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Mycenaean Burial Customs and Rituals

Every culture has its own way of saying goodbye to loved ones, and for the Mycenaeans, this involved a highly structured series of rituals. The first step was the preparation of the body. The deceased was washed, anointed with perfumed oil, and wrapped in a white shroud. Wealthy individuals were adorned with elaborate jewellery, and sometimes a gold death mask was placed over their face.

Next came the prothesis. The deceased was laid out in their home for two days, giving relatives time to pay their respects. A bowl of water was kept outside the door so mourners could purify themselves from miasma, the religious pollution caused by contact with death.

The ekphora was the formal funeral procession to the burial site. Depending on their social status, the body was transported on a wagon or carried by pallbearers. Professional mourners and musicians playing the aulos often accompanied the procession.

At the tomb, participants poured libations—liquid offerings of wine, honey, or oil. Archaeologists have discovered smashed drinking cups at tomb entrances, suggesting a ritual where mourners drank and then shattered the vessels to ceremonially seal the grave. A funerary feast was also held, evidenced by animal bones and seashells, serving as a communal celebration of the deceased’s life.

Inhumation—burying the body intact—was the standard Mycenaean practice. Graves were often marked above ground by upright stone slabs called stelai. For men, these were often decorated with chariot racing or hunting scenes, whereas women's stelai were typically left plain.

Finally, the deceased was buried with grave goods intended for the afterlife or to project status. These included bronze weapons with gold inlay, terracotta figurines, and ritual drinking vessels called rhyta.

The Architecture of Cist and Shaft Graves

The type of grave a Mycenaean was buried in is a direct indicator of their social standing. Cist graves were the earliest and simplest type of burial. They were shallow rectangular pits lined with four stone slabs and covered by a single large stone roof. Because they were small, they were used for single burials, and the deceased had to be placed in a crouched or fetal position.

Feature	Grave Circle B	Grave Circle A
Date Built	1650–1550 BC (Older)	1600–1500 BC (Newer)
Location	Outside the original citadel walls	Originally outside, but enclosed inside the Lion Gate walls during the 13th-century BC extension
Size	28 m diameter	27.5 m diameter, surrounded by double stone slabs
Contents	14 shaft graves, 10-12 cist graves	6 shaft graves (19 bodies)
Wealth	High (amethyst seal stones, crystal vases)	Extreme (14 kg of gold, Mask of Agamemnon)

Students frequently assume that Grave Circle A is older because it has the letter 'A', but Grave Circle B is actually older (1650–1550 BC).

In 'evaluate' questions about tholos tombs, examiners expect you to explicitly link an architectural feature (like the relieving triangle) to its function (preventing the 120-ton lintel from collapsing).

When describing shaft graves, make sure to mention that the bodies were placed extended on their backs on a 'bed of pebbles', as this specific detail is often required in the mark scheme.

Remember that the 'Treasury of Atreus' is an example of a tholos tomb, not an actual treasury where gold was stored.

The formal laying out of a dead body in the home for mourning.

Religious pollution caused by contact with death, requiring purification.

The funerary procession carrying the deceased from the house to the grave.

A ritual pouring of a liquid, such as wine or honey, as an offering to the gods or the dead.

The practice of burying a dead body intact in the ground.

Upright stone slabs or pillars used as grave markers.

Items buried with the deceased to display status or assist them in the afterlife.

Small, shallow pits lined with stone slabs used for single, contracted burials.

Deep, narrow pits with a roofed chamber at the base used for multiple elite burials.

A raised mound of earth or stones covering a grave.

Monumental, high-status "beehive" shaped burial structures with a corbelled roof.

A long, ceremonial unroofed passageway leading to the entrance of a tomb.

The monumental entrance or doorway into a burial chamber.

An architectural technique where layers of stone are stacked increasingly inward to create a domed roof.

A large horizontal block of stone spanning across the top of a doorway.

A triangular space left above a lintel to divert weight away from the doorway.

Family tombs cut directly into the bedrock of a hillside.

The main rock-cut burial chamber inside a chamber tomb.