Homeric World Tombs, Graves and Burials Flashcards
Burial customs
- Form of tombs changed
- Burial customs probably were constant
- Wealthy bodies adorned with jewellery, from which we can assume that bodies were clothed
- A drink was almost certainly offered to the gods as metal cups have been found badly damaged on the floor at the entrance to tholos tombs
- Bones of animals and sea-shells have been found, suggesting a meal in honour of the dead
- Gifts would have been offered, although these have often either decayed or were robbed in ancient times
- A pair of horses was found slaughtered at both Marathon and Dendra, but perhaps uncommon as not at Mycenae – however this is done in the Iliad
- The** earth would have been filled in and a raised mound **would have covered the area so that it was visible from afar.
- A **stele **would have been placed over the tomb
- The mound would be dug again when another burial was made and bodies would be interred in the same area
- Evidence of bodies in clay burial caskets that were painted, as seen in Tanagra, central Greece
Burial casket paintings
- Rare so perhaps not common
- Tell us a lot about customs
- Funeral procession of women, many in elaborate dresses
- Some wear an unusual feathered cap, and it the women who have their heands raised above their head in grief.
- Women are shown near the bodies.
- This indicates men had a lesser role in the burial procedures
- On one casket, a body lies on a bed and the dead person is wrapped in a short tunic
- On another casket a drink offering seems to be poured in honour of the dead
Structure and use of cist graves
- Most typical burial
- Used before the Mycenaean age, continued until the end othe period
- A **shallow pit **was dug in the earth, and the sides were coverd in slabs of stone
- A pile of stones was then placed at the bottom for the body to lie on
- The pits were so small that the body had to be placed in a curved position
- Before the period, they were intended for single use
- At the start of the Mycenaean age they began to be grouped together with a mound of earth raised on top
- The mound was opened and a new body buried
- Might be placed in pithoi, or fresh pits, or in re-dug earth beside the original burial
Structure and use of shaft graves
- Used at the start of the Mycenaean age
- Grave Circle B contained fourteen shaft graves and ten cist graves
- Natural development of a cist grave, but larger and deeper.
- Narrow grave dug upto 2.5 metres deep. the largest grave (Grave Zeta) measures 3.4x3.9 m
- At the bottom, a chamber with low rubble walls was created with a roof support.
- The pit of Grave Zeta has four post holes in the corners for beams to hold up the roof, which also rested on a rock ledge
- Finally, the shaft was refilled
- Bodies were usually on their backs, with multiple people being buried together
- When a second body was buried, the first was pushed to the side to make room for the new one.
- A new stele might have been placed, but not always
- Significant grave goods appear for the first time with the use of shaft graves
Structure and use of Tholos tombs
- After the emergence of Grave Circle A, a new style of burial occured in the 14th century BC
- These derive from a tumulus: a raised mound of earth under which bodies were buried
- Different tombs as they were from stone, and were only built for the most important people
- Main part consisted of a high-roofed dome which was dug down from the top of a hill.
- A side chamber was sometimes dug for the body. The stone at the bottom of the excavated area would then have been used to make the walls and roof, and the exavated earth would have been placed over the roof
- Constructed during the life of the person,
- Rarely seen after the 13 century BC
- In front was a long passage known as a dromos. When the body was buried large stones blocked the entrance. Earth would have been put on the dromos to create an elevated slope
- At the end of the dromos was a decorative entrance (could not be entered)
- Some of the entrance from the Treasury of Atreus survived, where two green limestone columns with zigzags framed the entrance. About the entrance there would have been a triangle of red stone where a triangular space now exists, which would have releieved the weight on the large block of stone above the door
Structure and use of chamber tombs
From the fourteenth century
Less important nobles
A tomb dug from rock in which more than one body was buried in a chamber
Similar to tholos as in that they had dromos with a wall of stones to block the entrance
Unlike tholos, they were dug out of the earth, using the rock to form the roof of a square or a rounded chamber
Others were often in side chambers and probably used as family tombs
Used until the end of the period, but in the final years the cist returned, indicating a decline in prosperity.
The use of funerary objects
Many ancient societies believed the dead would ue the items they were buried with in the afterlife
We know nothing of the Mycenaean afterlife beliefs, so we cannot be sure why they were buried with objects – could have just been status symbols
Pottery items are the most common
Almost certainly contained oils, perfumes, and other liquids
Military equipment is commonly found – mostly bronze
Women were buried with jewellery and sometimes boxes for cosmetics, combs or bronze mirrors.
In reused tombs, new items placed in the tombs, with scraps of gold from previous burials being found
Contents of the Graves of Grave Circle A
Some of the finest grave goods in the world
More spectacular than Grave Circle B
Grave V included:
- Two gold death masks
- Gold cup with repoussé spirals
- Gold necklace
- Bronze dagger with the blade inlaid with gold spirals
- Amber bead necklace
- Wooden pyxis, covered with gold plates
- ostrich-egg rhyton with faience dolphins
- Swords with gold decorated handles
- Bronze griffin sword
- Gold octopus brooch
- Swords, pottery, objects, jewellery
- Mask of Agamemnon? although Agamemnon lived centuries later!
Contents of the Graves of Grave Circle B
Some of the finest grave goods in the world
A rock crystal vessel (probably for cosmetics, and probably from Crete) was found in a woman’s grave along with a quantity of jewellery
Funerary Mask
A thick sheet of gold heated to make it softer and easire to hammer
Done by placing the gold against a wooden background and hammering it to create a representation of the deceased using repoussé
Sharper tool used for finer details
Two holes near the ears indicate it was fixed over the face with twine when the deceased was buried
Mask of Agamemnon
Illustrates dignified and imposing features or a man, with a striking beard, moustache, and closed eyes
Due to the quality of the workmanship it is almost certainly of a ruler
17cm high, 25 cm wide and weighs 168g, indicating the thinness and craftmanship required to make it
However, it is quite possibly a fake made by Heinrich Schliemann as a lot of evidence suggests
