Index:
The Epano Englianos Ridge and the Palace Complex
The Main Building
The Southwestern Building
The Northeast Building
The Wine Magazine
Area 103
Area 106
Building X
The Aqueduct
The Northeast Gateway
The Belvedere Area
The
Epano Englianos Ridge and the Palace Complex
[Area
Map] [Palace
Plan]
The palace complex sits on a flat plateau on the Englianos ridge and commands a striking panorama. All sides of the ridge drop down into deep valleys except for the northeastern side, which continues along the spine of the ridge. [Figure 1] Where the terrain is manageable, terraces line all sides of the ridge and support olive groves and vineyards.
Bronze Age roads leading up and to the palace complex have not yet been discovered, but most likely an ancient road followed the same contours as the present road. This road trails across the spine of the ridge from the northeast and then down to the south and southwest, and then runs down into the coastal plain.
The palace complex consists of four large buildings with several smaller structures scattered about. Late Bronze Age{see note 1} building activity clusters on the southwestern edge of the plateau, which left the northeast half of the hilltop free and clear. Only the Aqueduct snaked its way from the Main Building to the Northeast Gateway.
In the very Late Bronze Age, the palace complex was approached from the southeast. Area 58 was a large plaster court, but its southeast edges have disappeared with erosion and so its full extent is unknown. From Area 58, one could enter: the Main Building through its propylon (rooms 1 and 2), the Southwestern Building via ramp 59, or the Northeastern Building via courts 92 and 94.
Figure 1
The
Main Building
[Area
Map] [Main Building
Plan]
The Main Building was given its name by the original excavator, Carl Blegen [footnote], because it contains the megaron, which is a three-chamber (rooms 4, 5 and 6) suite that housed the supposed throne room (6) [Figure 2]. Here most likely the Mycenaean king ruled the kingdom centered about Pylos.
The formal entrance into the Main Building is the propylon (rooms 1 and 2) [Figure 3]. It consists of an outer (in room 1) and an inner column (in room 2) with a large doorway between. The propylon leads into the small plaster court before the megaron. The court was open to the sky and provided lots of natural light for adjacent rooms.
The megaron was by far the most well appointed suite in the palace. Just about every square centimeter of the room was covered in brightly colored frescoes. The porch had two columns and the throne room had four, which were symmetrically laid about the large central heart [Figure 4]. The columns were wood and were fluted like later Greek columns. They have since disappeared, either as the result of fire or rot, but there impressions are still evident in the plaster floor.{see note 2} The central hearth was fresco painted with spirals and flames, and the floor covered in imitation marble panels. The walls were adorned with large figural scenes, which contain animals, people and fantastic creatures.
Flanking both sides of the megaron suite are two long corridors which connect the small open court with storage and manufacturing rooms within the Main Building. The two rooms (23 and 24) at the back of the Main Building, contain large pithoi embedded in clay benches [Figure 5]. Linear B tablets discovered in these two rooms tell us that the jars were once filled with olive oil.{see note 3}
Pottery, more than 5000 vessels, was found stacked and stored in the five small rooms (18, 19, 20, 21 and 22) in the west corner [Figure 6]. The suite of rooms to the northeast of megaron was probably used for the manufacture and storage of perfumed oil.{see note 4} According to Linear B evidence and pottery, rose-scented oil seems to have been produced in rooms 30, 31 and 32.
At the front of the Main Building near the entry propylon (rooms 1 and 2) is Archives Complex in its south corner [Figure 7]. It consists of two small rooms (7 and 8) and which contained the bulk of the tablets recovered at Pylos, which number nearly 1000.
In the east corner of the building is a suite of nicely decorated rooms (46, 50 and 53) [Figure 8]. Room 46 has a central hearth similar to the one in the throne room, though not as big, and its walls were covered with frescoed murals (footnote). The floors of room 50 and the short corridor (room 49) leading to it were frescoed like the floor of the throne room – broken up into square panels with incised lines. The panels were painted in imitation marble patterns or with aquatic animals such as octopuses and fish. This suite of rooms could only be accessed through a single door which made it very private.
Two late additions to the Main Building are courts 42 and 47 [Figure 9]. Court 42 effectively sealed off another formal entrance (room 41) into the building. This room, like room 1, also had single, freestanding column, of which only the stone base survives. The function of the rooms is perplexing. Court 42 has an incoming pipe in its northeast wall that brought water into the room. It also has drain in the south corner to take water away, so room may have been used some sort of activity, perhaps manufacturing, that required water. The plaster floor of Court 47 is dotted with holes, some of which penetrate the floor entirely, and others which were only sunk into the plaster. A recent interpretation suggests that holes once contained plants and that Court 47 was some sort of cultivated and kept garden.{see note 5}
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
The
Southwestern Building
[Area
Map] [Southwestern
Building Plan]
To the southwest of the Main Building and built right on the southwestern edge of the plateau is the Southwestern Building [Figure 10]. This area of the hilltop has the highest elevation and therefore suffered quite a bit of damage from erosion. For most walls, only one or two courses of rubble are preserved. The exception is the building’s southwestern façade which was built as a retaining wall with large slabs of limestone.
The building’s main feature is a large columned hall, room 65, with a spacious vestibule, room 64. Room 65 may have 6 columns, though only four bases are preserved. A recent guess suggests that the large hall was a dining room and the smaller rooms to the northwest served as food preparation areas.{see note 6}
Figure 10
The
Northeast Building
[Area
Map] [Northeast Building Map]
This building is smaller than both the Main and Southwestern Buildings and sits at the northeast side of palace complex [Figure 11]. It contains nine rooms and areas with the majority arranged about a central corridor. Only one room cannot be accessed via the corridor and that is room 93. It faces southeast and opens onto the small court 92.
