Mycenaean burial customs

Mycenaean burial customs

Dr V.G. Callender (Macquarie University)

We know about Mycenaean burial customs because of over one undred years of arc aeolo!ical researc " be!innin! wit #einric $c liemann% many Mycenaean cemeteries ave been e&cavated and t e different ty'es of tombs ave become familiar to us. ( ese cemeteries reveal a steady evolution from t e burial customs of t e )arly #elladic cist !raves * and indeed% t is ty'e of burial remained 'o'ular in Greece for several t ousand years * u' to t e s'lendid t olos tombs as found at Mycenae% (iryns% +rc omenos and ot er sites. ( e very earliest tombs t at were made are called dolmens. ( ey consisted of a burial in t e !round% over w ic were erected t ree lar!e stones. (wo marked t e foot and ead of t e !rave and t e t ird stone was 'laced on t e ot er two% makin! a sort of stone table. ( ese !raves belon! to t e 're istoric 'eriod. ,rom t is idea% owever% t e cist !rave ori!inated. Cist !raves were rectan!ular !raves cut directly into t e !round or rock% usually a metre or so below !round level- t ey oused sin!le burials% or% on occasion% two family members (most commonly% a mot er and baby from a deat in c ildbirt )% or sometimes a man and is wife. ,requently% cist !raves were lined wit flat slabs of limestone or sc ist. .not er stone * t is time as lar!e and as flat as 'ossible * was 'ut over t e !rave ollow to 'rotect t e dead. ( is rock rested at !round level% so it was similar to t e dolmen% but no lon!er table/like% more like a bo& or 0cist1. ( e dead were usually interred in a foetal 'osition * like t at of a baby lyin! on its side * because t e !rave could be of smaller dimensions t an t e e&tended uman body% but sometimes suc !raves included t e fully e&tended cor'se. ,requently% a few 'ersonal items were included in t e !rave% often at t e ead% or near t e ands of t e deceased. $ aft !raves were a develo'ment of t e cist tombs. ( ese !raves were very dee'ly cut tombs% between t ree and si& metres in de't . ( e best known s aft !raves are t ose at Mycenae% and t ey were built over decades% datin! from c.2343/2536 7C. Grave Circle 7 is t e oldest of t e Mycenaean s aft !rave cemeteries- it contains a number of !raves% eac of w ic is likely to ave been a sin!le burial 'lace for one

family% but occasionally suc a !rave could old 8ust one burial. Grave Circle 7 (ca. 2943:2936/2336 7C) is from t e ;# < 'eriod and was only discovered by accident in 2=32. Grave Circle . is later (ca. 2343/2536 7C.)% from t e ;# <<<. 'eriod% and it was discovered by #einric $c liemann in 2>49. ( e discovery is famous because most of t e burials were found crus ed% but intact% and $c liemann?s e&cavation uncovered not only fabulous !old treasure% but also t e dessicated burial of t e oldest burial in one of t e s afts. #e celebrated is find by send a tele!ram to t e @in! of Greece sayin!% 0< ave looked on t e face of .!amemmnonA1 ( is is t e 'aintin! made of t e dead Mycenaean at t e time"

The painting of the shaft grave corpse made by Schliemanns artist .fter some time ela'sed% t e cor'se be!an to colla'se into a 'owdery residue% and a asty effort was made to 'reserve t e remains in a natural resin. ( is stemmed t e

