The Destruction of the Palace at Pylos Reconsidered

The Destruction of the Palace at Pylos ReconsideredAuthor(s): P. A. MountjoySource: The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 92 (1997), pp. 109-137Published by: British School at AthensStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30103480 .

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THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE AT PYLOS RECONSIDERED'

INTRODUCTION

THERE has been much discussion concerning the date of the destruction of the palace at Pylos, since, apart from the question of where it belongs in the series of destructions which occurred in LH III B, this event is particularly important for the dating of the Linear B tablets found in the destruction deposits. The excavator, Carl Blegen, dated the destruction to transitional LH III B-C, as he thought the best parallels to the decorated pottery were late LH III B, but that some vases had LH III C characteristics.2 Other scholars, however, have put forward dates ranging from 'mid-LH III B or a little later'3 to 'towards the end of LH III B',4 'at or near the end of LH III B',5 and LH III C,6 while, most recently, M. Popham has suggested early LH III B.7 The reason for the dissent on the date of the destruction lies in the nature of the pottery from the palace. Painted vessels, which are easier to date than unpainted ones, are few and anomalous: some match standard LH III B wares, some seem to be closer to LH III A2 pottery, one or two would fit into LH III C Early, while many are seemingly idiosyncratic local products. Indeed, in an attempt to accommodate one of the latter, a darkground deep bowl, Popham has even suggested there was another occupation level in later LH III C or the early Iron Age.8 The recent re-examination of the site by the Minnesota Pylos Project has shown that there was indeed Iron Age postpalatial occupation.9 The aim of

1 Acknowledgements: this study is part of a larger work (RMDP, in press) financed by the Alexander von Humboldt- Stiftung, the British Academy, and the Institute for Aegean Prehistory. I thank H. W Catling for allowing me to include unpublished vases from his excavations at the Menelaion, G. Steinhauer for material from his excavations at Sykea, the American School of Classical Studies for permission to draw the Pylos material, the Corinth Excavations for the Korakou material, and the Agora Excavations for the North Slope vases. I am very grateful to Dr H. Catling for reading and commenting on the manuscript.

Abbreviations: AS = Ayios Stephanos (BSA supp. vol., ed. R. Janko; in

preparation) Ay. Kosmas = G. Mylonas, Ay. Kosmas (Princeton, 1959) Eutresis = H. Goldman, Excavations at Eutresis in Boeotia

(Harvard, '93') FS = Furumark Shape Kadmeia I = S. Symeonoglou, Kadmeia I (SIMA 35;

G6teborg, '973) Kanta = A. Kanta, The LM III Period in Crete (SIMA 58;

Giteborg, 1980) LH III C Pottery = J. B. Rutter, 'LH III C Pottery and some

historical implications', in E. N. Davis (ed.), Symposium on the Dark Ages in Greece (New York, 1977), 1-20

MDP = P A. Mountjoy, Mycenaean Decorated Pottery: a Guide to Identification (SIMA 73; G6teborg, 1986)

MP = A. Furumark, Mycenaean Pottery: Analysis and Classification (Stockholm, 194')

RMDP = P A. Mountjoy, Regional Mycenaean Decorated Pottery (in press)

Rutter = J. B. Rutter, The LH III B and III C Periods at Korakou and Gonia (Ann Arbor, i981)

Thebes Tablets II = T. Spyropoulos and J. Chadwick, The Thebes Tablets II (Minos Suppl. 4; Salamanca, 1975)

Tiryns VI = H. Dohl, 'Iria: Die Ergebnisse der Ausgrabung 1939', Tiryns VI (Mainz, 1973)

2 Pylos I, 42I1. 3 P. Warren, The Aegean Civilizations (Oxford, 1975), 134. 4 S. Hood, The Arts in Prehistoric Greece (London, 1978), 25- 5 R. Hope Simpson and 0. Dickinson, A Gazetteer ofAegean

Civilisation, i: The Mainland and the Islands (SIMA 52; Gioteborg, 1979), 127.

6 S. Hiller, 'Pylos and the end of the Mycenaean period', First International Mycenaeological Congress 'Premycenaean and Mycenaean Pylos' Athens 8-11 December i98o. Proceedings never published.

S OJA Io (1991), 315-24. 8 Ibid. 316-17, 322. He suggests the darkground deep

bowl is early Iron Age (ibid. 316 fig. i), but then refers to the vases found with it in Room 46 as advanced LH III C (ibid. 322) and then wonders whether, if there was a reoccupation level, it was advanced LH III C or early Iron Age.

9 AR (1992-3), 31-4, especially 33 Phase 7.



HIO P.A. MOUNTJOY

this study is to show that the destruction of the palace at Pylos belongs to a Transitional LH III B2/LH III C Early phase, which can be isolated in most regions of southern and central Greece, and that the vases of 'advanced LH III C character'10 belong to this destruction.

TRANSITIONAL LH III B2/LH III C EARLY POTTERY

The pottery of the Transitional LH III B2/LH III C Early phase contains features of LH III B2 and of LH III C Early as well as other features unique to itself. This pottery has long caused problems in the assignation of assemblages. For example, in the recent publication of the excavations at Nichoria" it is assigned to LH III B2 with reservations, as some LH III C Early features are present and not others; at Korakou the material is dated by Rutter first to Transitional LH III B2-III C'2 and then to the first phase of LH III C Early;'3 at Iria it is assigned to earliest LH III C;14 at Thebes the material from the Archive Room is placed in late LH III B and then in the transition from LH III B to LH III C by Spyropoulos,'5 but these dates are contested by Symeonoglou, who dates it to LH III B 116 together with the destruction level in the Jewellery Workshop at Oidipodos i4;1" at Ay. Kosmas abandonment in LH III B is suggested but a 'surely LH III C deep bowl' is cited as evidence for some later use of the site;'8 the material from the North Slope Houses at Athens has been assigned by myself to LH III C Early,'9 as also the assemblage from House V at Eutresis; in the case of the latter I followed Furumark, but Alin has dated this assemblage to LH III B.20

The confusion as to the date of all these assemblages has arisen from the presence of decorated deep bowls with a rim band not quite wide enough for the LH III B2 Group B deep bowl, but too wide for the Group A deep bowl, as well as deep bowls and cups of the LH III C Early medium band type, but again with too deep a rim band; with these are other features which would normally be assigned to LH III B2 or to LH III C Early. This horizon postdates the pottery in the destruction levels in the citadels at Tiryns and Mycenae at the end of LH III B2. Since this phase is not represented so far in the pottery published as LH III C Early from Mycenae,21 it has seemed best to call it Transitional LH III B2/ LH III C Early. Indeed, it has already been so named at Tiryns to describe temporary buildings erected after the destruction,22 thus excluding the alternative name of LH III B3, which might also have been viable, since elsewhere this phase actually represents destruction levels, as for instance at Midea, the Menelaion, Thebes, and, possibly, at Teichos Dymaion. The existence of this horizon supports the hypothesis of a series of destructions at the end of LH III B2 and the beginning of LH III C Early which did not occur simultaneously even at sites lying close together, such as Iria, Midea, Mycenae, and Tiryns in the Argolid.

The sites where this horizon can be isolated are:

10 OJA Io (1991), 321-2.

" Nichoria II 5o8-17. 12 Rutter, 308 fig. 10, 544 Trench P Phase 4. 13 LH III C Pottery, 1-2 Phase I. 14 Tiryns VI, 192. 15 AAA 3 (1970), 326, Thebes Tablets II, 55. 16 S. Symeonoglou, The Topography of Thebes (Princeton,

1985), 291 Site 196.

17 Kadmeia 1 9-22. 18 Hope Simpson and Dickinson (n. 5), 206. 9 P. A. Mountjoy, Mycenaean Athens (SIMA Pocket Book

127;Jonsered, 1995), 45-6. 20 See Orchomenos V, 81 for discussion. 21 MDP I34-54- 22 AA 1981, 204-5.



