No satisfactory explanation can yet be given for the
series of catastrophes which befell the Mycenaean Palace civilization around
1200 BC although several theories have been proposed and strongly defended.
Despite the many firm declarations by different scholars that there is a horizon
of destruction throughout the Mycenaean heartland, the picture presented by the
material evidence is far from simple. The discovery of new material and the
re-evaluation of old from both pre and post destruction periods continues apace
and brings greater insights - and greater uncertainty. The increasing
regionalism of material culture during the 12th century BC after the
destructions suggests that the course of events in each region is very likely
have been different.
Since the ‘historical’ accounts of this period
are based purely on the oral Homeric epics on the one hand and the traditions of
different Classical Greek communities on the other, it is necessary to start
with the archaeological record. An examination of the aspects of Mycenaean
palatial civilization that were lost, of those that survived and of the
innovations that appeared in the first part of the twelfth century should help
us begin to understand the processes involved, the events that may have occurred
and explore the possible causes of change.
In the thirteenth century the Mycenaean world, as
defined by the use of more or less standard burial practices and similar styles
of pottery, weapons and jewellery found in the graves, extended from Crete to
Thessaly and from Pylos in the SW Peloponnese to Miletus on the cost of Asia
Minor. Its influence through trade and exchange can be detected readily in
Southern Italy, Sardinia and Sicily, in Epirus and Macedonia, at Troy and in
Cyprus. Much of this influence may have originated in the vigour of the Palatial
centres with their complex administration, concentrations of craftsmen and the
fine architecture of the Palaces themselves. Only part of the Mycenaean world,
however, was dominated directly by the palace centres, unless their spheres of
influence were immensely greater than we imagine. While it is certain that there
were palaces using Linear B for administrative purposes at Mycenae and Tiryns in
the Argolid, Pylos in Messenia, Thebes in Boeotia and Chania in Crete and likely
that they existed on the Acropolis in Athens, Orchomenos in Boeotia and Iolkos
(modern Volos) in Thessaly, there is no sign of palatial centres in the
Corinthia (NE Peloponnese), Achaia (NW Peloponnese), Phocis or Phthiotis, in the
islands of the Cyclades or Dodecanese or Central and Eastern Crete. The only
candidate in Laconia, homeland of Helen and Menelaus, is on a rather small scale
with little sign of wealth or elaboration. In these areas, it is much more
difficult to detect changes between the material cultures of the 13th
and the 12th centuries except in generalised terms of economic
decline.
While the palaces of Mycenae, Pylos, Tiryns and
Thebes lay at the centre of urban communities, it is not clear how far
urbanisation extended to other regions. Most other known sites are rather small
in scale and, with the exception of those on Crete, do not often seem to have
grown beyond village size although they are usually set in defensible positions.
In all regions, however, the sites appear to have been occupied continuously for
several centuries and the chamber tombs in their cemeteries were reused on a
regular basis. The palatial system, which seems to have evolved by the beginning
of the 14th century, was, at least in part, the product of a stable
social and economic system and may well have contributed to the maintenance of
this stability. We must presume that the rulers of these palaces instigated the
large scale engineering works illustrated by the construction of the massive
‘Cyclopean’ defensive walls, the diversion of the river in the hills behind
Tiryns or the draining of Lake Copais in Boeotia, and by paved roads and
bridges, especially in the Argolid. Intriguingly, in the thirteenth century it
was no longer the fashion for rulers to construction monumental tholos tombs –
their resources were channelled in other directions.
The palaces themselves were major building complexes
with extensive storage provision as well as elaborately decorated public rooms.
The series of columned porches and enclosed courtyards which led to the
principal suite of rooms demonstrate a grandeur and desire to impress which was
equally conveyed by the fine dressed ashlar masonry, bronze architectural
fittings or the lavish use of wall paintings. Despite the extensive salvage
efforts that took place after the destructions, there is usually a little
evidence of luxury goods, such as objects of ivory, faience and even gold. The
raw materials needed reflect the extensive trade patterns which had been
established in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean.
