At the site of Iklaina,
excavations are revealing
new evidence of how the
Mycenaean state functioned
An aerial view of the site of
Iklaina near Pylos, Greece. (Courtesy of the Iklaina Project)
Pylos, in Greece's southwestern Peloponnese, is
known for its miles of soft sandy beaches, rocky
islets soaring out of the water marking the edges
of the Bay of Navarino, and the mountains that
cut it off from the rest of Greece. The surrounding
region, known as Messenia, is also home
to dozens of archaeological sites. Since the nineteenth century,
Messenia has attracted archaeologists hoping to uncover remains of Greece's Mycenaean age, the period from approximately
1650 to 1100 B.C., famous for such mythical sagas as the
Trojan War. Among them have been Heinrich Schliemann, who
came from Germany to search the area in vain to locate a royal
settlement, and American Carl Blegen, who excavated the Palace
of Nestor in Pylos in 1939. Fifteen years later, in 1954, Blegen's
colleague, Greek archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos, went hiking
in the hills above Pylos. There, near the small modern town of Iklaina, he came upon the remains of a structure with massive
walls, surrounded by large deposits of pottery. The Iklaina site
was overgrown with olive groves and the terrain was difficult to
traverse, but a brief trial excavation suggested the existence of
an important site. However, other work beckoned Marinatos
and it would remain buried for decades.
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Amanda Summer is an archaeologist and writer who lives in St. Louis, Missouri.