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE AT PYLOS III

ARGOLID

Iria: settlement, Oberer Schnitt (Tiryns VI, 127-94) Tiryns: Citadel, Complex Rioa (AA 1981, 204-5) Midea: settlement, unpublished

KORINTHIA

Korakou: settlement, Phase 4 (Rutter, 134-316, LH III C Pottery, 1-2 Phase i)

ATTICA

Athens: Acropolis, North Slope Houses floor deposits (Hesp. 2 (1933), 330-417, especially 351-6)

Thorikos: Mine No. 3 domestic (BSA 90 (1995), 195-227)

Ay. Kosmas: settlement (Ay. Kosmas, 54 and fig. 139. 61, 9)

BOEOTIA

Eutresis: settlement, House V floor deposit (Eutresis, 68, 189-90 and fig. 263)

Thebes: settlement, Archive Room on Epaminondas and Metaxas Sts. (AAA 3 (1970), 322-7, Thebes Tablets II); Jewellery Workshop Oidipodos 14 destruction level (Kadmeia I, 19-22)

ACHAEA

?Teichos Dymaion: settlement (PAE 1965, 121-36)

LACONIA

Menelaion: settlement, unpublished Ay. Stephanos: settlement, Area Epsilon wash layer,

unpublished Sykea: ChT (AD 29B (i973-4), 294-5)

MESSENIA

Pylos: palace (Pylos I, passim); Tholos T. III final use (Pylos III, 73-95), ChT Ki last burial (Pylos III, 208-15)

Nichoria: settlement, Area II Tr K25 Ibc level 12, Area IV SW Tr L23 Top level 6 (Nichoria II, 508-17)

As LH III B2 pottery is distinguished by the presence of the Group B deep bowl and the rosette deep bowl,23 so Transitional LH III B2/LH III C Early pottery is also distinguished by the presence of particular types of deep bowl. There are four types:

Type i (FIG. 7. 32-44) is the Group A deep bowl found in LH III B2 and LH III C Early24 but with the bell shape and flaring rim of the LH III C Early type; it may also have the monochrome interior of this type. Some examples may be large. Instead of the usual band over the rim 32-3 these bowls may have the rim banding of the stemmed bowl consisting of a second broad band below the rim on the exterior and, often, on the interior -3; alternatively they may have a second narrow band below the exterior rim 34, a LH III C Early feature,25 or they may have a single broader rim band I-2 cm deep 39-4o.

Type 2 (FIGS. 8-IO. 45-64) is a large bowl with a knobbed or short everted rim instead of the usual lipless rim and, sometimes, a slightly incurving upper body. The rim banding may be that of the stemmed bowl 56, but most often there is a single broad rim band 1-2 cm deep 45-7, 49-53, 55, 57; one vessel 54 has the 3 cm rim band of the Group B deep bowl, while others 58-9 have a similar rim band combined with a darkground exterior; the interior of all these vases is often monochrome. There are also monochrome 6o-i and unpainted 63-4 versions.

Type 3 (FIG. II. 65-72) is a carinated type with a straight upper body giving rise to a slight carination on the belly. It may have the usual band over the rim 65-6 or the rim banding of the stemmed bowl 71 or a deeper band on the rim up to I cm in width 67-9; the interior may be monochrome.

Type 4 (FIG. 12. 73-7) is a variation of Type 3.26 It has a straight upper body but no

23 MDPGroup B deep bowl fig. 161, rosette deep bowl fig. 162. 24 Ibid. LH III B2 fig. 16o, LH III C Early fig. 189. 25 Ibid. fig. 189. I, 2, I1.

26 74-5 have been assigned to Type 2 and 76 to Type 3 RMDP Laconia nos. 161, I6o, Messenia no. Iio, since I had not isolated Type 4 at the time of writing RMDP.



112 P.A. MOUNTJOY

carination on the belly; the rim is generally lipless but there may be a slight lip 75; the interior may be monochrome.

Types 2-4 are the criteria of this phase. All four types are very often decorated with a broad wavy band similar to that of LH III A2 stemmed bowls 42, 44, 46-8, 67-9, 74-5.27 This motif does not seem to have been used in LH III B in southern Greece, but is popular in northern Greece in Macedonia.28 Spirals and panelled patterns were also used.

Other vessels characteristic of this phase include the deep band deep bowl 82-3 and cup 24-5 as opposed to the LH III C Early medium band deep bowl and cup;29 these vessels have a deeper band on the rim than the I-2 cm rim band of the medium band vessels, but, like the latter, have no other external decoration apart from handle splashes and have a monochrome or linear interior. Another criterion of this phase is the presence of stemmed bowls with a monochrome interior 9I-3. They are the same large size as LH III B vessels and may also have panelled pattern with wide triglyphs, as in that phase, but the wavy band is used as well 91x.

Features which would normally be assigned to LH III B2 or LH III C Early as well as those characteristic of the transitional phase are listed below. However, many vessel shapes are not listed here, since they are in use in LH III B2 and in LH III C Early and are not diagnostic of one phase or the other; this particularly applies to unpainted vessels.30 Indeed, it will be difficult to assign small deposits to the transitional phase unless one or more of the characteristic features are present. The full publication of the material from the Menelaion, Midea, Mycenae, Tiryns, and Thebes should enlarge the definition of this phase.

LH III B2features FS 35 piriform jar with down-sloping rim instead of the lipless LH III B rim: Pylos i. FS 94 straight-sided alabastron with down-sloping rim instead of the lipless LH III B-C rim: Athens 9g. FS 94 straight-sided alabastron with lipless LH III B-C rim: Iria, Pylos 8, Nichoria. FS Iio jug, patterned: Iria, Thorikos. FS 164 stirrup jar, octopus: Midea (with Linear B), Thebes, Pylos. FS 17I globular stirrup jar: Thorikos. FS 17331 globular stirrup jar, generally with flower on shoulder and zonal decoration on belly: Iria, Athens x6, Thorikos, Ay. Kosmas, Eutresis 15, Pylos x4 (probable Argive import); with dot rosette on shoulder: Thebes. FS I8o squat stirrup jar: Thorikos. FS 182 conical stirrup jar: Pylos 17. FS 9 stemmed krater: Thorikos, Eutresis ig, Pylos x8, Nichoria. FS 284 Group B deep bowl: Iria 30, Midea, Thebes 31. FS 284 rosette deep bowl: Midea, Korakou 79. FS 301 spouted conical bowl: Athens, Eutresis. FS 305 stemmed bowl with wide triglyph: Iria. Small bowl with interior patterns in added white paint: Midea.

27 MDP fig. 112. 1. Care must be taken with sherds out of context decorated with wavy line which have the knobbed rim of the stemmed bowl, since they could belong to LH III A2 stemmed bowls or Transitional LH III B2/ LH III C Early deep bowls. The same applies to the truncated stemmed bowl; the example ibid. fig. 113 should be LH III A2 since its wide and shallow body is completely dissimilar to the deep body of the transitional vases.

28 I thank K. Wardle and B. Hansel for information on the Assiros and Kastanas pottery.

29 Ibid. cup fig. 183. 2, deep bowl fig. 193. 2; the vases figs. 183. I and 193. 1 from Eutresis and Thorikos respectively can now be assigned to the transitional phase.

30 A large selection of unpainted vases is published from the palace at Pylos Pylos I, passim and from Thorikos Mine No. 3, BSA 90 (995), 195-227.

31 Since Furumark dated the Athens and Eutresis vessels to LH III C Early, he automatically assigned them to FS I74 (MP 612-13 FS 174. 5, II)-



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE AT PYLOS 113

- Scale 1:6 -

Pylos

1 2

Pylos

Pylos

4

3

Epidauros Limera

Pylos

5

6 Scale 1:6

Pylos

FIG. I. I-2 piriform jar FS 35, 3-5 piriform jar FS 48, 6 belly-handled amphora FS 58.



14 P.A. MOUNTJOY

8

Pylos

Pylos 7

9

Athens

11 Eut resis

V10 Athens

FIG. 2. 7 collar-necked jar FS 63, 8-9 straight-sided alabastron FS 94, 'o-'x straight-sided alabastron FS 98.