The quality of many products of this period is very
high – whether they are found in graves or in the debris of the palaces and
their environs. Pottery from any one production centre is well shaped, carefully
decorated and fired and usually highly standardised. Shapes and decoration are
sufficiently consistent from one region to the next so that relative dates can
be readily established. Gold-smithing includes the use of granulation – a sign
of the highest level of skill – while stone cutting for vessels was practiced
and a wide variety of glass jewellery made. The quantities of bronze consumed
must have been considerable and indicate a substantial level of trade. Although
the full range of the commodities which the Mycenaeans supplied in exchange for
these imports is uncertain, it is likely that perfumed oil and unguents were
important since their containers – small but typical Mycenaean vessels – are
widespread in Egypt.
Although evidence of workshops is notoriously hard to
discover, the Linear B tablets indicate that many skilled craftsmen were
associated with the palatial administration, whether they worked in the vicinity
of the palace or in villages in the countryside around. These included
bronzesmiths, cloth workers and perfume manufacturers to name but a few. The
Linear B archives also indicate the extent to which the palace administrations
could control large sections of the economy, such as the production of cereal
crops or the herding of animals or could direct military forces or their
equipment. In the case of Pylos they also hint at preparations for defence,
since ‘watchers on the coast’ are listed for several regions. The tablets
also record a complex hierarchy of civil and military officials from the wanax
at the top to slaves at the bottom.
The thirteenth century also saw a considerable effort
devoted to the construction of Cyclopean fortifications at many mainland sites
where the geology allowed this, not just around the palaces. Gla on an island in
Lake Copais, the Acropolis at Athens, Mycenae, Midea and Tiryns in the Argolid
(as well possibly as on the Acronauplion and on the Larissa at Argos), and
Teichos Dymaion at the extreme NW corner of the Peloponnese. Fortifications of a
similar scale and date are also to be found at Troy and at the Hittite capital
Hattusas in central Anatolia, among other near eastern sites. The scale of these
fortifications is in every case far greater than necessary for purely defensive
requirements and may reflect a desire by the ruler in each case to demonstrate
his power and resources on the one hand to the subject population and on the
other to potential attackers. They should not necessarily be seen as a response
to an imminent threat of attack. In some cases the programmes of building and
extension continued until the later part of the 13th century with,
for example, the west extension at Mycenae and the main gateway at Tiryns.
There are hints, however, that provision for siege
was contemplated: at Mycenae the north east extension enclosing access to the
secret cistern was added; at Tiryns two passages were created below the wall of
the lower citadel and in Athens a protected stairway led down to a spring in a
cleft of the Acropolis rock. Whether the threat was real or imaginary, only at
Athens could the water supply have been protected in this way, since the streams
reached by the passages at Mycenae and Tiryns could easily have been diverted by
a besieging force. In each case, however, the passages were out of use and
choked with debris by early in the 12th century as demonstrated by
the presence of pottery of that period in the lower fill. Traces of a
substantial wall have also been found crossing the Isthmus of Corinth but the
date is not entirely certain and the suggestion that it could have been used to
block attackers from this direction optimistic.
Only in Crete does the settlement pattern of the
period suggest the existence of a significant threat though the exact date in
relation to the mainland destructions is uncertain. New settlements, including
the very substantial one at Karphi above the Lasithi plain, were established
high in the hills and are sometimes almost inaccessible, as at Katalimata.
Elsewhere large communities such as that at Knossos continued to thrive. Before
or after destructions?