disinte!ration and t e remains were subsequently sent to .t ens% w ere t ey still remain in a storeroom. Grave Circle . actually consisted of si& dee' s afts- nineteen 'eo'le alto!et er ad been buried in t ese s afts. <n eac % a series of cist !raves were stacked one above t e ot er% wit frames of stone and layers of wooden 'lanks se'aratin! t e individual burials. (oday% if you s ould !o to see t em at Mycenae% all t at remains are t e dee'% stone/lined 'its% surrounded by t eir circular cemetery wall. (( e wall was built durin! re'airs at Mycenae and is not as old as t e actual cemetery.) <t is t ou! t t at eac s aft !rave contained family burials% but so far% no evidence as been found to confirm t is t eory. ,rom Grave Circle . ave come t e !reatest ric es of Mycenaean society% includin! a set of !olden masks made for t e men buried t ere * t ey are t ou! t to be 'ortraits of t e deceased. ( ese masks ad been 'laced on t e skulls of some of t e burials. +nly one 'erson was entirely covered in !old% a ('robably male) c ild. <n recent years% forensic scientists ave closely e&amined t e skeletal remains and been able to tell us some details about t e 'eo'le buried in t ose s aft !raves" t eir se&% t eir a!e% ei! t and !eneral ' ysical a''earance- in some cases% t ey ave found evidence of a career of fi! tin!. #owever% t e bodies in Grave Circle . were too dama!ed for facial reconstructions to be made% but in Grave Circle 7% w ere t e 'its ad not been so dee'% some skulls ave been reconfi!ured by scientists from Manc ester% usin! forensic tec niques of facial reconstruction and t ese ave 'roduced likely ima!es of t e 'eo'le once buried t ere.2 <t is quite e&citin! to see w at a 7ronBe .!e woman or man may ave looked like but% in trut % t ey ad all t e c aracteristic variety t at modern 'eo'le ave * e&ce't% 'er a's% t at t e men ad s ort beards. C amber tombs were also remarkable !raves% t ese usually bein! cut into t e illside wit a s ort dromos or roadway leadin! u' to a trian!ular entranceway. ( ere was a room be ind t e entranceway% access to w ic was blocked by a wall of stones. ( e bodies of t e deceased were brou! t into t ese rooms on a bier * a funerary stretc er * and a s'ace was cleared in t e central 'art of t e room. .ny remains from
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C. #. Mus!rave% D. .. #. Eeave% and .. C. E. W. Fra!% 0$even ,aces from Grave Circle 7 at Mycenae%1 BSA =6(2==3) 264/2G9.

'revious burials in t e tomb were swe't to one side% and t e deceased and is bier were left in t e room wit offerin!s. ( e wall was t en built (or rebuilt) and a funerary feast was eld in t e dromos outside. Demains of t ese activities ave been found in t e dromos. .fter t is% t e dromos was covered in until t e arrival of t e ne&t funeral for t at family. ( ese tombs seem to ave been desi!ned for elite burials of wealt y men and t eir intimate families. ( e ' oto below s ows a number of c amber tombs found at .idona% in t e Felo'onnese. )ac tomb as a s ort dromos in front of it% its walls bein! built of stone 'ieces wed!ed ti! tly to!et er. W ereas s aft !raves were quite rare in t e 7ronBe .!e% c amber tombs were very numerous and found from ( essalonika to Crete.

Chamber tombs in a cemetery at Aidona ( e !randest tomb was t e t olos% 'robably derived from t e t olos tombs of Crete * alt ou! t ose Cretan t oloi were built above !round and not set wit in illsides as t e Mycenaean Greek ones were. ( e Mycenaean t oloi are arc itectural master'iecesH and were 'robably intended only for t e most 'resti!ious members of

$ee W. Cavana! I D. ;a&ton% 0( e $tructural Mec anics of t e Mycenaean ( olos (omb1% BSA 49 (2=>2)% 26=/2G4.

t e royal family.G +f all t oloi% t e so/called (reasury of .treus at Mycenae is t e most remarkable.

The dromos and entranceway to the so-called Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae .fter t e Mycenaean domination of Crete% t e t olos * as well as t e c amber tomb * was im'orted into cemeteries in t e Greek mainland% and e&am'les can be found at Mycenae% Fylos% Dendra% etc.% but also in Crete itself * e!. F ourni. +ne well 'reserved t olos burial in t at 'lace a''ears to ave contained t e funeral of a wealt y youn! woman% t ou! t by t e e&cavator to ave been a 'rincess because of t e ric ness of t e offerin!s t at remained.5 .not er famous t olos burial was t e one at Dendra% w ic contained t e remains of a male (t ou! t to be t e kin! of Midea) and several ot er 'eo'le% some of w om were definitely sacrificial victims.3 ( e Mycenaeans 'laced in t ese tombs lar!e amounts of 8ewellery% wea'ons and serviceable vessels as an indication of t e social status of t e deceased" t is a!ain
G

C. Dutter% 0Mycenaean ( olos (ombs% C a'ter 2=% '. G. <n discussin! t e Fylos t olos e notes t at it contained bot in umations and 'it oi burials and t at H4 males ad been buried t ere eventually.
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C. I ). $akellerakis% Archanes, )kdotike .t enon% .t ens (2==2)% ''.=6ff. .. Fersson% The oyal Tombs at !endra near Midea, Gleeru'% ;und (2=G2)% ''.9>ff.

