Nikon D7200, 12-24mm f/4G lens @12mm f/8, aperture priority. Minor edit in post for contrast, saturation, and shadow detail. |
"The site of Mycenae was the first in Greece to be subjected to modern archaeological excavation. It was excavated by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1876. Schliemann, inspired by Homer's descriptions in the Iliad, in which Mycenae is termed 'abounding in gold', began digging there. He was also following the accounts of the ancient geographer Pausanias who, during the 2nd century AD, described the once prosperous site and mentioned that according to a local tradition, the graves of Agamemnon and his followers, including his charioteer Eurymedon and the two children of Cassandra, were buried within the citadel. What Schliemann discovered in his excavation satisfied both his opinion of Homer's historical accuracy and his craving for valuable treasures. Among the objects he unearthed in Grave Circle A was a series of gold death masks, including one he proclaimed "The Death Mask of Agamemnon". Schliemann cleared five shafts and recognized them as the graves mentioned by Pausanias. He stopped his exploration after the fifth grave was explored, believing that he had finished excavating the Grave Circle, however a year later Panagiotis Stamatakis found a sixth shaft grave. "It has since been demonstrated that the burials in Grave Circle A date from 16th century BC, before the traditional time of the Trojan War (13th-12th century BC), in which Agamemnon is supposed to have participated." — "Grave Circle A, Mycenae", Wikipedia |