Violent destruction fires, leaving burnt debris and
masses of fallen masonry are reported at several sites but the picture is
inconsistent – especially when it comes to the date of these events (see next
section). At Mycenae the conflagration in the Citadel House Area (containing the
South House and the Cult centre) was particularly violent, leaving mud brick
calcined as if it was concrete. Marks of burning can still be seen on the walls
of the palace courtyard. Schliemann reported similar devastation at Tiryns and
the remarkable preservation of the Palace of Nestor at Pylos is solely the
result of the fire. At Athens the Acropolis rock has been so remodelled that no
evidence survives. Destruction by fire is also reported at several non-palatial
sites. There is nothing, however, to indicate whether these fires were
accidental or the result of attack: there were no scattered weapons, no
skeletons of war victims nor any obvious dismantling of the walls. The ruins had
in part been scavenged for reusable materials but only the failure to rebuild on
the same scale indicates that the social order had changed. Earthquake can
probably be discounted as a cause of this destruction in contrast to the obvious
effects of an earthquake at Mycenae earlier the same century when victims were
trapped by falling debris, leaving their skeletons to be discovered thousands of
years later.
It is surprisingly difficult to determine the date
when the palaces suffered destruction and no agreement among scholars. In any
case the absolute date of the change from LH IIIB to LH IIIC pottery is
only obtainable as an approximation: in the account that follows it is assumed
that this takes place at the end of the 13th century At Pylos, the
majority of the pottery is plain and only broadly datable. Most of the decorated
vessels are large storage jars of the later fourteenth century while a few
smaller vessels which would most naturally be dated to the 12th
century may reflect some later reuse. Only convention places this destruction at
the end of the 13th century. At Mycenae the destruction horizon in
the Citadel House area can be closely dated to the last stages of the LH IIIB
period towards the end of the 13th century but is this the same
destruction reported for the palatial area on the summit of the citadel rock as
being early 12th century? At Tiryns the date is derived from the
debris cleared out of the citadel after the destruction and there is no
consensus as to the date of the latest material in this deposit – late 13th
or early 12th century. Destruction at several non-palatial sites can
be dated to the end of the 13th century, but at many others the
evidence is ambiguous since only some of the pottery shapes and motifs in use at
this period are specifically datable and these are not always present. In any
case pottery styles usually remain in use for a generation or more so any
attempt to demonstrate that the destructions were synchronous is doomed to
failure.
Even if we cannot show that the destructions have a
common cause, their effect was widespread and cumulative. Failure to rebuild
either the palaces or the social order is the most telling indication of the
extent of the disruption. There is no evidence for fine architecture or wall
paintings. There was no attempt – except in a few atypical cases in peripheral
areas – to build any form of monumental tomb. The level of craftsmanship
declines – even in the manufacture of pottery – and skills such as the
goldsmith’s use of granulation seem to have been lost. Trade in metals and
other valuable commodities was disrupted by the upheavals in the eastern
Mediterranean as well as by the economic collapse and the cessation of
production of luxury goods for ‘export’. Imports from the east such as ivory
seem very rare. Some finds hint at a bronze shortage: ‘founders’ hoards of
scrap metal hidden at a number of sites suggest that the value of metal was
greatly increased. Nothing survives to indicate that writing was still practiced
in post palatial Mycenaean Greece, whether on tablets or in another medium and
it is certain that the complex administration had vanished. So too had the large
scale manufacture of pottery in specialist centres: whereas in the 13th
century pottery from the heartland was regularly exported for its own sake
(large pictorial kraters) or as containers (stirrup and piriform jars), in the
12th century production is almost entirely local - even in non
Mycenaean areas such as Italy, Macedonia or Cilicia. Apart from the massive
walls that sheltered them there is little to suggest that those who lived at
Mycenae or Tiryns after the destruction had a higher standard of living than
those who lived in the villages.
One of the most vexed questions is that of changes in
the settlement patterns which might reflect major population shifts following
the collapse of the palaces whether caused by an invasion or not. In areas such
as the Argolid and Corinthia the numbers of Mycenaean sites of 12th
century date seem to be much less than those of the 13th century
while large cemeteries appear in Achaea and Kephallenia in the far west or at
Perati on the east coast of Attica and on Rhodes. Good evidence suggests that
Mycenaeans settled for the first time on Cyprus, where Mycenaean chamber tombs
can be found. Unfortunately this picture is probably distorted because the
pottery of the 12th century (LH IIIC) is much harder to recognise
than that of the 13th (LH IIIB) when found during surface survey.
