Selected Diagnostic Pottery From Destruction Deposits on the Citadel of Mycenae: Building Kappa

Abstract

This study presents a preliminary examination of the pottery from Building Kappa, a recently excavated building on the citadel of Mycenae. Resulting from a formal detailed analysis of a portion of the recovered ceramic assemblage, this research corrects several errors recorded in notebooks at the time of excavation before the pottery was washed and studied. The excavated area of Building Kappa contained three different levels: Stratum 4/6, a deposit associated with the structure that shows it went out of use in the LH IIIB period; Level 3, a deposit consisting of baulks left unexcavated by early expeditions in the 1890's, which consists of an LH IIIC level from habitation near this area after the building went out of use; and Deposit 2beta, a modern backfill containing both Bronze Age and Hellenistic pottery that was spread across the site in modern times. The importance of the study is that it clarifies the stratigraphy of the area of Building Kappa and allows preliminary observations about the nature of the occupation at this location. More importantly, this research indicates the need for a more detailed examination of the remainder of the unstudied ceramic assemblage.