(Social) Place and Space in Early Mycenaean Greece, pp. 321-340, 2021/05/25
International Discussions in Mycenaean Archaeology
October 5–8, 2016, Athens
In this paper we would like to present some first observations on changing perceptions of space and shiftingsocial relations in the site of Ayios Vasileios, Lakonia, based on the excavation and study of the early Mycenaeanextramural cemetery of the site, the North Cemetery. Our aim is to investigate how space is harnessed in the creationof new cosmological and social divisions.1. Space and Place: We will examine the location of the (extramural) cemetery in relation to the contemporary settlementand the local topography. We will attempt to understand how place is imbued with meaning by examining theprevious use of the cemetery area, the spatial organisation of the cemetery (location and orientation of graves), as wellas any evidence for human intervention and modifications of the cemetery area (removal and heaping of soil, use ofnatural gravel layers, construction of a platform, construction of retaining [?] walls).2. Social structure: On the basis of a close contextual analysis of the mortuary practices (variation in grave type, constructionand design, treatment of the body and accompanying ritual, offerings) we will reconstruct the changing socialrelations, and in particular differentiation by age, gender, kinship and status.Our observations on the North Cemetery will be placed in the context of the wider transformation of the mortuarypractices at the very beginning of the Mycenaean period, i.e. the introduction of formal cemeteries and new tomb types,the practice of reuse and secondary treatment, and the deposition of wealth. At the same time we will examine regionalparticularities and local responses.
Keywords: Space, social structure, social change, mortuary practices, Mycenaean period, Late Bronze Age, Lakonia, Ayios Vasileios