Area 94, which may have been a covered porch, borders Court 92 on the northeast. When this area was originally dug, the excavator found the bases of two piers, which probably supported an overhanging, or cantilevered, roof.
The altar in court 92 sits in the plaster floor just over three meters southeast of the façade of room 92 [Figure 12]. It is a squared limestone block covered with plaster on all exposed sides. On top, only a small bit of white plaster remains. The four sides were plastered with brightly colored frescoes, which are nicely preserved. The multi-colored, wave-like patterns probably represent marble veining.
Of all the rooms of the Northeast Building, room 93 seems to have been the most significant architecturally. The room faced court 92 to the southeast. Its northwest façade had no proper door but was completely open with one, maybe two, limestone steps leading up into the room from the plaster court. The ends of the walls were built with large, limestone blocks. These blocks have dowel holes and probably supported a wooden armature of sorts.
The other rooms of the building opened onto the central corridor. Most of the rooms have very wide doorways, and one, room 97, has no doorway. Some of the Linear B tablet fragments covered in this building mention leather, medal and chariot parts, which suggest that it functioned as a leather and chariot workshop.{see note 7} The wide doorways, or even the lack of a doorway, facilitate movement throughout the building.
Figure 11
Figure 12
The
Wine Magazine
[Area
Map] [Wine Magazine Plan]
On the very north edge of the hilltop sits the Wine Magazine [Figure 13]. It’s a two room structure with room 104 serving as the vestibule to the much larger room 105. The doorway into room 104 from the outside is on the building’s north side. Today, if one were to step through the doorway to outside, one would immediately fall down a few meters into the terrace below. In the Bronze Age, the hilltop must have extended north a few meters, otherwise access to the doorway would have been somewhat precarious.
The vestibule appears to have had a complete plaster floor but when the room was uncovered about half of it had been destroyed. The floor of room 105 was packed earth or clay. Inside room 105 are the remains of large jars (pithoi); they line the walls and two tightly packed rows of pithoi run down the center of the room [Figure 14]. The building received its name because of these pithoi and the sealings and Linear B tablets found within the building which actually mention and record wine.{see note 8}
Figure 13
Figure 14
Area
103
[Area
Map] [Area 103 Plan]
The walls and structures in this area also belong to various periods. The original excavator thought that the long structure with three rooms labeled a, b, and c was a single building [Figure 15]. But several of its walls belong to different periods and were certainly not used together.
Two small rooms adjoining the northeast wall of Court 42 seem to have been the only rooms built and used in the very Late Bronze Age. One room (102) was lined with plaster and is close to the southwest end of the Aquaduct and thus the original excavator thought that it may have been used as a cistern.{see note 9}
Figure 15
Area
106
[Area
Map] [Area 106 Plan]
This area, like Area 103, suffered a lot of destruction and deterioration throughout the Late Bronze Age history of the site. Today, all that remains are fragments of rubble built walls, foundations for walls, broken plaster floors, a few column bases and a larnax [Figure 16]. Few individual structures can be recognized, though attempts have been made.{see note 10}
The date of these structures varies from the middle to the late Bronze Age. However, only a few, if any, may have been in use during the very Late Bronze Age.
Figure 16
Building
X
[Area
Map] [Building X Map]
This building sits just below the south edge of the hilltop and was in use throughout the entire Bronze Age [Figure 17]. Its purpose is unknown, but at one point it served as a flanking bastion for a staircase that led up to the hilltop. In its final form, at the very end of the Bronze Age, the thickness of its walls suggests that the building may have been very tall and perhaps served as a tower of sorts.
Figure 17
Aqueduct
[Area
Map]
The Aqueduct snakes across the hilltop from the Main Building to the Northeast Gateway [Figure 18] shows a portion of the Aqueduct]. For the most part, the Aqueduct consists of two parts: a channel, which was cut into the limestone bedrock, and flanking side-walls. The construction of the lining walls is far from consistent: in some places, the channel was lined on one side with stone built walls, in other places, it was lined on both sides, and still in other places, no lining was built at all. The use of cover slabs was also inconsistent; some sections were covered, but others seem to have remained open.
The elevation of the Aqueduct peaks in the middle of its run, therefore water flowed both towards the Main Building and Northeast Gateway. The Aqueduct seems to have acted more as a drain than an incoming source of water for the palace.{see note 11}
Figure 18
The
Northeast Gateway
[Area
Map]
At the northeastern edge, a nicely built staircase leads down from the plateau to the small valley to the northeast [Figures 19 and 20]. Today, the steps are badly eroded, but there was probably at least 23 treads of limestone slaps. Stone built walls flank both sides of staircase, only a few courses are preserved, but as indicated by a fallen block, the upper portions of the wall may have been built with coursed block masonry. Two large flat slabs form a broad tread near the midpoint of the flight and may have been a threshold for an actual door or gate.
The gateway was not used in the very Late Bronze Age and is not contemporary with the palace complex.
Figure 19
Figure 20
The
Belvedere Area
[Area
Map]
Excavations on the east, southeast side of hilltop uncovered fragmentary rubbles walls, drains and a small kiln [Figure 21]. The walls are not very thick and therefore must have belonged to relatively small structures. None of the building activity in the Belvedere Area is contemporary with the very Late Bronze Age palace complex.
Figure 21