Palace, ivory woman statue

Site: Citadel, Mycenae Palace
Shape & Decoration: Ivory Statue of Female or Goddess, sitting quietly on a rock
Era: LHII-LHIIIA, 1500-1300 BC
Museum: NAM, inv. No. 5897 / H85mm
Local: Argolis, Peloponnese
Drawing: Eiji OKUBO
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