12

Pylos 13

Pylos

14

Pylos

16 Athens

15 Eutresis

17

Pylos

FIG. 3. 12 jug FS iii, 13 jug FS 114, 14-16 stirrup jar FS 173, 17 stirrup jar FS 182.



116 P.A. MOUNTJOY

LH III C Early features FS 58 belly-handled amphora: Pylos 6. FS 63 collar-necked jar: Iria, deposits at Thebes, Pylos 7. FS 98 straight-sided alabastron: Athens Io, Eutresis II. FS III jug: Iria, Pylos 12. FS 215 cup, medium band, monochrome interior: Thorikos 23, Eutresis 22. FS 215 cup, unpainted exterior and monochrome interior: Iria 26, Thorikos 27. FS 240 carinated cup, monochrome: Midea, Teichos Dymaion (called LH III C PAE (1965), 132-3 but LH III B-C ibid. pl. 171 y left). FS 284 Group A deep bowl, monochrome/linear interior: Iria, Midea, Korakou 32, 35-6, Thorikos, Thebes, Ay. Stephanos 37, Pylos 33, Nichoria = Transitional Type i. FS 284 Group A deep bowl, second narrow band below exterior rim: Midea, Korakou 34 Transitional Type I. FS 284 rosette deep bowl with three handle splashes: Iria 78. FS 284 rosette deep bowl, linear with large rosette, monochrome interior: Iria. FS 284 deep bowl, linear, monochrome interior: Korakou 84, Athens 85, Nichoria. FS 284 deep bowl, medium band, monochrome interior: Athens 81, Thorikos, Iria 8o. FS 284 deep bowl, monochrome: Tiryns, Korakou 86, Thorikos 87, Thebes, Teichos Dymaion, Nichoria. FS 289 deep bowl with vertical handles, rosette, monochrome interior: Thorikos 88.

Transitionalfeatures FS 48 piriform jar with conical lower body (possibly a south Peloponnesian type): Epidauros Limera 3, Pylos 4-5, Nichoria. FS 215 cup Type 4: Thorikos 21. FS 215 cup, deep band, monochrome interior: Iria 24, Korakou 25, Thorikos. FS 215 cup, monochrome: Iria 28, Teichos Dymaion. FS 284 deep bowl Type i (Group A):

monochrome/linear interior: see above, LH III C Early. second narrow band below exterior rim: see above, LH III C Early. medium/deeper rim band, monochrome/linear interior: Iria 40o, Thorikos 39, Nichoria. stemmed bowl rim banding: Iria 42 (small size), Thorikos 41 (large size). stemmed bowl rim banding on exterior, monochrome/linear interior: Ay. Stephanos 44, Pylos 43.

FS 284 deep bowl Type 2 (everted rim): stemmed bowl rim banding on interior and exterior: Iria, Menelaion. stemmed bowl rim banding, monochrome interior: Ay. Stephanos 56, Nichoria. broad rim band 1-2 cm deep, monochrome interior: Iria 45-6, Korakou 57, Thebes, Ay. Stephanos

49-50, 52-3, 55, Nichoria. broad rim band 1-2 cm deep, linear interior: Menelaion 47, Pylos 51. darkground: Ay. Kosmas 59, Pylos 58. linear, monochrome interior: Ay. Stephanos 62. monochrome: Thorikos 6o, Ay. Kosmas, Pylos 6I, Nichoria. unpainted: Iria 63, Thorikos 64.

FS 284 deep bowl Type 3 (carinated): Iria 72, Thorikos 66, Thebes 67, Menelaion 68, Sykea 69-7o, Pellana 65, Pylos 71. FS 284 deep bowl Type 4 (straight upper body): Pylos 73, 76-7, Menelaion 74, Sykea 75. FS 284 deep bowl, deep band, monochrome interior: Iria 82, Thorikos 83.

deep band, linear interior: Nichoria. FS 289 deep bowl with vertical handles, darkground: Thorikos 89. FS 305 stemmed bowl, monochrome interior: Iria 92, Thorikos g9I, 93-




THE DISTRIBUTION OF LH III B2/LH III C EARLY POTTERY

Pottery of this phase is surprisingly widely spread. It can be identified at sites all over the Peloponnese, except in Elis where settlement deposits are lacking, and also in Central Greece as far north as Boeotia.

The type site for this horizon is Iria. A building complex consisting of two rooms, the Annexe and the Megaron, has been excavated together with a nearby cistern, the Bothros. The Bothros contained complete and restorable vases from the destruction of the complex. The Annexe was abandoned after the destruction; the restorable vases found here are stylistically no different from those of the Bothros, suggesting that, if reoccupation occurred after the destruction, it must have been of short duration. The pottery from both deposits is considered here as a unit. At Iria LH III C Early innovations, such as the carinated cup FS 240 found in Lefkandi Phase Ia32 and the linear shallow angular bowl FS 295 (found at Mycenae in LH III C Early33) are absent. There are no linear or decorated conical kylikes and no monochrome deep bowls (but monochrome cups are present). LH III B2 features at Iria include the stirrup jar FS 173 with flower or the curved version of multiple stem on the shoulder and zonal decoration on the belly,34 the Group B deep bowl 30, the stemmed bowl with wide triglyph,35 the straight-sided alabastron FS 94,36 and the jug FS Io with patterned decoration instead of the usual linear decoration.37 LH III C Early features are the rosette deep bowl with three handle splashes 78 instead of the multiple splashes of LH III B2 and the rosette deep bowl with monochrome interior,38 the medium band deep bowl with monochrome interior 80o, a small cup FS 215 with unpainted exterior and monochrome interior 26, the small jug FS III, and the large collar-necked jar FS 63. 39Transitional features are the deep bowls Types 1-3 40, 42, 45-6, 63, 72, the stemmed bowl with wide triglyph but with monochrome interior 92, deep band deep bowls 82 and cups 24, and the monochrome cup 28.

At Tiryns in the published transitional deposit from Complex Rioa there are monochrome deep bowls.40 A monochrome rim assigned to a goblet may belong to a Type 2 deep bowl.41 One sherd from the LH III B2 Tiryns West Wall deposit assigned to the stemmed bowl is decorated with wavy band and has a deep rim band;42 it may belong to a Type 2 deep bowl, although none of the other definitive features of the transitional phase are published from this deposit. At Midea in the destruction deposit there are Group B deep bowls, rosette deep bowls, Group A deep bowls with a monochrome interior, and deep bowls with stemmed bowl rim banding, with a medium or deeper rim band, and with a second narrow band on the exterior rim.43 The LH III C Early monochrome FS 240 is present together with the LH III B2 bowl with decoration in added white paint on the interior. A coarse ware stirrup jar FS 164 decorated with octopus has also been found; it carries a Linear B inscription.44

32 BSA 66 (I971), 338. 33 MDPfig. 197. 34 Tiryns VI, pl. 65. 5. 35 Ibid. pl. 68. 1-2. 36 Ibid. pl. 73- 5- 37 Ibid. pl. 73. 6. 38 Ibid. HI8 pl. 68. 6. 39 Ibid. pl. 62. I. 40 AA (1981), 201 fig. 54. IO-II.

41 Ibid. 202 and fig. 54. 9. Goblets are not found after LH III Al; moreover, the rim of this sherd is not long enough for the goblet, as a comparison with a LH III Al goblet illustrated ibid. fig. 54- 3 shows. See MDPfig. 75 for LH III Al goblets.

42 AD 2oA (1965), 144 fig. 4. 2. 43 Assignation to Types 1-4 must await the full publication

of this material. 44 I thank Dr K. Demakopoulou for showing me

photographs of the material from her recent excavations.



118 P.A. MOUNTJOY

18 Pylos

FIG. 4. x8 krater FS 9.

In the Korinthia Rutter has assigned material at Korakou from below the lowest of a series of stratified LH III C floors in Trench P to his earliest phase of LH III C.45 It matches that from the Iria deposit and can be equated with the transitional phase. There are monochrome deep bowls 86, linear deep bowls with monochrome interior 84, Group A deep bowls with linear 32, 36 or monochrome 35 interior, deep bowls with two narrow external rim bands 34, deep bowl Type 2 57, a possible rosette deep bowl 79, and deep band cups with monochrome interior 25.