Although the palaces themselves suffered destruction
and there is little sign of reconstruction, except for Tiryns and perhaps
Mycenae, many aspects of Mycenaean life must have continued with little change.
The walls at Mycenae, Tiryns and Athens provided shelter for communities which
built relatively simple houses, many other sites were still occupied though
often it seems on a reduced scale, cemeteries remained in use for several
generations to come. Both in the mainland and in Crete there are many chamber
tombs which continued to be used generation after generation, perhaps by members
of the same family.
Most of the basic products of Mycenaean potters and
bronzesmiths continued to be made in the same forms and with the same techniques
as in the previous period and there is little doubt that these skills were
passed from father to son regardless of the upheavals which may have taken place
in the higher echelons of society. The same styles of swords and knives,
chisels, awls, axes and other tools continue to be manufactured with little
change – although some new items seem to join the repertoire, and in some
areas such as Macedonia and Epirus on the fringes of the Mycenaean world there
are hints of a greater reliance on local production than on major work shops.
Typical Mycenaean pottery shapes such as kraters,
cups, deep bowls and kylikes, jugs, amphorae and stirrup jars all continue to be
made, while new shapes such as amphoriskoi become common and others like
piriform jars and alabastra become much rarer. Variations in fabric quality,
size and shape become more frequent while the decorative repertoire is much more
restricted and usually black or dark brown in colour rather than the red or
orange of earlier periods. Regional styles of decoration can readily be
identified. Perhaps in compensation, it becomes the custom to apply paint to
almost all vessels – as simple banding or in large solid-painted areas, while
interiors of open shapes are more and more frequently entirely coated with dark
slip. These minor changes indicate that less time and effort is devoted to the
majority of the pottery and presumably reflect less prosperous economic
conditions following the collapse of the palatial system.
Trade patterns
The significance of Mycenaean palatial civilization
in the 14th and 13th centuries within the central and
eastern Mediterranean can be judged from the astonishingly wide distribution of
Mycenaean pottery on the one hand and from the kinds of raw materials imported
on the other. Although we do not know (and may never be sure) who the seafarers
were who carried out this trade it is clear that their enterprise reached from
Sardinia and northern Italy in the west to Egypt and Syria in the east. The
goods they brought travelled even further up the Nile to Egypt’s modern border
with Sudan, or inland across Palestine to reach Amman. The materials they
imported ranged from small trinkets of gold or faience to commodities such as
elephant and hippopotamus ivory or metals such as copper from Sardinia or Cyprus
and, more puzzlingly, the tin needed to make bronze, whether for personal
adornment or defence, for weapons or architectural fillings. Although traces of
tin ore – cassiterite – have been found in both northern Italy and the
Taurus mountains in Southern Turkey, these do not seem capable of providing more
than a small proportion of the tin in use at this period. Long range trade much
have occurred to bring the tin from one or other of the remote sources such as
western Spain, Cornwall, the Erzgebirge on the borders of the Czech republic or
some as yet unlocated source in Eastern Turkey. Some scholars would say that it
was the metals trade which underlay the whole spectrum and promoted this
contact. Some reduction already in 13th C?
With the destruction of the palaces and the collapse
of the system that supported them, the rationale for the trade was largely
removed at a time when unrest and disturbance can be observed throughout the E
Mediterranean. The accounts of the Sea Peoples’ arrival on the coast of Egypt
and the efforts of Rameses III to subdue and resettle them all indicate large
scale disruption to normal communication and exchange.
