Menelaion: Mansion Houses
| PK | C996 |
| TITLE | Menelaion: Mansion Houses |
| WGS84 | 37.066227° N, 22.454571° E |
| Accuracy | Exact |
| LAT/LON | 37.066227, 22.454571 |
| LON/LAT | 22.454571, 37.066227 |
| DMS | 37° 3' 58.4172" N | , | 22° 27' 16.4556" E |
| W3W | handed, indicate, lays |
| UTM | 34 S, 629314, 4103209 |
| EGSA87 | 362459, 4103048 |
| Elevation m | 276 |
| Elevation feet | 905.5 |
| Region | Laconia |
GENERAL SITE TYPE Hab
TYPE
1. hab. Mee and Spawforth [2001], 226 'The early Mycenaean mansions were constructed on a natural terrace at the eastern end of the site.'2. hab. Banou [1996], 26 '...während eine Wand des Nördlichen Teiles des sogenannten "Mansion I" der früheren Phase des "Dawkins House" nämlich, früher als späthelladisch II zu sein scheint ...'
3. hab. Catling et al. [2009], 21 'That there were earlier buildings is to be inferred from the presence of earlier pottery from no later than the 17th century.'
4. hab. Simpson [1981], 101 'Remains of Mycenaean structures have been found on all three hills, ...', that is, from the North Hill, the Menelaion, and Aetos Hill.
5. hab. Simpson [2009], 318 The Menelaion is there said to have been "... clearly an important administrative centre in LH II1B2 as in earlier Mycenaean times" (LS i. 149). The LS is the Laconia Survey by Cavanagh, WG., Crouwel, J.H., Catling, R.W.V. and Shipley, D.G.J. 2002.
PERIOD (High Chronology)
1. Middle Helladic: (2000 BC - 1600 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 101, 'This area and part of the "North Hill" were apparently first occupied in late MH times; ... '
b. Catling et al. [2009]: 21, 'At one or two points ... very ruinous scraps of MH masonry have survived.'
2. Late Helladic: (1700 BC - 1050 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 101, 'Remains of Mycenaean structures have been found on all three hills, but those from the "North Hill" and Aetos seemed confined to LH IIIB2 or early LH IIIC.'
b. Catling et al. [2009]: 55, 'The probability is that they are the remains of a building ... of LH date.'
3. Late Helladic I: (1700 BC - 1635 BC)
a. Catling et al. [2009]: 21, '...to be inferred from the presence of earlier pottery from no later than the 17th century.'
4. Late Helladic II: (1635 BC - 1410 BC)
a. Banou [1996]: 26, '...früher als späthelladisch II zu sein scheint...'
5. LH IIA: (1635 BC - 1470 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 101, ' ...; and the site was apparently already of some importance in LH IIA, to judge from the fine "palatial" jar fragments ... '
6. LH IIB: (1470 BC - 1410 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 101, '.. the complex designated as "Mansion 1", was constructed in the LH IIB period.'
b. Mee and Spawforth [2001]: 226, ? 'In the C15 BC a mansion was constructed, ...'
c. Catling et al. [2009]: 53, '...the decorated pottery associated with the construction occupation is uniformly LH IIB - LH IIIA1, ...'
7. LH IIIA: (1410 BC - 1315 BC)
a. Mee and Spawforth [2001]: 226, ? 'The mansion was rebuilt early in the C14 but only remained in use for a short time.'
8. LH IIIA1: (1410 BC - 1375 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 101, 'The Menelaion was almost certainly a "capital" site during LH IIB and LH IIIA1.'
b. Catling et al. [2009]: 53, '...the decorated pottery associated with the construction occupation is uniformly LH IIB - LH IIIA1, ...'
9. LH IIIB2: (1250 BC - 1190 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 101, 'Remains of Mycenaean structures have been found on all three hills, but those from the "North Hill" and Aetos seemed confined to LH IIIB2 or early LH IIIC.'
b. Simpson [2009]: 318, '..and before the major expansion of the settlement in LH IIIB2, the time of "Mansion III" ... '
c. Mee and Spawforth [2001]: 226, 'In the late C13 the mansion was repaired and reoccupied. It was then destroyed by fire ...'
NOTE
1. The site of the Mansions was occupied on and off for some period of time beginning with the MH and stretching at least until LHIIIA1. This entry can only hint at the complexity of the site. For details see Catling et al. [2009].
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Banou [1996]: Banou, Emilia. Beitrag zum Studium Lakoniens in der mykenischen Zeit. Albert-Ludwigs-Universität zu Freiburg. 1996, '4. Menelaion', pg. 26.
2. Catling et al. [2009]: Catling, H.W., H. Hughes-Brock, N. Brodie, G. Jones, R.E. Jones and J.E. Tomlinson. Sparta: Menelaion I: The Bronze Age. Volume 1: Text. The British School at Athens. Supplementary Volumes, No. 45, 2009., 'The Architecture and Stratigraphy of the Menelaion Hill', pg. 21.
Online here.
3. Mee and Spawforth [2001]: Mee, Christopher and Antony Spawforth. Greece; An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street. Oxford. 2001. , 'Description', pg. 226.
4. Simpson [2009]: Simpson, Richard Hope. ‘The Mycenaean Settlements in the Sparta Plain and the Ancient Traditions’, Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici, 51 (2009), pp. 315-335, 'The Menelaion', pg. 316.
Online here.
5. Simpson [1981]: Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press, 1981., 'E 1 The Menelaion', pg. 101.
Online here.