was somet in! t at did not a''en in Minoan Crete. $ometimes an item of value or a 'iece of 'ottery would accom'any t e dead to t e t olos tomb% but t e !oods were never in t e quantities de'osited by t e Mycenaeans.9 +ne ot er addition to very i! / status burials of male warriors mi! t be a 'air of orses% or a do! in t e dromos of t e tomb. <t is t ou! t t at t e Mycenaean custom of leavin! valuables or uman and animal sacrifices in t e tomb was an indication t at t ey believed t ere was need for t ese t in!s in w atever .fterlife t ey believed in% but t ere seems to ave been a belief t at w en t e body ad decayed beyond reco!nition% it no lon!er eld t e s'irit of t e 'erson w o ad died. Wit eac new funeral * 8ust like t e Minoan 'ractice / t e bones of t e 'revious burials were swe't to t e sides of t e tomb% and t e ne&t funeral took centre 'lace in t e t olos tomb. We do not know w et er or not t ey believed in life after deat % but by leavin! cu's and ot er items wit t e deceased% we t ink t ey may ave believed in some sort of life after deat . (owards t e end of t e Mycenaean era t e 'ractice of 'lacin! dead 'ersons in larnakes a''eared on t e Greek mainland. . larna& ('lural% larnakes) was a c est made of 'ottery% w ic was very often decorated on its e&terior. ( is abit may ave arrived in Greece via Crete% but t e Cretans certainly derived t e idea from linen c ests w ic were commonly included in )!y'tian burial equi'ment. ;arna& burial was common in Crete in t e Fost/'alace 'eriod% but not so common in mainland Greece% alt ou! it was 'revalent in 7oeotia (at ( ebes and (ana!ra)% w ere some of t e finest decorated larnakes ave been discovered. ( e bodies were folded u' and inserted in t ese ceramic containers before bein! interred in c amber tombs. ;ater on% t e 'ractice of cremation was introduced and !rew more frequent wit t e years. 7odies of t e deceased were cremated on a funeral 'yre% to!et er wit t eir wea'ons and 'recious items. #uman and animal sacrifice was occasionally offered * as described in #omer?s "liad * and t e as es interred in a 'it os% w ic in turn was 'laced in a small 'it !rave. . !ra' ic account of t e 'ractice in t e Geometric Feriod at )leut erna as been 'ublis ed by Frofessor E. $tam'olides%4 w o% in an internet interview e&'lains w at is team found t ere"
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,or an account of a funeral% see G. Callender% The Minoans and the Mycenaeans# Aegean Society in the Bron$e Age, +&ford (2===)% ''.232f.

%Beside the funerary pyre of a prince who died in battle, we found the s&eleton of another man who we believe had his elbows tied together behind his bac&# 'e also found a &nife and a whetting stone nearby# Traces of his s&ull were later found at the princes feet and were singed by the fire, suggesting the se(uence of events# )e was a prisoner of war who was e*ecuted in retribution#+ ,

7ecause of t e 'aintin!s on t e 'ottery larnakes of (ana!ra (in 7oeotia) we know t at 'rocessions were eld in onour of t e dead% women san! dir!es% or funeral laments. )ven today t e sin!in! of dir!es is a custom still 'reserved in Crete and some 'arts of Greece. ( e women com'ose 'oetry in onour of t e deceased% 'raisin! is or er ac ievements in life. <t is 'ossible t at t is ad been a Mycenaean custom durin! Mycenaean funerals * at least in 7oeotia for t e ric er classes. ,or t e ma8ority of Mycenaeans% owever% t e cist tomb or even burial in a 'ottery 8ar was t e most common met od of burial. <n t e later 'eriods of ;# <<<% it became customary to include little ceramic fi!urines wit in t e !rave. <t is still not known w at t e e&act si!nificance of t ese fi!urines mi! t ave been% alt ou! t e de'ositin! of female fi!urines * often wit truncated arms or le!s * was a similar 'ractice amon! t e ancient )!y'tians. ( e )!y'tians did t is as 'art of t eir beliefs in t e .fterlife% w ere t ey o'ed to continue a similar e&istence to t eir lives on eart 'er a's t e customs were related.

E.C. $tam'olides% 0#omer and t e Cremation 7urials at )leut erna1% in )omeric -uestions, C.F. Crielaard% Eederlands <nstitute at .t ens% .msterdam (2==3)% ''.H>=/G6>.
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.si and phi figurines from Mycenaean /reece .fter t e 'ost/'alace 'eriod (;# <<<C)% cremation and burial in 'it oi * lar!e ceramic 8ars * became t e usual 'ractice% alt ou! burials in cist !raves and also in umation= of cor'ses mi! t also lie ad8acent to a 'it os burial" t e customs were varied. ( is continued t rou! out t e Geometric Feriod and down to t e times of Classical Greece.

+. Dickinson% The Aegean Bron$e Age, Cambrid!e University Fress (Cambrid!e)% 2==5% HG6.