Tiryns

Question 1

Structure of Tiryns

Answer 1

• used to be on coast - good for farming
• build on a hill
• 300m long, 45m to 100m wide
• earliest buildings date from 2500 BC but the first Mycenaean phases of buildings occurred around 1400 BC
• 1300 BC the eastern gate was added as the city expanded and then the palace was built
• city further strengthens in 1200 BC with walls added to eastern side - Cyclopean walls

Question 2

Cyclopean ramp

Answer 2

• main approach to the walls was on the eastern side up a ramp
• size was 47m long and 4.7m wide -
• it allowed good access because it was long + therefore had a slow, gentle incline making it not too much of a physical draining walk
• makes it harder for attackers as not many (probably only 4) could fit in a row - designed for Defense

Question 3

The Gate

Answer 3

• 3m heigh and 3m wide (like Mycenae lion gate) with a wooden door
  Pivot holes can be seen and slots in the gate posts for a bar to lock the gate
• Dual gates

Question 4

What was the killing box?

Answer 4

• dual gates were used to trap attackers in a long, narrow passage between the two gates beyond the entrance
• this was idea, for defenders to hurl objects at attackers

Question 5

The Galleries

Answer 5

• series of enclosed rooms leading from a corbelled corridor
• provides shade, lower temperature - good storage rooms for things such as written records

Question 6

Palace

Answer 6

• built at highest point - upper city
• protected by defensive walls
• grand entrance leads to megaron
• east of the megaron was a small platform for the kings throne
• floor plastered with images of octopi and dolphins
• walls covered with frescoes depicting rich ladies and hunting scenes
• megaron surrounded by apartments and colonnades for rulers
• bathrooms with ploughed limestone floors with holes drilled for drainage

Question 7

Evolution of site

Answer 7

• 1250-1200 BC more people are moving inside walls - telling us they want to protect themselves, fear of attack
• Tiryns develop their site similar to the Mycenaeans
• the building of the palace shows the megaron was always the centre point and rooms were built around it

Question 8

Evidence of war

Answer 8

• large walls
• lots of small housing within walls