Scientia: Research at the University of Tennessee
Mycenaean Mystery
By ZOË HOYLE
The ancient Mycenaeans erected elaborate palaces and created one of the world's first written languages before vanishing mysteriously into the Greek dark ages; clues to their decline may be cast in the metals that name their era
No one knows for sure what brought the Bronze Age—and the Mycenaean culture—to an end in Greece. It might have been the fabled Trojan War or internal revolts by a dissatisfied underclass. Or it could have been invaders from the North carrying weapons made from an innovative material, iron.
Now in its third year, the Mitrou Archaeological Project, co-directed by University of Tennessee classics professor Aleydis Van de Moortel and Greek archaeologist Eleni Zahou, is providing new clues to the rise and fall of the sophisticated culture of the Mycenaeans, who left behind grand palaces, ornately decorated pottery, gold and bronze jewelry, one of the first written languages, and an essential mystery regarding their fall. We do know that around 1200 b.c.e., palaces were destroyed, and the Mycenaean elite left for parts unknown. The Greek dark age then began, lasting through the 11th and into the early 10th century b.c.e., a period that even the Greek historian Thucydides seemed to know little about.
"We know that high-quality goods ceased to be made, monumental architecture stopped, and areas were depopulated," says Van de Moortel. "Mitrou is providing us with unique information about this transition period between the Bronze and Iron ages."
The Advantage of Isolation
Van de Moortel was introduced to Mitrou about 6 years ago by John Coleman, a Cornell University professor of classics who still excavates extensively in the area. Coleman had done enough surveys to be intrigued by the Mitrou site but was too busy to start another excavation.
To reach the island of Mitrou (which is actually a peninsula), Van de Moortel and Coleman waded about 30 yards through the North Euboean Gulf, which curves into the central Greek mainland. As they neared the islet, Van de Moortel made a momentous observation. "We waded out to this flat little island that had no buildings, just dusty grain fields and olive groves," she says. "As we got closer, I could literally see layers from different eras of occupation in the eroded shoreline. I immediately knew that this island had tremendous potential."
Centuries of isolation have made Mitrou a unique site for studying the rise and fall of Mycenaean culture. Though strategically located on both land and sea routes between northern and southern Greece, the island was abandoned around the 10th century b.c.e. and never reoccupied, except briefly by the Romans sometime later. "We are very fortunate. Almost all the other sites from this period were eventually reoccupied, with layers of new construction destroying traces of older buildings," says Van de Moortel. But "people in the area stopped living on the coast because of pirates, and the area has remained off the beaten track in modern times."
Many of the Mycenaean sites excavated elsewhere show evidence of abandonment soon after the destruction of the palaces, with only small groups of stragglers occupying them during the dark-age centuries. Mitrou, however, is different. Findings from Van de Moortel's project confirm that it was not abandoned at the beginning of the dark age. "Unlike most of the sites in southern Greece, where there was a definite disruption in occupation, Mitrou shows evidence of continued occupancy, with the orientation and location of houses not changing much," says Van de Moortel. "This continuity allows us to gain clearer insight into what happened during the transition period from the 12th to the 9th century b.c.e."
The Iron Age Dawns
When Van de Moortel joined the UT Department of Classics in fall 2002, she immediately started planning for the Mitrou excavation. Her first field season was in summer 2004, together with Greek project leader Eleni Zahou and a team of 50 people from more than 11 countries. Two researchers from the UT Department of Anthropology—physical anthropologist Susan Frankenberg and GIS specialist Nick Hermann—have participated in the project from its beginning. Students enrolled in a basic field school play an integral part in both surveys and excavations.
The team started excavation in the abandoned grain fields that cover a third of the 9-acre island. In the first season, they uncovered two buildings from the Early Iron Age period, one built inside the other. "We really don't know what these buildings were used for," Van de Moortel says. "We've excavated one of them, and we've found a lot of pottery and animal remains, as if people were feasting. The evidence is so flimsy that we can't positively identify their use, but we are certain that they weren't normal houses."
Near the buildings, the team found an Early Iron Age burial site containing the graves of nine children, which Frankenberg continues to excavate and analyze. Artifacts from the buildings include spindle whorls and loom weights, a jar of animal bones, and a bronze ring whose size suggests it belonged to a man. "One of the most beautiful objects we found is a small seal made of steatite, a soft material like soapstone," says Van der Moortel. "It is shaped like a [huge] lentil seed, about an inch in width, and it has a bull carved into it."
In 2005, the team surveyed the area covered by olive groves—roughly two-thirds of the island. It found a completely preserved complex of buildings from an earlier Bronze Age period, when the Mycenaean elite were just forming. This is a unique find, because nothing was ever built on top of it. When the team members excavate this new site, they hope to discover more about the rise of the elite class and the basis of their power. For now they'll have to speculate—the excavation will have to wait until the land is purchased from local owners.
During the field season, which usually lasts about 6 weeks, students and team members all stay in the nearby village of Tragan, whose 800 inhabitants eagerly await their return. "As in many remote villages in Greece, the young people leave for Athens as soon as they can," says Van de Moortel. "For the villagers, when our team arrives, it's like having their young people back for a while."
Collaboration is Key
The Mitrou Archaeology Project is a joint undertaking of the UT Department of Classics, Cornell University, and the Greek Archaeological Survey. The first two seasons of excavation have included participants from more than 20 institutions. Students from UT and other universities have participated in beginning field schools held as part of the project.
In summer 2005, Frankenberg started an advanced field school focused on mortuary archaeology, and it has attracted students from all over the world. Denver Graninger, a new UT assistant professor in classics, also joined the summer 2006 field school, which included some 20 students and 40 staff members.
Funding for the Mitrou excavations has come from the Institute of Aegean Prehistory, the Loeb Classical Library Foundation, the Lamia Ephorate, Cornell University, Colby College, UT, and private donors. "Our purpose is to reconstruct the Bronze Age and early Iron Age landscape of Mitrou and determine the part it played in the movement of goods, ideas, and people between northern and southern Greece," says Van de Moortel. "In the next few years, we will start looking underwater for harbor buildings and ships."
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For more information, contact Aleydis Van Moortel at (865) 974-8279 or e-mail avdm@utk.edu or visit the Mitrou Web site at www.mitrou.org.