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Grave Circle A, Mycenae, c. 1600-1400 BC. Grave circle excavated by H. Schliemann and found to contain 13 cist graves bearing the remains and treasures of Mycenaean nobility (kings?). The Grave Circle A prodates Grave Circle B, found outside the walls of the citadel, yet predates the later Tholos Tombs, and seems to reflect the Homeric \tradition of the Mycenaean Atreid dynasty. Whoever the personnages of Grave Circle A were, the conservation of their tombs was deemed so important by the inhabitants of Mycenae in 1200-1100 BC, that they deliberately constructed the massive Cyclopean walls around the Grave Circle to include it within the defenses, even while abandoning Grave Circle B and the Tholos Tombs outside.
Mycenaean Death Mask. This mask was among the treasure trove of gold, ivory, and amber objects found by Heinrich Schliemann in the cist tombs of Grave Circle A at Mycenae, c. 1600 BC.
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