(Social) Place and Space in Early Mycenaean Greece, pp. 341-364, 2021/05/25
International Discussions in Mycenaean Archaeology
October 5–8, 2016, Athens
The recently discovered Mycenaean palace at Ayios Vasileios offers valuable new information about the originsof early Mycenaean palatial architecture. One of the most significant finds of the past years is a large court that wassurrounded by unusually wide porticos. The structures at Ayios Vasileios belong to the earliest buildings of that scaleon the Greek mainland and mark the beginning of a new social environment in Lakonia with the establishment of anadministrative centre. For the construction of the court and the surrounding buildings, not only substantial manpowerbut also specialised knowledge was necessary. In this paper, we discuss the foundation techniques of the palace as apossible source of information for the building traditions of the engineers engaged with its construction. The designersof the palace were probably familiar not only with Cretan architecture but also with Cretan building methods andconstruction techniques and it is even possible that the large court was centrally located following the fashion of theMinoan palaces.
Keywords: Ayios Vasileios, Lakonia, foundation techniques, Mycenaean terraces, Minoan architecture