Although there are a number of new artefact types
which appear around the time of the destruction of the palaces and some of these
make regular appearances in the subsequent archaeological record, none of these
is as frequent or significant as formerly suggested by those who saw them as
markers of the Dorian invasion. While several have connections with or parallels
in northern Italy or the Alpine region, this can far more readily be explained
by regular trade links along the Adriatic sea than by the arrival of large
numbers of invaders or other immigrant groups. Some, indeed, can be shown to
have made their first appearance in the 13th century before the
destructions happened.
The most striking of the apparent innovations is a
kind of hand made pottery which has been named ‘barbarian’ ware and
variously attributed to sources in the Troad, Southern Italy or Epirus. As the
more neutral term for this ware, ‘hand made burnished’ ware, describes it,
it is very different in character from the standard wheel made and painted
Mycenaean wares and unlikely to be made by the same potters in the same
workshops. The fabric is often coarse and gritty, the shapes range from small
cup-like vessels to large open jars, the surface is more or less roughly
burnished and decoration achieved by techniques such as roughening, barbotine or
the addition of finger-impressed cordons of clay. Pottery of this kind has been
found in greatest quantity at Mycenae and Tiryns in the Argolid, at the
Menelaion in Sparta, at Aegira on the Gulf of Corinth and at Lefkandi in Euboea
in levels which appear to belong to the period immediately following the
destruction of the palaces. With the exception of Aegira where the lowest level
contains no Mycenaean style pottery (and is therefore undatable), at none of
these sites does hand made burnished ware form more than 5% of the total
quantity of pottery. It is clear, moreover, at Mycenae that this ware occurs
occasionally throughout the preceding century, and it cannot be thought of as a
sudden innovation. The parallels cited with areas on the periphery of the
Mycenaean world are generic rather than precise and I find none particularly
convincing. It does not seem likely that any of these vessels would be objects
of trade in their own right (though modern parallels can be found for
‘rustic’ containers to advertise specialised products) or the kinds of
objects which invaders would consider essential equipment. The explanation may
perhaps better be related to the changed economic circumstances of the 12th
century. The pottery has all the characteristics of wares produced in the
community rather than in the specialised workshops of the Mycenaean centres and
it is not inconceivable that it reflects a period when normal pottery production
had been disrupted. It may even be the case that it was made by such poor
members of the community such as the slaves who were acquired by Mycenaean
rulers from the northern and western periphery of the Mycenaean area. Such
slaves would have been familiar with this kind of hand made pottery in each of
these areas and might well have been able to make it for themselves if their
economic circumstances did not permit them to acquire the ‘factory’ made
Mycenaean products. Whatever the explanation, however, the hand made burnished
wares ceased to be made as soon as economic condition improved or their makers
became fully absorbed into the more prosperous Mycenaean communities of the mid
12th century.
New metal types which become popular include both weapons and ornaments
with European antecedents. The ‘Naue II’ type of bronze sword with long
stout blade, sloping shoulders and fishtail hilt with long pommel tang derives
from forms long current in Central Europe and Germany. Sometimes termed a ‘cut
and thrust’ sword, it clearly suited a different form of combat from that
reflected by the late Mycenaean type ‘F’ swords with short rather flat
blades, square shoulders and flanged T-ended hilts. Both forms, however, are
found in graves from one side of Greece to the other. The variation in detail of
the Naue II sword shows that manufacture was local in Greece whatever the origin
of the type. The earliest evidence for the use of this type of sword is provided
by a pair of ivory hilt-plates in the Room with the Fresco at Mycenae, in a
deposit antedating 1230 BC, well before the palatial destructions. Moreover,
these hilt-plates were ‘reclaimed’ items put aside when the sword they had
once been fitted to was scrapped: one of the bronze rivets which had held them
in place was still attached to one of the plates.
A rarer but closely related form is the ‘Peschiera’ dagger with
similarly designed hilt. As the name indicates this is a type which is regularly
found in Northern Italy. The small number of examples from Greece does not allow
us to judge whether these daggers are true imports from that region or copies
made by Mycenaean metal-smiths but the Italian connection is clear.
