(Social) Place and Space in Early Mycenaean Greece, pp. 501-516, 2021/05/26
International Discussions in Mycenaean Archaeology
October 5–8, 2016, Athens
Through its remarkable finds the necropolis at Dendra, covering the periods LH IIB–IIIB, offers an eloquentpicture of the luxury possessed by the aristocracy up to the final phase of the early Mycenaean period. It is a time whenart and crafts shift away from the hitherto Minoan influences to create forms and symbols that are purely Mycenaean,in search of a new identity. Metalwork of an advanced workmanship, testifying to the presence of highly skilledcraftsmen, furnished the distinguished deceased in the necropolis. Craftsmen in the service of the elite seem to havecirculated between various areas of the Aegean and Cyprus, forming through their creations common codes between itsmembers. Being one of the few unplundered tholoi of the period, the Dendra tomb gathers most of those features thatbecame fashionable in art and crafts among the early Mycenaean elite. A re-evaluation of the grave goods can thereforeprovide the impetus for a discussion on the production, manufacture and trade of luxurious items, especially metalwork,at the threshold of the Mycenaean Palatial period.
Keywords: Dendra, warrior burials, metalwork, metal vessels, tholos tombs
