DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15680#0039
THE EXCAVATION.
19
§ 5.—The North-Eastem Terrace and the Palace.
The area to east of that just described contains remains continuous with
those to west, and dividcd by no clear line of demavcation. It was tapped
at various points in 1898, but only superficially. For instance, the street
J 3: 11 was followed and its central conduit seavched for some distance, to
recover vases wedged in the drain ; and in hopes of finding a gate the
southern block of the late Palace (J 1, 2) was laid bare, as the result
of a tentative sounding, and various rooms and walls in the lowest part of
Squares J 2 and 3 were opened out in an attempt to hit upon a northward
return of the southern fortification System. But the thorough exploration
of this region belongs to the season of 1899, without which nothing found
there in the previous season would have been intelligible.
This region was attacked where work had been abandoned in 1898 to
west of the superficial ground-plan laid bare near the trial sounding in J 1, 2.
Parallel with a threshold in the long corridor to west of this appeared, again
to west, a rauch more massive threshold in two pieces, flanked at the farther
side by a large squared block, capped by a deposit of charred wood among
whose remains were bits of bronze nails. From this block a wall ran north-
ward. North of this threshold, as no pavement was encountered, a sinking
was made and earlier walls were Struck below, associated with pre-Mycenaean
pottery, e.g. a saucer, a small double vase, and two painted geometric cups,
all at about 3i metres depth, and close to the rock; but further north good
concrete fiooring was revealed at a very moderate depth ('20 to -90 according
to the dip of the surface), covering the area of the large room, which
we now know as the Mcgaron of the Palace. In the shallow deposit ort
this pavement sherds were rare and exclusively Mycenaean. The pave-
ment was left intact, and the whole room with its southern threshold
was carefully cleared without any object of interest being discovered, except
a bare rectangular patch in the centre, unpaved and showing a discoloration
by burning. This is evidently the Situation of the central Hearth, but no
ashes or cinders were observed on or near it. It was now seen that the group
of Chambers to the east, excavated in 1898, was in line, and connected with
the new block, and that together the two groups showed the complete plan
of a Mycenaean Palace of the Tirynthian type. The foundations go down
only l-50 metres below the original surface of the soil. Outside (south of) the
outer threshold appeared remains of a slab pavement.
The long corridor, bounding the Megaron on the west, was next
opened and the space between it and the eastem limits of the excava-
tion of 1898 was found to be filled with a well-preserved block of Chambers
of three periods, quite distinct from the Palace.
The superficial soil of the area south of the threshold of the Palace was
found to be remarkably clear of structures. At a depth corresponding
generally to that of the threshold the soil was found tough and mixed with
rough stones like those used in ' cobble' paving and it became clear that when
the Palace existed, here was an open courtyard. Fragments of small marble
c 2
19
§ 5.—The North-Eastem Terrace and the Palace.
The area to east of that just described contains remains continuous with
those to west, and dividcd by no clear line of demavcation. It was tapped
at various points in 1898, but only superficially. For instance, the street
J 3: 11 was followed and its central conduit seavched for some distance, to
recover vases wedged in the drain ; and in hopes of finding a gate the
southern block of the late Palace (J 1, 2) was laid bare, as the result
of a tentative sounding, and various rooms and walls in the lowest part of
Squares J 2 and 3 were opened out in an attempt to hit upon a northward
return of the southern fortification System. But the thorough exploration
of this region belongs to the season of 1899, without which nothing found
there in the previous season would have been intelligible.
This region was attacked where work had been abandoned in 1898 to
west of the superficial ground-plan laid bare near the trial sounding in J 1, 2.
Parallel with a threshold in the long corridor to west of this appeared, again
to west, a rauch more massive threshold in two pieces, flanked at the farther
side by a large squared block, capped by a deposit of charred wood among
whose remains were bits of bronze nails. From this block a wall ran north-
ward. North of this threshold, as no pavement was encountered, a sinking
was made and earlier walls were Struck below, associated with pre-Mycenaean
pottery, e.g. a saucer, a small double vase, and two painted geometric cups,
all at about 3i metres depth, and close to the rock; but further north good
concrete fiooring was revealed at a very moderate depth ('20 to -90 according
to the dip of the surface), covering the area of the large room, which
we now know as the Mcgaron of the Palace. In the shallow deposit ort
this pavement sherds were rare and exclusively Mycenaean. The pave-
ment was left intact, and the whole room with its southern threshold
was carefully cleared without any object of interest being discovered, except
a bare rectangular patch in the centre, unpaved and showing a discoloration
by burning. This is evidently the Situation of the central Hearth, but no
ashes or cinders were observed on or near it. It was now seen that the group
of Chambers to the east, excavated in 1898, was in line, and connected with
the new block, and that together the two groups showed the complete plan
of a Mycenaean Palace of the Tirynthian type. The foundations go down
only l-50 metres below the original surface of the soil. Outside (south of) the
outer threshold appeared remains of a slab pavement.
The long corridor, bounding the Megaron on the west, was next
opened and the space between it and the eastem limits of the excava-
tion of 1898 was found to be filled with a well-preserved block of Chambers
of three periods, quite distinct from the Palace.
The superficial soil of the area south of the threshold of the Palace was
found to be remarkably clear of structures. At a depth corresponding
generally to that of the threshold the soil was found tough and mixed with
rough stones like those used in ' cobble' paving and it became clear that when
the Palace existed, here was an open courtyard. Fragments of small marble
c 2