Another indication of this connection can be seen in the appearance in
Mycenaean burials of the bronze ‘violin bow’ fibula. Rather like a modern
safety pin the simplest examples were made from lengths of wire which had been
looped round to form a spring at one end and a catch at the other. Some are more
elaborate: they may carry a pair of slight knobs on the back and can be
decorated with neatly incised lines. Evidence now exists that this type of
fibula was, like the Naue II sword, known in the 13th century
although it does not become popular until the 12th. Fragments of an
example with knobs at either end were found in the debris of the destruction of
the main room of the Temple Complex at Mycenae one of the few know from
settlement contexts rather than burials. A variation on the type, where the
bronze wire has been twisted into a series of figure-of-eight-loops, is known
from a single example from a 12th century chamber tomb in
Kephallenia. This island is a natural calling point for Adriatic trade and the
form is well known from ‘Terramare Culture’ contexts in Northern Italy.
Another new type which becomes common in the 12th century is
the closed socket spearhead (sometimes called a javelin head). The traditional
Minoan/Mycenaean spearhead had a split hammered socket approximately equal in
length to the head. This technique gave the socket a slight springiness which
held the wooden shaft tight. Spears of this size were probably thrusting spears
rather than throwing spears (even though Homeric Heroes were capable of throwing
anything). The new type was completely cast with a socket which was usually only
one third of the total length and pierced with one or two holes for rivets to
secure the wooden shaft. The blade could vary in shape from oval (with convex
sides) to flame-shaped (with concave sides). Spearheads of this new type were
used all over Greece but perhaps most common in the west. Like the Naue II sword
this form has many parallels in the circum-Alpine region and in Central Europe
but it is difficult to know where they first became popular. In any case there
are occasional examples of the type from the Shaft Grave period and it is far
more likely that the European parallels reflect the level of Adriatic trade and
contact in the twelfth century than the arrival of new groups of warriors. This
is the kind of spear carried by the Mycenaean warriors on the Warrior Vase and,
like the sword, it presumably reflects new methods of combat. One might
speculate that, in contrast to the military forces of the Palatial period, the
warriors of this period were less organised and more mobile.
Iron is becoming better known in the 12th century although
still scarce. In earlier periods occasional ‘exotic’ examples occur, such as
the finger ring from a 17th century context at Archanes in Crete
which is a composite of iron and silver(?). Although the way in which the
knowledge of this technology spread is not known, it seems likely that the
general disruption which occurred throughout the eastern Mediterranean at this
period broke the former Hittite monopoly of the technology and allowed craftsmen
in Cyprus and Palestine to start working iron more regularly. Objects made are
now mundane rather than exotic – knives for example – although their
scarcity in Greece suggests they may still have been imported as finished
objects (for the significance of the technology and its application see chapter
3).
iron objects
Mycenae: Sequence of at least three phases of
construction within the west extension to the citadel above the Cult Centre, in
the ‘Lion Gate’ section and the Granary. Rather makeshift constructions
reusing citadel wall and earlier terrace walls to economise on building effort.
Some indication of repair to the palace. No trace of LH IIIC buildings outside
the Citadel though LH IIIC pottery in some of the chamber tombs. Several
successive pottery styles including pictorial style (Warrior Vase) and close
style (finely drawn zigzags, triangles, loops and birds. Founder’s hoard
beside ‘Poros Wall’. Naue II sword found by Schliemann above House of
Warrior vase. Cist graves of Sub-Mycenaean date found above Cult Centre indicate
contraction of area of habitation towards end of Mycenaean period.
Tiryns: Reconstruction of palace megaron on smaller
scale, sequence of construction phases with irregular buildings in lower
citadel, small separate shrine building with bench at rear and three clay
figures on it, concentration of small figurines outside door. Megaron outside
walls and large area of settlement perhaps 1km across.
