Orchomenos

ORCHOMENOS 

Orchomenos was the citadel of the Minyans who once controlled NW Boeotia. It is one of those sites that have been continuously occupied since the Neolithic and maybe longer and there is still a village there today. 

As you can see from the maps it was one of those sites beloved by Helladic builders, triangular or oval shapes, steep on some sides but with at least one section with a more gentle slope for access and water nearby, in this case rivers on both sides  that flowed into Lake Copais.

This meant when lake levels were high they could control water and road traffic and when water levels were low had a fertile valley to the north for farming with a permanent water supply and still control over roads. 

The Lake has gone and the wetlands drained once perhaps the second or third time or more times over the millennia  for farmlands today.  The rivers still flow. 

And as in so many parts of Greece stone echoes linger. 

 

GLA Citadel or something else?

#GLA is a #Mycenaean site that definitely does not not fit the pattern. Its modern  name is Albanian in origin. Some scholars think it was Hylai an unlocated settlement.

Yes it has walls and a ramp leading to a gateway but ...

This map shows Lake Copais at its hypothetical fullest extent. 

Personally I think it was smaller having studied the topography via Google Earth.

Here's another view showing GLA as an island.

Note that the central buildings and the SE corner are walled off from the rest of the island.

Compare this to some of the other sites I've shown you.

I usually manage to find an decent aerial shot but in this  case ...

 

Frankly from what photos I've seen the modern island is mainly a mass of weeds inside a wall.

So why did the Mycenaeans put walls with a gate up on a remote island that would have been surrounded by water even in summer until the lake was drained in the 19th century? 

My best idea. While this is described as a citadel I think this was some kind of protected flood refuge for cattle and sheep and other stock or a supply storage depot. Recent research shows the Mycenaeans tried to drain at least part of the lake and reduce the problem of sudden water levels changes. 

The walls were added to keep herds up on the mound and maybe stop pilfering of supplies ?

This would also explain the four gates for quick access. You don't want to be having to move things to one gate if you're excavating from rising flood waters during spring thaw or after a dyke failure. You want to get to a higher level as quickly as possible. Those gates probably align with piers or causeways or roads buried under layers of silt deposit. I doubt however we're get full evidence of this any time soon as the local farmers would NOT be very happy if someone started tearing up their fields saying Hi we're looking for Mycenaean causeways!

A final thought if you were a Mycenaean looking to build a storage depot/ flood refuge and knew of a lump of rock too uneven for farming ... 

THEBES and the KADMEIA

#Thebes #mycenaeancitadels #Kadmeia

THEBES and the KADMEIA

THEBES did have Mycenaean walls and a rough outline can be seen if you look at aerial shots of the modern city but the Kadmeia has been reduced to a few walls and corners and odd remains of rooms or workshops that show up now and then when older buildings are torn down.

It may have been the leading power in Boeotia once but now its basically a country town.

It retains one Mycenaean feature the love of designers for adding walls to oval or triangular shaped sites often preexisting in the Helladic or even Neolithic

Here is an old map made by some one who has clearly based his map on descriptions of the Classical era city by Pausanias. We have no idea though if Thebes would had outer suburbs in the Mycenaean era?

The map also does not show that there were streams running along both the western and eastern sides of the Kadmeia or stress that Thebes was a junction for several ancient roads.

When Copais was a lake and wetland rather than a drained irrigated plain Thebes location would have allowed it to control roads and travel along the southern and eastern sides of the lake and access to the coast to the north east and block roads south east to Attica and the Isthmus.

Take a close look at this and then please also check Google Earth for recent aerial shots.

This cartographer felt the walls of Thebes covered a smaller area however at least he shows both streams and some roads and the Kadmeia area. 

Another location location location site. 

Hills and rivers and roads. 

Next time Minyan Orchomenos.

Kalogria - Mycenaean citadel

KALOGRIA is Myrsinus ?

#kalogria #myrsinus #mycenaeancitadels

Tucked away on the farmost NW corner of the Peloponesse is a lesser known site also called the Dymean Wall. Its near a village called Kalogria and has wetlands and lagoons on either side but these may be the result of silting over 3000 years.

