The Mycenaean palace at Volos

1. The Mycenaean palace at Volos

2. Geography Located in northern Greece – trade with Black Sea Excavated throughout the 20th century, though palaces not until 1997

3. Geography Continued • At the foot of Mt. Pelion • Protected Harbor • Ideal for trade with Black Sea, relative to other Mycenaean centers • Perhaps founded during bronze age period of colonization

4. The Archaeological Site Positioned to the south-east of Dimini, a Neolithic settlement Sixteen Mycenaean shaft graves found at the Neolithic site

5. The Mycenaean Palace Plan Volos Mycenae

6. The Mycenaean Palace at Volos • 13th Century B.C. • Prominent Mycenaean center in Northern Greece • Contains two large megara • Destroyed by fire in the late 13th – early 12th century B.C.

7. The Two Megara • Megaron A • Destroyed first, partially reoccupied • Two wings divided by a hallway • The wings contained remains of original plaster floors and metal-working tools • Megaron B • Destroyed second, never reoccupied • Two wings divided by a hallway • Clay walls and floor were baked during destruction, so perfectly preserved

8. Tholos Tombs Volos – ‘Lamiospito’ Mycenae – ‘Treasury of Atreus’

9. Tholos Tomb Distinctive ‘beehive’ shape Often connected to aristocratic or ruling classes of Mycenaean towns

10. Significance of the Archaeology • Important not to excavate myth • Impossible to ignore connection between mythic Jason and actual Mycenaean remains • Voyage of the Argonauts often linked to relative insecurity of Greeks at sea during the Bronze Age • Probable connections with Black Sea through exchange of raw materials and other goods • Commercial status of site as the only Mycenaean Palace in Northern Greece