ARGOS' SHIELD
On the edge of both the ancient and modern city of ARGOS there were two hills.
One the higher has a Frankish castle and the other lower is now crowned by a Byzantine church and trees surrounding that but was once the Mycenaean citadel of the city.
(PLEASE CHECK GOOGLE EARTH)
Note the position of ARGOS in relation to other Mycenean Argolid settelements
A clear line of sight across the plain to Tiryns Nauplia and Mycenae and roads to the west and south plus a view of the gulf and surrounding farmlands.
Aspis Hill
The area within the dotted line is an estimate of the Classical Era walls
Whatever the extent of the Mycenaean city was it seems that the Aspis had a clear view over it and the main roads into the city and onwards to other places.
A different speculation as to the layout of the ancient city.
Bear in mind there could have been more than one agora or large open areas used for cattle or sheep yards or other purposes perhaps where the modern plaza in front of the town hall is? .
In the citadels shown so far the Mycenaeans show a preference for placing citadels on one side of a settlement the most vulnerable side or the side with the best view of the surrounding area and both ideally but not too high up and not right on the sea shore or a cliff's edge.
They also seemed to have wanted to watch over cities for signs of unrest or to control populations?
Next time more Argolid sites
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