The Mycenaean culture was alive in the Bronze Age. There were certain graves accustomed to this period. Most burials were located outside the residential quarter, with a few exceptions. The earliest kinds of graves utilized were the pit and cist graves. Later, the culture moved on to shaft graves. This grave type appeared in the Late Helladic period. The typical kind of shaft grave, Grave Circle A, will be discussed later.

A shaft grave is similar to a cist grave, but enlarged. They would be several feet deep from the ground surface, and roofed with timber, twigs, or waterproofed clay. Sometimes even covered simply by large slabs. The rest was filled with earth. An outline of stones would mark the grave. These shaft graves, where the early rulers were buried, would be found in grave circles.

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This site was last updated 05/03/11