In Attica floor deposits from the North Slope Houses on the Acropolis at Athens and a domestic deposit from Thorikos Mine No. 3 belong to this phase.46 These are not closed

45 Rutter, 134-316 Phase 4, LHIII C Pottery, Phase I 1-2. 46 The material assigned to Perati Phase I belongs to this phase and to LH III C Early.



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE AT PYLOS IIq

19

Eutresis

20

Pylos

FIG. 5. xg krater FS 9, 20 kantharos.



120 P.A. MOUNTJOY

deposits. The material from the North Slope Houses, which is only partly published, was found abandoned on different house floors;47 the Thorikos assemblage, which derives from the possible working of Mine No. 3, has a little LH III C Middle pottery with it. LH III B2 features include the stirrup jar FS 173 with flower on the shoulder and belly decoration, which is found at both sites 16, as well as the stirrup jars FS 171, 18048 (the latter with dot rosette on the shoulder)49 at Thorikos and the spouted conical bowl FS 301 at Athens.50 A large alabastron FS 94 from Athens 9 has the down-sloping rim of LH III A2-B vases instead of the lipless rim of LH III B-C vessels. It is decorated with vertical bands of net. The jug FS Io, generally a linear shape, is found in a patterned version at Thorikos.51 LH III C Early features include medium band deep bowls with monochrome interior from both sites 81, similar medium band cups, and a linear deep bowl with monchrome interior from Athens 85. The Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior is present at Thorikos,52 as well as the small cup with unpainted exterior and monochrome interior 27 and the monochrome deep bowl 87. One Group A vessel 39 has a reserved circle in the centre of the interior base, a feature first found at Lefkandi in Phase Ib.53 The deep bowl with vertical handles FS 289 is also present at Thorikos; one example is decorated with rosette and has a monochrome interior 88. The straight-sided alabastron with handles reaching to the lower belly FS 98 is found in Athens io. Transitional features at Thorikos are a medium band cup Type 3 23, deep bowls Type I 41, Type 2 60o, 64, and Type 3 66, deep band deep bowls 83 and cups,54 a darkground deep bowl with vertical handles FS 289 89, a cup with wavy band Type 4 21, and stemmed bowls with monochrome interior g9, 93 and at Athens the spouted krater FS 298 with wavy band go. Both 6o and a bowl from Korakou 86 have a reserved base, whereas other deep bowls may be completely monochrome 87.55 Unpainted dippers from Thorikos and Athens may have a deep semi-globular body with straight sides,56 instead of the LH III B shallow semi-globular shape with flaring rim;57 there are similar vessels from Iria and Pylos.58

At Ay. Kosmas a globular stirrup jar FS I7359 decorated with flower and zonal decoration on the belly and a Type 2 darkground deep bowl 59 were found by the entrance to a possible fortification wall; a monochrome Type 2 deep bowl and an unpainted dipper with carination at the belly60 from a trench over House S are assigned to its final occupation. They are the latest diagnostic vases from the site, suggesting it was abandoned in this phase.

In Boeotia an assemblage which fits well into this transitional phase is the deposit on and just above the floor of Eutresis House V It contains the LH III C Early medium band cup 22 and straight-sided alabastron FS 98 II together with the LH III B stemmed krater FS 9 decorated with whorl-shell 19, the globular stirrup jar FS 173 with flower on the shoulder and zonal decoration on the belly 15, and an unpainted spouted conical bowl FS 301.61 There is also a tripod cooking pot.62 The destruction deposit in the Archive Room at Thebes has the

47 See Rutter, 306-7 for the suggestion that the deposit is not closed.

48 BSA 90 (1995), FS 17I 202 fig. 3. 28, 32, FS i80 203 fig. 4. 47. 49 For this LH III B2 feature see MDP fig. 154. 6-7. 50 Hesp. 2 (1933), 370 fig. 43 c. 51 BSA 90 (1995), 202 fig. 3. 23. The neck is missing; it

could be that the vase is FS 120, but the joint of the neck to the shoulder, which is present, seems rather wide for that shape and the body of the vessel not large enough.

52 Ibid. 207 fig. 6. 63-4.

53 On the kylix BSA 66 (I971), 336. 54 BSA go (1995), 205 fig. 5- 52-3. 55 e.g. ibid. 210 fig. 8. 81. 56 Ibid. 2I9 fig. 14. 145, 146, Hesp. 2 (I933), 371 fig. 44 c. 57 MDP fig. 138. 58 Tiryns VI, pl. 64. 6, Pylos I, fig. 363 Type 20. 59 Ay. Kosmas, fig. 139. 61. 60 Ibid. deep bowl fig. 139. 9, dipper fig. 139. 7. 61 Orchomenos V, fig. 39. I65- 62 Ibid. fig. 39 I148.




21

Thorikos 22

Eutresis

23 Thorikos

24 Iria

Korakou 25

26 Iria Thorikos

27

28

Irio

29

Py Ilos

Iria

30

Thebes 31

FIG. 6. 21-8 cup FS 215: 21 cup Type 4, 22-3 medium band cup, 24-5 deep band cup, 26-7 cup with unpainted exterior and monochrome interior, 28 monochrome cup; 29 chalice FS 278, 3o-I deep bowl Group B FS 284.



122 P.A. MOUNTJOY

Korakou 32

33

Pylos

Ko rakou

134

c.16

37

Ay Stephanos

F 36 Korakou

35 Korakou

39 Thorikos

Scimat ari

38

F4 O Iria

Thorikos 41

42

Iria

16.6

44 Ay Stephanos

43

Pylos

FIG. 7. Deep bowl FS 284 Type I.




carinated deep bowl Type 3 with wavy line 67, as well as monochrome deep bowls63 and the globular stirrup jar FS 173, including one with decoration of dot rosette on the shoulder,64 suggesting a date in this phase for this deposit and for the Linear B tablets found with it. The jewellery workshop at Oidipodos 14 may also have been destroyed now; a Group B deep bowl 3x is illustrated amongst the fragments from the destruction level, as well as a deep bowl of transitional type with a deeper rim band, narrow zonal decoration, and a monochrome interior65 and a Group A deep bowl with narrow zonal decoration and a monochrome interior.66 Group B deep bowls are also mentioned from other find spots at Thebes, as is the large collar-necked jar FS 63 which was thought to first appear in LH III C Early,67 but which is present in the Iria deposit; it is possible that these deposits may also belong to this transitional phase.68

In Achaea the earlier of two destructions by fire in the settlement at Teichos Dymaion may have occurred in this phase, since LH III B2 Group B deep bowls are associated with transitional material and LH III C Early material. One LH III B2 Group B deep bowl is illustrated,69 but most of the deep bowl sherds depicted do not have the c. 3 cm deep rim band of this type, but rather the 1-2 cm rim band of the transitional type. The transitional material is represented by these latter deep bowls with a deep rim band7o and the LH III C Early material by monochrome cups, a monochrome carinated cup FS 240, and many monochrome deep bowls.71

In Laconia material from a deep wash level in Area Epsilon at Ay. Stephanos can be separated stylistically from LH III C Early material and assigned to this phase,72 as also vases from tombs at Pellana,73 Epidauros Limera,74 and Sykea, but pottery from the Menelaion belongs to a destruction horizon of this date.75 Deep bowls of Types 2-4 47, 68, 74 are found at the Menelaion decorated with wavy band, as well as monochrome deep bowls and linear deep bowls with monochrome interior. There are many examples of Type 2 deep bowls from Ay. Stephanos 48-50, 52-6. Types 3 and 4 decorated with wavy line or panelled pattern come from Sykea 69-70, 75. To these can be added a Type 3 deep bowl from Pellana 65 decorated with hybrid flower with Minoan components which is similar to that on a Type 4 deep bowl from Pylos 73. Furthermore, a piriform jar from Epidauros Limera 3 has the same unusual conical lower body as vessels from Pylos 4-5 and Nichoria.76 Its decoration of vertical bands of net is paralleled by the Athens alabastron 9, but the net is framed in the Minoan fashion;7 similar net is found on a deep bowl 43, large jar,78 and chalice 29 from Pylos and on a deep bowl from Ay. Stephanos 37.

