Listed 3 sub titles with search on: Archaeological sites for wider area of: "PYLOS Ancient city MESSINIA" .
PYLOS (Ancient city) MESSINIA
The palace of Nestoras, son of Neleas, was discovered and searched in 1939 by Konstantinos Kourouniotis and excavated by the American Karl Blegen and is found in the region «Eglianos» 4 km south of the borough of Chora. It is a piece of work dating back to the 13th century B.C. and was built by the Dynasty of Neliedon. It consists of five main buildings which take up such a large area that it can only be compared, in terms of size and arrangement of indoor space, to the palaces of Mycaenae and Tiryntha. In two small rooms of the central building there have been found 1250 signs with writing in Grammiki B, one of the oldest kinds of Greek writing, which has been decoded by the architect Michael Ventris, while in the rooms of Kylikeio and the storage rooms there have been found cups and pots and pans.
n an 80 m distance in the north of the palace, there has been found a magnificent domed tomb ascribed to Nestoras and his successor Thrasymides. The palace was destroyed by fire at the end of the ceramic of style IIIB (1200 B.C approximately), when the palaces of Mycaenae and Tiryntha were burnt down too, for unknown reasons. At the same time, in about 1120 B.C. the Dories descended in Messinia due to the weakening of the powerful Kingdoms of the area. The extended area around the hill of Eglianos which was taken up by the palace of Nestoras as well as the royal domed tomb has been formed and welcomes the visits of many tourists.
This text is cited Feb 2003 from the Messenia Prefecture Tourism Promotion Commission URL below, which contains image.
Region: Messenia
Periods: Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age
Type: Settlement
Summary: Mycenaean palace complex and traditional home of Nestor.
Physical Description:
Located near Navarino Bay and modern Pylos (close to village
of Khora) on the hill of Epano Englianos. The site compares in size and richness
with the palace of Mycenae and is believed to be the home of Nestor, the second
most powerful Mycenaean king. The palace consisted of two-storeyed buildings arranged
in three main blocks: the main building with a megaron hall (containing the throne),
propylon, archives (with hundreds of clay tablets preserved), magazines and private
chambers. The SW and NE blocks contained workshops, storerooms and private chambers.
The palace was apparently unfortified. Tholos tombs and a lower town are associated
with the palace.
Description:
The site was occupied at least as early as the Middle Bronze
Age. The Mycenaean palace (which seems to have replaced an earlier fortified palace)
was built near the end of the Late Bronze Age (LH IIIB, ca. 1300 B.C.) and shortly
thereafter the site was destroyed and abandoned. Pylos is the best preserved of
all the Mycenaean palaces and is especially important for the hundreds of Linear
B clay tablets found (accidentally preserved through baking in the fire that destroyed
the palace) at the site.
Exploration:
Site was explored in 1939. Excavations: 1952- C. Blegen
and Kourouniotis.
Donald R. Keller, ed.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 26 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!
