DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.7476#0083
EARLY PLACE OF 'ATREUS' TOMB
67
group1 the tombs are built of rubble limestone masonry, the doorways,
though of large blocks, are roughly constructed, and there is as yet no trace
of a relieving triangle above the lintel. The second group 2 shows poros
ashlar masonry in the clromoi, the doorways are constructed of large blocks
of dressed conglomerate, the lintel blocks are longer, and, in the case of the
Panagia Tomb, there are distinct traces of a relieving triangle. Finally, in
the third group, to which the ' Treasury of Atreus' and the ' Clytemnestra'
Tomb are assigned by him,3 both the dromos and the tholoi themselves are
built of ashlar work in conglomerate, the relieving triangle or tympanum is
fully developed, and the facade is splendidly adorned—the relieving tri-
angle in both cases having been masked by ornamental work in coloured
stone.
Early Appearance at Mycenae of fully Minoized ' Atreus '
Type of Tholos-tomb.
Greatly as the archaeological world is indebted to Mr. Wace for his
painstaking study, and logical as the above results may be regarded per se,
the gravest objection must be taken to his chronological conclusions.
It is, for instance, an undoubted fact that rubble limestone masonry
was the primitive method of structure. This is fully borne out by the
parallel series of bee-hive tombs existing on the plain of Mesara and its
borders in Southern Crete, some of which go back to the beginning of
the Early Minoan Age. But the chronological value of such a feature is
altogether lost when we reflect that the gradual decline in the skill of the
Mycenaean and Minoan builders' craft would naturally have led—and did
lead—to a reversion to the same primitive methods in the construction of
sepulchral vaults. The truth is that much of the evidence can be read both
ways. The 'Atreus' and 'Clytemnestra' Tombs at Mycenae, structurally
the most advanced, are probably the earliest on the site in point of time,
and the different 'groups' in reality overlapped one another.
So, too, the conclusions based on the appearance of the relieving triangle
leave out of sight an unknown quantity that we cannot at present control.
The evidence, to which attention will be called below,4 may be taken to
establish the fact that the construction of the 'Atreus' Tomb and its fellow
1 The Cyclopean Tomb, the Epano Phour- —placed by Mr. Wace in his Third Group—
nos, and the Aegisthos Tomb are included he says ' the ashlar work in conglomerate was
n this. reduced to a minimum on account of the
2 Consisting of the Panagia and the more expense'. Op. ci/., p. 389.
distant Heraion Tombs. * p. 72 seqq.
3 In the case of the 'Tomb of the Genii'
F 2
67
group1 the tombs are built of rubble limestone masonry, the doorways,
though of large blocks, are roughly constructed, and there is as yet no trace
of a relieving triangle above the lintel. The second group 2 shows poros
ashlar masonry in the clromoi, the doorways are constructed of large blocks
of dressed conglomerate, the lintel blocks are longer, and, in the case of the
Panagia Tomb, there are distinct traces of a relieving triangle. Finally, in
the third group, to which the ' Treasury of Atreus' and the ' Clytemnestra'
Tomb are assigned by him,3 both the dromos and the tholoi themselves are
built of ashlar work in conglomerate, the relieving triangle or tympanum is
fully developed, and the facade is splendidly adorned—the relieving tri-
angle in both cases having been masked by ornamental work in coloured
stone.
Early Appearance at Mycenae of fully Minoized ' Atreus '
Type of Tholos-tomb.
Greatly as the archaeological world is indebted to Mr. Wace for his
painstaking study, and logical as the above results may be regarded per se,
the gravest objection must be taken to his chronological conclusions.
It is, for instance, an undoubted fact that rubble limestone masonry
was the primitive method of structure. This is fully borne out by the
parallel series of bee-hive tombs existing on the plain of Mesara and its
borders in Southern Crete, some of which go back to the beginning of
the Early Minoan Age. But the chronological value of such a feature is
altogether lost when we reflect that the gradual decline in the skill of the
Mycenaean and Minoan builders' craft would naturally have led—and did
lead—to a reversion to the same primitive methods in the construction of
sepulchral vaults. The truth is that much of the evidence can be read both
ways. The 'Atreus' and 'Clytemnestra' Tombs at Mycenae, structurally
the most advanced, are probably the earliest on the site in point of time,
and the different 'groups' in reality overlapped one another.
So, too, the conclusions based on the appearance of the relieving triangle
leave out of sight an unknown quantity that we cannot at present control.
The evidence, to which attention will be called below,4 may be taken to
establish the fact that the construction of the 'Atreus' Tomb and its fellow
1 The Cyclopean Tomb, the Epano Phour- —placed by Mr. Wace in his Third Group—
nos, and the Aegisthos Tomb are included he says ' the ashlar work in conglomerate was
n this. reduced to a minimum on account of the
2 Consisting of the Panagia and the more expense'. Op. ci/., p. 389.
distant Heraion Tombs. * p. 72 seqq.
3 In the case of the 'Tomb of the Genii'
F 2