63 Thebes Tablets II, Phs. 83, 90. 64 Ibid. Phs. 60o, 69. 65 Kadmeia I, pl. 22 fig. 33. 6. 66 Ibid. pl. 22 fig. 33. 7- 67 MP594-5. 68 Pelopidou-Antigonis AD 3oB (I975), 133, Pelopidou 38

AAA 7 (1974), 165-6, Pindarou 29 AD 29B (1973-4), 430-31 and pl. 284 Y, Oidipodos I AD 36B (1981), 191 pl. 120 6, e, or. 69 PAE (1965), pl. 169 a centre row, centre sherd.

70 Ibid. pl. 164 P3 top row right and below, centre row left and bottom row left, pl. 165 ca top row left, pl. 169 a top row left, right and second from right, centre row left and right.

71 Ibid. cups 132 P787, carinated cup pl. 171 y left, deep bowls 131.

72 It may be that much more of the material assigned to LH III C Early belongs to this phase, but without good stratigraphy it is impossible to be certain.

7 AD io (1926), nlcpdapTltC 41-4- 74 AD 23A (1968), 145-96. " I thank H. W. Catling for this information. 76 Jichoria II, fig. 9. 66 P3842. 7 The motif was in use on Crete from LM III Al. See R.

Bosanquet and R. Dawkins, The Unpublished Objects from the Palaikastro Excavations 1902-6 (BSA supp. vol. I; London, 1923), fig. 63. 2 for a LM III AI example and M. R. Popham, The Last Days of the Palace at Knossos (SIMA 5; Lund, 1964), pls. 6 a-d, 7a for late LM III B vessels.

78 Pylos I, fig. 331 bottom right and fig. 379. 612.



124 P.A. MOUNTJOY

In Messenia the material from a horizon at Nichoria assigned to LH III B2 may also belong here. At this site the Group B deep bowls typical of LH III B2 are absent, apart from a possible body sherd with semicircles above two broad belly bands and a monochrome interior,"79 but there are Group A deep bowls with monochrome interior80 and with medium rim band,81 linear deep bowls with monochrome interior,82 many monochrome deep bowls,83 and possible Type 2 deep bowls with everted rim, wavy line, and monochrome interior assigned in the publication to the stemmed bowl,84 as well as Type 2 monochrome deep bowls.85 A piriform jar86 has the conical lower body found on vessels from Pylos 4-5 and Epidauros Limera 3, while a straight-sided alabastron decorated with net pattern is compared with a very similar vessel from Pylos 8.87 Unpainted vessels include a miniature kylix for which the only parallels come from Volimidia and the palace at Pylos.88 A coarse ware spouted krater FS 29889 is compared to similar kraters from Pylos and from the Archive Room at Thebes.90 The LH III C Early carinated cup FS 240 and linear shallow angular bowl FS 295 are lacking.

TRANSITIONAL LH III B2/III C EARLY POTTERY AT PYLOS

The material from the destruction of the palace at Pylos fits into this phase. To it can be added the final use of Tholos Tomb III and the last burial in Chamber Tomb KI. The characteristic deep bowls Types 2-4 are not present in these tombs, but the chalice 29 from Tholos T. III has the framed net triglyph found on the deep bowls Pylos 43 and Ay. Stephanos 37 and on the large jar from Pylos,91 while the piriform jar 2 has the stacked zigzag present on the deep bowls Pylos 76 and Ay. Kosmas 59. Of the four pots with the last burial in T. KI two are coarse ware and not closely datable, the third is a globular stirrup jar FS 173 with flower on the shoulder and a decorated belly zone, and the fourth is the piriform jar 4 with conical lower body similar to that of 3, 5 and panelled decoration flanked by tails, which seem to be an inverted version of the 'tails' of the hybrid flower on the krater I8.

Most of the material from the palace at Pylos is unpainted and, therefore, not particularly diagnostic. The majority of the few painted vessels carry only linear decoration; those which are patterned have local characteristics, but the deep bowls undoubtedly fit into the corpus of the transitional phase. Types 1-3 are present together with Type 4 otherwise found only in Laconia, which might suggest it is a south Peloponnesian phenomenon, but there is a cup of this type from Thorikos.

Type i deep bowls from the palace are decorated with panelled patterns 33, 43. 43 with stemmed bowl banding on the exterior rim has an unusual triglyph composed of framed net pattern also found on a deep bowl from Ay. Stephanos 37, a chalice from Tholos III 29, a jar from the palace Room 43,92 and a piriform jar from Epidauros Limera 3. As mentioned

79 Nichoria 11509 and pl. 9- 74 P3812. 8o Ibid. fig. 9. 61 P3814. 81 Ibid. fig. 9. 61 P38II. 82 Ibid. fig. 9. 62 P38I3. 83 Ibid. fig. 9. 62 P38i6. 84 Ibid. fig. 9. 62 P3819 with stemmed bowl rim banding,

fig. 9. 63 P3821 with deeper rim band. 85 Ibid. fig. 9. 62 P3815. See ibid. 513 for discussion. The

stemmed bowls referred to ibid. 512 'a return to popularity of coated stemmed bowls' may in fact be Type 2 deep bowls, since

this type has the everted rim of the stemmed bowl and would be difficult to separate from that shape in sherd material.

86 Ibid. fig. 9. 66 P3842. 87 Ibid. 546 and pl. 9. 75 P3843. 88 Ibid. 515 and fig. 9. 67 P3853- 89 Ibid. 516 fn. 9 and fig. 6. 69 P3866. 90 Pylos I, figs. 351 no. 548, 352 no. 507, Thebes Tablets II,

Ph. 54. 91 Pylos I, fig. 331 bottom right. 92 Ibid. fig. 331 bottom right.




45

Iria

46

Iria

47 Menelaion

F48

Ay Stephanos

49

Ay Steph anos

50

AySteph anos

FIG. 8. Deep bowl FS 284 Type 2.



126 P.A. MOUNTJOY

17 25

52 53 Ay. Stephanos

Ay Stephanos

51 Pylos

Ay Stephanos 54 55

25 24

Ay Stephanos

18

57 56

Korakou AyStephanos

58 Pylos

60 Thorikos

/59 Ay. Kosmas

61 Pylos





63 Iria 62

Ay. Stephanos

F 64 Thorikos

FIG. io. Deep bowl FS 284 Type 2.

above, this is a Minoan motif not a Mycenaean one. The carinated Type 3 is represented by 71 with panelled pattern and the straight-sided Type 4 by 73, 76-7. 73 has barred semicircles linked by fringed chevrons. The motif is of Minoan derivation, particularly the fringing, which comes from the dissolution of the flower motif in LM III B.93 The fringing on the chalice 29 is also of this type. A similar motif to that on 73 is found on the Type 3 deep bowl from Pellana 65, which has a barred semicircle linked by chevrons forming the upper body of its hybrid flower motif. The stacked zigzag on 76 is also found on a large piriform jar 2 from Tholos III and the Type 2 deep bowl from Ay. Kosmas 59. It has evolved from a Minoan III A motif, the stacked V pattern.94

The darkground deep bowl 58 from Room 46, which Popham assigns to later LH III C or early Iron Age,95 belongs to Type 2. A comparison of the shape of 58 with Menelaion 47 and Ay. Kosmas 59 shows this very clearly. The Ay. Kosmas vase has the same darkground decoration as 58. Its context cannot be later than LH III C Early at the latest. The darkground deep bowl 89 from Thorikos also has a narrow decorative zone. The decoration of 58 consisting of barred semicircles is an untidy version of that on 73 from Pylos Lower Town. On 58 a single loop is all that remains of the chevrons depicted on 73, while the fringe to the chevrons is rendered as a line of blobs. A close parallel in shape to 58 is 6x from Room