Lefkandi: see class presentation
Knossos: LM IIIC levels well represented in different parts of Palace
and surrounding area. Chamber tomb cemeteries still in use.
Karphi: see class presentation
Kavousi
Assiros: see web pages
Kastanas: another mound site on the Axios (Vardar)
river in Central Macedonia with local Macedonian pottery.
Nichoria: see class presentation
Koukounaries (Paros)
Kommos
Troy
Cemeteries of the 12th century
Perati (Attica)
Achaia
Ialysos (Rhodes)
Kephallenia
Knossos
Elateia
Sanctuaries
From
the scattered evidence that survives in the southern Greek Mainland or on the
islands of the Cyclades, it seems that the practices of religion had not changed
very much from 13th to 12th centuries. Mycenaean figurines
– usually of the psi or tau female forms, or simple animals – are still
found at many mainland sites, while concentrations at sites such as Amyklae in
Laconia, at Apollo Maleatas above Epidauros, in the vicinity of the Aphaia
temple on Aegina and at Delphi may indicate that each of these was already an
important focus of cult activity, although there are no structures at any of
them and it is not possible to show continuity of use until the Geometric
period.
A
small number of shrines can be identified, of which those at Tiryns in the
Argolid and Phylakopi on Melos provide the clearest picture of cult practices.
The small shrine in the Unterburg at Tiryns was first used in this period. Three
successive phases of use have been isolated, each of a similar character. The
finds here included clay rhyta, pottery vessels and medium sized female figures
with raised arms, but nothing of any intrinsic value. The sanctuary at
Phylakopi, which was already in use in the 13th century, was altered
and extended on a number of occasions to form a pair of shrine rooms with
benches and rear storerooms. They were provided with an unusual range of figures
including both male and female types, including some of bronze, and wheelmade
bovids. Eventually one of the rooms went out of use when a rough defensive wall
was built across it late in the 12th century. Elsewhere the evidence
is less conclusively of cult activity. The only such hint in the area of the
former cult centre on the west slope at Mycenae is a small stone and clay
platform (the ‘Tower’) with no trace of offerings or cult equipment. The
shrine identified in House G at Asine with a low bench against the rear wall has
no figures or other obvious cult equipment. Two sites on the island of Ithaka,
Aetos and the Polis Cave, which both seem to have had cult use at later periods
as demonstrated by the offerings made, there may have already been sanctuaries,
but the finds made are not specifically of cult character.
For
the period after 1200 BC, following the widespread, if not total collapse of
palatial control, it is hard to conceive of official shrines and we should
presume, for lack of other evidence, that they were likely to be popular or
domestic in character. The position of the Tiryns shrine within the citadel wall
suggests that access could have been restricted while the location of the
shrines at Phylakopi at the very edge of the town beside the walls suggests
there were used by visitors as well as by the inhabitants themselves.
In
Crete it seems that the traditional female figures with raised arms were still
being made though never common, and most of these seem to come from shrine
contexts, as at Gazi and ***. The best documented assemblage was found in the
hilltop settlement of Karphi above the Lasithi plain where two large clay
figures with moveable feet, a clay cart drawn by three oxen and a rectangular
shrine model topped with horns of consecration, played some role in cult
practice and were left in situ when the settlement was eventually abandoned. At
Kato Symi there are stratified levels of the 12th century which
suggest this long-lived cult site remained continuously in use, although
no specific cult artefacts have been reported.
Perhaps the most unexpected indication of the
longevity of Dark Age cult practice comes from the opposite end of Greece on the
Kassandra peninsula at the sanctuary site of Poseidi. This was probably a
dependency of Mende, best known as a colony established from Euboia in the 8th
century but clearly occupied since the Late Bronze Age. The earliest levels in a
continuous sequence of deposits associated with an apparent ‘ash altar’ at
Poseidi contain LH IIIC pottery.