Archaeology meets mythology in Mycenean Pylos (King Nestor)

Science Codex ^ | Sep 10, 2009 | Unknown

[decimon]

Close-up of palace walls. Credit: University of Missouri-St.Louis

Pylos drain. Credit: University of Missouri-St Louis

Clearing thick brush from a mound at his archaeological dig site in Pylos, Greece, Michael Cosmopoulos found a real-life palace dating back to the mythical Trojan War.

The palace is from the Mycenaean period (1600-1100 B.C.), famous for such mythical sagas as the Trojan War. It is thought to sit within one of the capital cities of King Nestor, a personality featured in the legends of the war.

"We are thrilled, excited and fascinated at the prospect of continuing its excavation," said Cosmopoulos, the Hellenic Government-Karakas Family Foundation Endowed Professor in Greek Studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. "We have been searching for it since the dig started in 2006."

Other finds at the site include thousands of vases, frescoes, walls, figurines, drainage systems, offering tables and amulets.

"This is a unique site -- a place where archaeology meets ancient texts," Cosmopoulos said. "This discovery may change our perspective of how the first states were born. It appears that this was the seat of the chiefdom that was annexed by the earliest known state in Greece -- that of Mycenaean Pylos."

[decimon]

Ping

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Interesting. I'm reading Walter Burkert's Greek Religion right now, and he has a whole section devoted to the development of Minoan-Mycenaean religion prior to the Dark Age.

[pappyone]

Wow! Those guys had some funky looking arrows back then.

[Dysart]

Indeed. Makes me quiver thinking about it.

[Verginius Rufus]

This dig is at Iklaina, not at Pylos itself—the palace at Pylos was discovered as long ago as 1939.

[pappyone]

nooooooooo!

[texmexis best]

Your comment makes me want to bolt this thread!

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

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[decimon]

So Who Is Buried in Midas's Tomb?

Grant?

[SunkenCiv]

I was watching an episode (there are over 500 of them) of Groucho’s “You Bet Your Life”, on which he did the “Grant’s tomb” joke many times. One of the contestants turned out to be one of Grant’s descendants. :’)

[stefanbatory]

and these are the same people as the Danites according to the naked guy on the History Channel, right?

[SunkenCiv]

Naked guy? Are you *sure* it was the History Channel?!? ;')

Anyway, dunno who that is, or what he said, but A) not to be a prude, but he should put on some clothes, and B) the Danaans of Greece were not the same as the Tribe of Dan / Danites, neither were they the same as the Tuatha de Danaan of Irish mythology. I believe I've seen both of those claimed in print at least once, but it has been a while.

In his Exodus crockumentary, Jacobovici made a half-assed effort to link the Mycenaean Greeks to the events of the Exodus by equating a carving on a M.Greek artifact with the Ark of the Covenant. Seriously, it's pretty interesting viewing, I put it in the player this morning intending to watch it tonight, before I read any of this thread. But it's best with a healthy side of natron.

---

History Channel:
Exodus Decoded
host Simcha Jacobovici,
narrator James Cameron
my Amazon review

---

[TheOldLady]

Well, I’m not going to fletch away from it.

[SunkenCiv]

whoops, my Amazon review (other was a bad link, bad, bad link).

[SunkenCiv]

I’m sure there will be some interesting tips in this topic, and that many good points.

[P.O.E.]

Notchurally.

[stefanbatory]

the puns have recurved back to the beginning, it would seem...

[stefanbatory]

yeah...that’s the guy...the naked archaeologist...