93 BSA 65 (1970), 200 fig. 3- 31-3. 94 For example PoDIA i (i995), 24 fig. 4 c-d.

95 OJA o10 (1991), 316-I7.



128 P.A. MOUNTJOY

43. Indeed, the shape is so similar, particularly the foot, as to suggest the same workshop for these vases. With 61 in Room 43 was 51, also Type 2, decorated with a motif adapted from the LM III B repertoire; the spirals are Minoan double spirals,96 while the fringe on the panel97 arises from the LM III B flower motif, as mentioned above. There is a good late LM III B parallel to the fringed panel on a deep bowl from Knossos.98

The few other open shapes which carry decoration include stemmed kraters, which are decorated as in LH III B with whorl-shell and hybrid flower 18, but ineptly, as well as one with double wavy line,99 dippers with the usual dotted rim,'00 and linear mugs.'0'

Decorated closed shapes include large jars FS 105 and amphorae FS 69102 as well as the belly-handled amphora FS 58 6; this is a popular LH III C shape in the north-west Peloponnese, but at Pylos it seems to have been produced earlier, since there are several linear versions from the palace. Indeed, the shape has already appeared in LH I in Messenia, where it seems to be a local development.'03 The small LH III C Early jug FS IIi is present 12, as also at Iria,1'04 suggesting it appears in this phase rather than in LH III C, as was thought.105 There are a few decorated piriform jars. Small piriform jars FS 48, such as 4-5, may have a conical lower body and overlarge vertical handles in imitation of a Minoan type;'06 a similar vessel from Epidauros Limera 3 suggests this may be a local south Peloponnesian type; indeed, the shape is already found in LH III A2 in Messenia.107 A group of five large decorated piriform jars FS 35,108 the only ones from the palace, was found in Room 32. The sparse body banding (only at belly and base on all except one) suggests a local provenance, as also the simple stripe down the centre of the handle of two of the vessels I instead of the usual monochrome handle. Two of these piriform jars are decorated with octopus and argonaut'09 in what might be a continuation of the LH III A2 tradition in the case of the argonaut, but not of the octopus, which is not normally used on this shape. These motifs are not found on LH III B piriform jars, but were, however, used on Cretan larnakes in LM III A-III B;"11 since there is much Minoan influence on Messenia and, to a lesser extent, on Elis and Achaea1"' throughout the LBA, it is not impossible that the choice of motifs on the Pylos piriform jars was influenced by their appearance on contemporary Minoan artefacts. Moreover, the Pylos octopus has fringed tentacles; fringing is not a feature of LH III A2-B octopuses, but very similar fringing is found on creatures on Minoan larnakes, such as on the birds on a LM III A-B larnax from Armenoi"12 and, more particularly, on octopuses on larnakes from Tourtouloi and Praisos dated to LM III B-C,"3 which look forward to the fringed octopus so common on LM III C stirrup jars. Two other of these piriform jars are decorated with scale pattern,114 a motif found in LH III A and LH III B, but the linear decoration consisting of a broad band flanked by a

96 BSA 65 (1970), 198 fig. 2. 18-19. 97 Added to the drawing from the back of the vase. 98 Popham (n. 77), pl. 8 c-d. 99 Pylos I, fig. 387. 100 For example ibid. fig. 357. 257, 86. 101 Ibid. fig. 365. 336, 234. 102 Ibid. FS 105 fig. 367. 676, FS 69 fig. 371. 1175, 1138,

8o6. 103 Ibid. fig. 196. I, O. Dickinson, The Origins of Mycenaean

Civilisation (SIMA 49; G6teborg, 1977), 23. 104 Tiryns VI, BI6 pl. 65. 4. 105 MP 6o2.

106 Kanta, figs. 75- 5, 76. i, 3-4- 107 Pylos III, fig. 273. 9. 108 Pylos I, figs. 377-8. 109 Ibid. fig. 378. 403, 409- 110 Kanta, fig. 73- 9 octopus, P. Betancourt, The History of

Minoan Pottery (Princeton, 1985), pl. 27 A stylized argonauts. .' Most recently a larnax of bath type decorated with

octopus on the exterior and large fish on the interior has been found in a tomb in Achaea.

112 Betancourt (n. IIo), pl. 27 B. 113 Kanta, 292 and figs. 65. 3, 73- 9- 114 Pylos I, fig. 377- 406-7.




65

Pellana 66

Thorikos

68 Menelaion

67

Thebes

69

Sykea

70

Sykea

V72

Iria

Pylos

71

FIG. iI. Deep bowl FS 284 Type 3.



i30 P.A. MOUNTJOY

73

Pylos Menelaion

74

75

Sykea Pylos

76

1 77

Pylos


narrow one is a LH III Al-III A2 early feature, suggesting that LH III A vases may have been copied.""5 The rows of running spiral on the last piriform jar x can be found in LH III A2 and LH III C. These piriform jars have down-sloping rims, as also a piriform jar 2 from Tholos Tomb III; this is an earlier feature but it is present on the alabastron from Athens 9 and on Elian LH III C Early belly-handled amphorae and alabastra.116

Similarly to piriform jars, stirrup jars tend to have simple banding 17 rather than the fine line groups normally found; the only stirrup jars with the latter type of banding are probably Argive imports 14.117 All the stirrup jars from the palace are variations of FS 182, the conical type, and FS 164, the large storage type, apart from the probable Argive import x4, which is

"115 MDPfigs. 58-61, 80. I. 116 RMDP Elis nos. 64, 67.

117 Pylos I, fig. 391. 412 FS 182.




FS 173. It is most odd that the globular FS 173 is not found in the palace, as elsewhere it is the most popular stirrup jar shape and the only one which continues through LH III C. The stirrup jar FS 182 17 has narrow zonal decoration of foliate band on the shoulder which recalls the LH III C Early decoration of Achaean stirrup jars and other vases."8 An octopus stirrup jar FS 164119 is not out of place in this transitional context. One has recently been found in the destruction level at Midea with a Linear B inscription. There is also an octopus stirrup jar from the Archive Room at Thebes.'20

Shapes peculiar to the palace include pithoil21 decorated with horizontal wavy line and pithoid hydriae,122 with two small horizontal belly handles and a vertical handle from neck to shoulder, also decorated with horizontal wavy lines, as well as vases which imitate palatial LH II A jars in shape, but not necessarily in decoration.'23 One of these vessels, no. 612, has squares of framed net similar to that on the Type I deep bowl from Pylos 43; another, no. 418, has zones of rock pattern, a motif in vogue on alabastra until LH III C Early and on the spouted bowl FS 253 until LH III B; other vessels, nos. 6oo, 604, 6o6, are decorated with vertical wavy lines or spirals which may be in added white paint; several vessels have rock pattern round the neck in the Cretan LM II tradition. Other local shapes include a version of the stirrup jug FS 151 with a double-beaked spoutl24 and of FS 118 with a pedestal base.'25

A large collar-necked jar 7, unusually set on tripod feet, has a pair of protuberant lugs each side on the shoulder. This large size FS 63 is found on the Mainland from LH III C,126 but it is present in the transitional deposits at Iria127 and at Thebes.'28 There are reasonably good parallels to the shape of the Pylos vase from Crete dated to LM III B by Kanta and LM III B-C by La Rosa.'29 It is decorated with huge semicircles linked by chevrons, a motif which seems to be common in LH III B2 and possibly in LH III C Early. It is present in the West Wall deposit at Tiryns on a Group B deep bowl,'30 at Teichos Dymaion on a Group A deep bowl,131 and is a common motif on vases assigned to LH III C Early in Phocis,'32 which may, however, belong to this transitional phase. It is also found in Boeotia: the deep bowl from Scimatari 38 is assigned stylistically to the transitional phase. A krater sherd from this phase at Nichoria'33 with a monochrome interior has a variant of this motif; the semicircles are reduced to curving tails similar to those on the Pylos piriform jar 4 and on the hybrid flower on the Type 3 deep bowl from Pellana 65. The spiraliform fill on the Pylos collar-necked jar is similar to that by the handle of the piriform jar I.