Modern Myrsinos further south is a much later settlement with the same name.

Modern placenames - note the lagoons.

A visit to Google Earth will also show rivers ... well creeks running into those lagoons. The seawards exits have probably silted up.

Some parts of the wall facing inside were probably added or repaired and refaced later during the Byzantine empire or by the Franks and others. Note the lagoon on one side and that highly dersired Mycenaean feature a slope down one side for an access road .

and on the side facing out to sea that other highly desirable feature a high steep cliff with views over the surrounding area!

and yes cyclopean blocks !

I wonder if some of that silting might have been accelerated by buried seawalls or moles?

Moving to Methone

LETS  MOVE ON TO METHONE IN MESSENIA

#methone #methoni #pedasus #messenia #Mycenaeancitadels #pedasos

Methone also known as Modon appears to have been ancient Pedasos.

Today its a port for yachts and fishing.

However when ships were smaller it was a much more important port.

Note the location ! The far SW of Messenis where ships sailing down from Italy or Elis or Northern Greece or westwards from other parts of Greece would be rounding a cape.

A great place for a watch post?

Note this topographic map. It is not a major Mycenaean or Helladic settlement but there's also a COASTAL PLAIN with a river (not shown on this map) on one side.

Now a modern view

There's a lot of later construction which has probably obliterated or reused older walls but you can see its a great site for a watch post with deep water in one side but a shallow beach allowing ships to be drawn up onto the sand on the other side plus if you check Google Earth you'll see moles added later. Plus the classic beloved long pointy oval or triangular shape Mycenaean builders loved!

If there wasn't at least a watch post here ...

The "lower" polis may have been under the modern town. Not shown here!

ASINE

#Asine #Mycenaeancitadels

If you decide to drive along the coast road from Nauplio when you pass Tolon you might spot an old stone wall and a flight of steps behind a gate and fence.

Asine is alas definitely one of those archaeologist only sites in that you'll need to know some archaeology to visualize how this site was once a small citadel and village.

Hopefully my selection of images might help.

Be careful if you use Google Maps or Earth, There is a modern town called Asini.
I suggest you google Tolon and scroll eastwards.

This is an OLD photo but it shows why this site was occupied for centuries before and after the Mycenaeans. Beaches on either side! A gentle slope up to cliffs and check out Google Earth and you'll see possibly the sea level has changed on one side.

This ones a bit blurry enlarged but I have used it cos you can see the topography plus a rough outline of where the walls were originally. Its the sort of rough triangular shape Mycenaean rulers loved to fortify plus landing beaches on both sides steep cliffs yet a gentle slope upwards on the land side and a view of the sea and the flat coastal strip the road runs along. Perfect for watching for signals from beacons or who's coming along the road or sailing along the southern coast. 

Asine today. The old path / track has been improved and widened.

This also demonstrates how the Greeks would call settlements we regard as villages a POLIS.

Note that shape and the preference which appears again and again on coastal or inland sites for one side to have a gentler slope allowing ramps. Remember the only draught animals were oxen or donkeys. Horses were for pulling chariots or riding not pulling carts.

More after Easter.

HOSANNA 2020

#Hosanna #easter

A break from the Mycenaean Sequence for something seasonally Relevant

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOSANNA

Apart from its religious relevance for Palm Sunday Hosanna is also a fascinating example of how Greek dealt with loan words from Hebrew and Aramaic. 

Originally Hoosanna was 2 words in OT Hebrew 

HOSHI'A + NA

This became Hosha'na in Aramaic. Greek however has no "sh" sound and however Hoosan(n) acquired an extra N! Possibly becausa - sana is arare sound combination in Greek whereas double - nn appears in names and perhaps someone thought this was a noun and not a verb plus a particle.

Its a good example also of semantic change. Surely it really should have become something like sooze in Greek SAVE?! Somehow it became instead of a plea a prayer of praise and confidence !

Which brings me to the third delight of Hosanna as a word. 

Its just plain fun to sing and shout 

HOSANNA HOSANNA HOSANNA TO THE HIGHEST !

I hope you're having a great palm Sunday.

Next post a quick trip to ASINE !