The remarkable disclosures at Troy encouraged Schliemann
to excavate other Homeric sites. At Mycenae, a prehistoric city of Argolis in
Greece, he laid bare six rock-hewn graves, containing the skeletons of nineteen
persons, men, women, and children. The faces of the dead had been covered with
thin masks of gold, and their bodies had been decked with gold diadems,
bracelets, and pendants. The other funeral offerings include gold rings, silver
vases, and a variety of bronze weapons. At Tiryns, once the capital of Argolis,
he uncovered the ruins of an extensive structure with gateways, open courts,
and closed apartments. Characteristic of this edifice were the separate
quarters occupied by men and women, the series of storerooms for provisions,
and such a modern convenience as a bathroom with pipes and drains. In short,
the palace at Tiryns gives us a clear and detailed picture of the home of a
Homeric prince.
EVANS'S EXCAVATIONS AT GNOSSUS
But the fame of even Schliemann's discoveries has been
somewhat dimmed by the excavations made since 1900 A.D. on the site of Gnossus,
the ancient capital of the island of Crete. At Gnossus an Englishman, Sir
Arthur Evans, has found the remains of an enormous palace, with numerous
courts, passages, and rooms. Here is the royal council chamber with the throne
on which the king once sat. Here are the royal magazines, still filled with
huge earthenware jars for the storage of provisions. A great number of
brilliant pictures—hunting scenes, landscapes, portraits of men and women—cover
the palace walls. Buried in some of the chambers were thousands of clay tablets
with inscriptions which, if ever read, will add new chapters to ancient
history.