POPHAM'S DATE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF PYLOS

Popham has suggested an early LH III B date for the destruction of the palace'34 by explaining away the presence in the destruction deposit of the obviously later deep bowl 58.

"118 BSA 89 (1994), pl. 29 b left, pl. 32a right, b and on a jug pl. 34 b.

119 Pylos I, fig. 348. 1-4. 120 Thebes Tablets II, Ph. 81. 121 Pylos I, fig. 383- 599, 607. 122 Ibid. fig. 373- 597, 598. 123 Ibid. fig. 379. 124 Ibid. fig. 369. 404, 405. 125 Ibid. fig. 369. 245. 126 Ibid. 594-5. 127 Tiryns VI, pl. 62. I.

"28 AD 29B (1973-4), pl. 284 a Pindarou 29, ibid. 36B (198i), pl. 120 or Oidipodos i.

129 Kanta, 29 pl. 13. 8, V. La Rosa, 'Spigolature vecchie e nuove da Haghia Triada', ELXhaCTLfi T66og 18trlX6g Yt T6v xaO'eyrTi N. nkdrTovva (Heraklion, 1987), 387 pl. I. 1-2.

130 AD 2oA (1965), 142 fig. 3. 1. 131 PAE (1965), pl. 164 P3 centre row, second from left. 132 RMDP Phocis nos. 171-2, 218-19. 133 Nichoria II, fig. 9. 63 P3826. 134 OJA 10 (1991), 315-24.



132 P.A. MOUNTJOY

78

Iria

Korakou 79

80 Iria Athens

81

82

Iria

Thorikos 83

84 Korakou

85

Athens

FIG. 13. 78-85 deep bowl FS 284; 78-9 rosette deep bowl, 8o-i medium band deep bowl, 82-3 deep band deep bowl, 84-5 linear deep bowl with monochrome interior.



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE AT PYLOS i33

86 Korakou Thorikos

87

89

Thorikos

88 Thorikos

90

Athens

FIG. 14. 86-7 deep bowl FS 284, 88-9 deep bowl with vertical handles FS 289, 90o spouted krater FS 298.



'34 P.A. MOUNTJOY

91 Thorikos

, 92

Iria 93

Thorikos

FIG. 15. 91-3 stemmed bowl FS 305.

He has suggested that the deep bowl 58 from Room 46 is advanced LH III C or early Iron Age and might have been wrongly assigned in the potshed to the destruction deposit,'35 but since it is so close to 6I from Room 43 that it seems to be by the same potter this is unlikely. 51, also with 6I in Room 43, cannot be later than LH III C Early. The same applies to the other vases from Room 43, which, apart from the usual unpainted vessels, include the large jar with squares of framed net.136 Popham suggests some of the pottery with 58 in Room 46 is 'of advanced LH III C date' ,'"7 but this is not the case. The pottery consists of a large stirrup jar, a local variant of FS 164, two jugs FS 105, an amphora FS 69, and a belly-handled amphora FS 58, all with linear decoration, together with an unpainted kantharos 20 and an unpainted neck-handled amphora FS 7o. Of the possible later vases suggested by Popham the belly- handled amphora FS 58 no. 1141, which he states is a shape found later than the beginning of LH III C at Lefkandi,'38 is indeed normally a LH III C shape, but there are other examples from the destruction level in the palace, such as no. 467 with tall splaying neck found with the octopus and argonaut piriform jars in Room 32139 and no. 818 from Room 97 6. If no. 1141 is

later, then all these examples must also be later, but their contexts demonstrate that this idea is not feasible. The shape seems to be a local development which appears before LH III C. The 'two-handled krater' no. 1131 to which 'there are no Mycenaean parallels' is a kantharos 20, a shape found in west Greece, in Phocis, and on Ithaka, from LH III A2140 (and possibly in

'15 Ibid. 321. 136 Pylo I, fig. 331I 37 Ibid. 321-2 fig. 332. 138 OJA 1o (1991), 321.

139 Pylos I, fig. 329. 140 RMDP Phocis nos. 53-7 (but with ring or torus base),

Ithaka no. I.




Achaea and Elis, but settlement deposits are necessary to demonstrate this). There is no reason for it to be a later shape. The unpainted neck-handled amphora no. 675141 has the wide flat base and conical ovoid body of contemporary amphorae from the palace, such as no. 619 from Room 38 and no. 1175 from Room 99;142 elsewhere neck-handles are a later LH III C feature, but here they may be an earlier local preference, as witnessed by their appearance on the local pithoid hydriae.143

Two problematic pieces come from Court 3, where Geometric pottery was also found.144 They could not be located in Chora Museum in May 1994. One is the top half of a hydria with wavy line down the handle and a possible LH III C scroll on the shoulder.145 However, a similar narrow wavy line is found on a LH III B cutaway-necked jug from the Rizomylo Veves tholos.146 The hydria also has a wide strap handle similar to that of the Veves vase instead of the usual oval LH III C handle. The edge of the spiraliform decoration apparent in the photograph need not be scroll, but one of the local designs found on the palace pottery. The other problematic piece is the upper part of a neck-handled amphora.147 It has a deeply rolled rim, unusual on a Mycenaean vase; it is burnt and may once have been painted.148 Without handling this vessel it is impossible to say if it is Mycenaean or Geometric. There is now clear evidence for Iron Age occupation,149 but there is no published evidence whatsoever for advanced LH III C habitation.

Popham uses the absence of true conical kylikes, the few decorated deep bowls, and the continuance of LH III A2 decorative traditions as criteria for an early LH III B destruction date,'15 but the decorated kylix is also absent, as in the Iria deposit, since it dies out during LH III B; there are indeed few decorated deep bowls, but all decorated shapes are rare in the palace; the continuing 'LH III A2 tradition' of decoration may result from LM III B influence. The idea of a destruction early in LH III B is tempting since it would account for the lack of fortifications at the site,151 but there are too many later elements in the pottery to be argued away.

CONCLUSION

It would seem that Blegen was correct when he assigned the destruction of the palace with its Linear B tablets and sealings to 'a time when pottery of Mycenaean III C was beginning to be made and to displace the vases of LH III B'.'52 I would suggest that the destruction occurred in the Transitional LH III B2/LH III C Early phase.

British School at Athens P. A. MOUNTJOY

141 It is not painted as Popham OJA 10 (i991), 317. 142 PyIOS I, fig. 371. 143 Ibid. fig. 373. 597, 598. 144 OJA o10 (1991), 317. Not Court 4 as Popham ibid. 321, 323-34. 145 Pylos I, fig. 345. 4- 146 AE 1973, pl. 22 c no. 573, RMDP Messenia no. 8o.

147 Pylos I, fig. 345. 3. 148 Ibid. 65. 149 AR 1992-3, 31-4. 150 OJA Io (1991), 322. 151 Ibid. 322. 152 Pylos I, 421.



136 P.A. MOUNTJOY

INDEX OF VESSELS ILLUSTRATED

FS 35 i Pylos Room 32 Pylos I, fig. 377. 408, RMDP Messenia no. 87. 2 Pylos Tholos T. III Pylos III, fig. 173. 13, RMDP Messenia no. 86. FS 48 3 Epidauros Limera AD 23A (1968), pl. 79 d, RMDP Laconia no. 157. 4 Pylos T. KI Pylos III, fig. 273. 5, RMDP Messenia no. 89. 5 Pylos Corridor 59 Pylos I, fig. 375- 521, RMDP Messenia no. 9o. FS 58 6 Pylos Room 97 Pylos I, fig. 373. 818, RMDP Messenia no. 92. FS 63 7 Pylos Room 39 Pylos I, fig. 395. 457, RMDP Messenia no. ioi. FS 94 8 Pylos Room 32 Pylos I, fig. 385- 410, RMDP Messenia no. 93. 9 Athens Hesp. 2 (1933), 367 fig. 39 b, RMDP Attica no. 273. FS 98 io Athens Hesp. 2 (1933), 367 fig. 39 a, RMDP Attica no. 274. ii Eutresis Orchomenos V, fig. 38. 126, RMDP Boeotia no. 164. FS III

12 Pylos Pantry 20 Pylos I, fig. 367. 136, RMDP Messenia no. 94. FS 114 13 Pylos Pantry 20 Pylos I, fig. 367. 168, RMDP Messenia no. 95. FS 173 14 Pylos Room 32 Pylos I, fig. 391. 411, RMDP Messenia no. 99. x5 Eutresis Orchomenos V, fig. 35. 74, RMDP Boeotia no. I65. 16 Athens Hesp. 2 (I933), 370 fig. 43, RMDPAttica no.

