Monumenta. Studies on Middle and Late Helladic tombs in Messenien

Tombs are an important source for reconstructing ancient social structures. The region of Messenia in south- western Peloponnese was a centre of the Middle and Late Helladic (=Mycenaean) culture (2100/20001200 B. C). Basis of the present study of tombs in Messenia is a catalogue of 54 find-spots with about 240 tombs. With an analysis of the topographical setting of the tombs, of their architecture and of the burial gifts which were found in them, the book offers a contribution to the better understanding of the social hierarchies and the political changes that took place during this phase of Greek history. The book consists of two parts: catalogue and analysis. Each entry in the catalogue lists the main bibliography of the findspot in question. In addition the dimensions of each tomb respectively every niche, pit grave, cist grave, etc. are given. Architectonic features and published finds were entered in tables to facilitate the overview of the tombs` appearance and the grave goods found within them. The columns of the tables are arranged as follows: architecture gold (silver) bronze (lead, iron) stone (amber) glass, faience ivory, bone, etc. terracotta. A second table gives the (unfortunately for the most part only inadequately published) ceramics. The tables are followed by a description of the burials and a chapter concerning the tombs` dating. A short paragraph dealing with the settlement to which the tomb belonged (if something is known about it) concludes the entry. The analytical part of the book is arranged as follows: An introductory chapter on the history of research into Bronze Age tombs in Messenia is followed by a section on the topographic situation of the tombs. After this comes a detailed investigation of the architecture of tholoi, built graves and chamber tombs. Building materials and building techniques of tholoi and built graves as well as installations within the tombs (niches, benches, pit- and cist graves) are discussed and compared with tombs found outside of Messenia. The chapters concerning the architecture of the tombs are followed by that part of the book, which deals with the findings. Its sequence is predetermined by the sequence used in the tables. These chapters comprise discussions of the findings, which were made in Middle and Late Helladic Messenian tombs, and bring them into a wider context: parallels both from tombs and settlements from within (and if necessary, outside) the Mycenaean world show contacts of the inhabitants of Messenia with people in other parts of the Greek mainland, in Crete and also in Egypt and the Levant. Tombs represent an important source for investigating the social hierarchy and the political history of Messenia. This is illustrated by an example, which concludes the present summary: After the first occurrence of tholoi in Messenia at the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age, one observes an increase of tholoi in LH I, which differ only by their larger diameters from the older graves. In LH II one notices a change: the number of tholoi increases dramatically, and some of them stand out not only by their size, but also by the quality of their architectural design. The composition of the grave goods seems to have been unchanged. This implies that the meaning of the appearance of tholos tombs has changed in LH II, as in the previous phases no significant differences in the treatment of the building material has been observed. Social differences seem to have been expressed in LH I only through the size of the tombs and the offerings. Presumably it was in these elaborate LH II tombs, that the leaders of small local centres, whose formation had begun already with the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age, have been buried. With the establishment of the so-called Palace of Nestor at Pylos this development came to an end: no tholoi with exceptional architectural design were built any longer, and the tholoi`s size declined again. Whether the reasons for this changes must be sought alone in the loss of power of the elites, which were absorbed by the Pylian kingdom, or whether other motives (perhaps economic reasons) can also be made responsible for this phenomenon, must currently remain open.