283. FS 182

17 Pylos Court 47 Pylos I, fig. 391. 699, RMDP Messenia no. ioo. FS 9 18 Pylos Corridor 95 Pylos I, fig. 387. 8Io, RMDP Messenia no. 102.

xg Eutresis Orchomenos V, fig. 36. 78, RMDP Boeotia no. 166. KANTHAROS

20 Pylos Room 46 Pylos I, fig. 387. I131. FS 215

Type 4 21 Thorikos TC 33 BSA 90 (1995), 205 fig. 5. 49, RMDP Attica no. 284.

Medium band 22 Eutresis Orchomenos V, fig. 38. 131, RMDP Boeotia no. 168. Type3 23 Thorikos TC 47 BSA 90o (995), 205 fig. 5- 51, RMDP Attica no. 285- Deep band 24 Iria Bio After Tiryns VI, 158 fig. 8 and pl. 64. 2. 25 Korakou PV Rutter, 156 fig. 44. 8 RMDP Korinthia no. 154. Unpainted exterior, monochrome interior 26 Iria B12 After Tiryns VI, 158 fig. 8. 27 Thorikos BSA 9g (1995), 205 fig. 5- 56. Monochrome 28 Iria BlI After Tiryns VI, 158 fig. 8. FS 278 29 Pylos Tholos T. III Pylos III, fig. 174. I, RMDP Messenia no. 107. FS 284 Group B 30 Iria B4 After Tiryns VI, 161 fig. Io and pl. 63. 2. 3x Thebes After S. Symeonoglou, Kadmeia I SIMA 35, pl. 18 fig. 29. I. 5 . Type i 32 Korakou PV Rutter, 156 fig. 44. 6, RMDP Korinthia no. 159- 33 Pylos Room 98 Pylos I, fig. 385. 813, RMDP Messenia no. 115- 34 Korakou PVI Rutter, 148 fig. 41. 2, RMDP Korinthia no. 162. 35 Korakou PVI Rutter, 15i fig. 42. 13, RMDP Korinthia no. 164- 36 Korakou PV Rutter, 158 fig. 45. 6, RMDP Korinthia no. 165- 37 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 178, RMDP Laconia no. 2o8. 38 Scimatari Orchomenos V, fig. 30. 115, RMDP Boeotia no. 169. 39 Thorikos TC 15 BSA 90 (1995), 207 fig. 6. 62, RMDP Attica no. 288. 4o Iria B7 After Tiryns VI, 16I fig. Io (drawing reversed). 41 Thorikos TC 28 BSA go (1995), 207 fig. 6. 65, RMDP Attica no. 291. 42 Iria A5 After Tiryns VI, 183 fig. i6 (interior banding after A7 recently drawn by the author. See ibid. 170 catalogue entries A5, A7). 43 Pylos Corridor 95 Pylos I, fig. 385. 8o8, RMDP Messenia no. II1. 44 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 168, RMDP Laconia no. 159. Type 2 45 Iria B5 After Tiryns VI, 16o fig. 9 and pl. 63. 4. 46 Iria A7 Tiryns VI, 183 fig. 16, RMDP Argolid no. 302. 47 Menelaion P24o6, RMDP Laconia no. 162.



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE AT PYLOS i37

48 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 17o, RMDP Laconia no. 172.

49 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 753, RMDP Laconia no. 163. 50 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 724, RMDP Laconia no. 164. 5x Pylos Room 43 Pylos I, fig. 385- 593, RMDP Messenia no. io8. 52 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 755, RMDP Laconia no. 166. 53 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 193, RMDP Laconia no. 167. 54 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 586, RMDP Laconia no. 168. 55 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 194, RMDP Laconia no. 169. 56 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 733, RMDP Laconia no. 170o. 57 Korakou PV Rutter, 156 fig. 44. 4, RMDP Korinthia no. 167. 58 Pylos Room 46 Pylos I, fig. 385. 677, RMDP Messenia no. 116. 59 Ay. Kosmas Ay. Kosmas, fig. 139. 68, RMDP Attica no. 292. 6o Thorikos TC 18 BSA go (1995), 210 fig. 8. 83, RMDP Attica no. 297. 61 Pylos Room 43 Pylos I, fig. 385- 594, RMDP Messenia no. 117. 62 Ay. Stephanos AS no. 754, RMDP Laconia no. 165. 63 Iria A12 After Tiryns VI, 185 fig. 17. 64 Thorikos TC 43 BSA 90 (1995), 222 fig. 16. 172. Type 3 65 Pellana 3357 AD IO (1926), HapcapzTr1Ic 41-4, RMDP Laconia no. 176. 66 Thorikos TC 57 BSA 90 (1995), 207 fig. 6. 61, RMDP Attica no. 289. 67 Thebes After Kadmos, 9 (1970), pl. I a and Thebes Tablets II, Ph. 85. 68 Menelaion P2602, RMDP Laconia no. 177. 69 Sykea AD 29B (I973-4), 294-5, RMDP Laconia no. 178. 70 Sykea AD 29B (1973-4), pl. 189 a, RMDP Laconia no. 179. 71 Pylos Main Drain Pylos I, fig. 385. 1150, RMDP Messenia no. 112. 72 Iria A6 After Tiryns VI, 183 fig. 16. Type 4 73 Pylos Lower Town Pylos III, fig. 103. 6, RMDP Messenia no. 109.

74 Menelaion P2452, RMDP Laconia no. 161. 75 Sykea AD 29B (1973-4), 294-5, RMDP Laconia no. 160. 76 Pylos Corridor 59 Pylos I, fig. 385- 576, RMDP Messenia no. IIo. 77 Pylos Room 27 Pylos I, fig. 385. 862, RMDP Messenia no. 113. Rosette 78 Iria A4 After Tiryns VI, 181 fig. 15 and pl. 68. 3. 79 Korakou PV Rutter, 156 fig. 44. 3, RMDP Korinthia no. 169. Medium band

80o Iria AIo After Tiryns VI, 185 fig. 17 and pl. 70. 3. 8 Athens Hesp. 2 (I933), 369 fig. 41 a, RMDP Attica no. 294. Deep band 82 Iria HI After Tiryns VI, 185 fig. 17 and pl. 70. 2. 83 Thorikos TCI BSA 90 (I995), 208 fig. 7. 77, RMDP Attica no. 293- Linear, monochrome interior 84 Korakou PV, VI Rutter, 133 fig. 39. 5, RMDP Korinthia no. 170. 85 Athens Hesp. 2 (I933), 369 fig. 41 b, RMDP Attica no. 295- Monochrome 86 Korakou PV, VI Rutter, 133 fig. 39. 6, RMDP Korinthia no. 171. 87 Thorikos BSA 90 (1995), 210 fig. 8. 82. FS 289 88 Thorikos TC 3 ibid. 21o fig. 8. 89, RMDP Attica no. 298. 89 Thorikos TC 29 BSA 90o (1995), 210 fig. 8. 90. FS 298 go Athens Hesp. 2 (1933), 369 fig. 42 a, RMDP Attica no. 300. FS 305 g9 Thorikos TC 17 BSA 90 (1995), 211 fig. 9. 98, RMDP Attica no. 302. 92 Iria B3 After Tiryns VI, 161 fig. lo and pl. 63. 1. 93 Thorikos TC 16 BSA 90 (1995), 211 fig. 9. 99, RMDP Attica no. 303.

PA.M.



Documents

The Destruction of the Palace at Pylos Reconsidered