Presented By: Classical Studies
Construction and Political Dynamics
The Relationship between Mycenae and Tiryns in the Late Bronze Age
Presented by: Nicholas G. Blackwell, Assistant Professor of Classical Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington
Exactly how Mycenae and Tiryns interacted during the Late Bronze Age has intrigued scholars and the public alike ever since Heinrich Schliemann excavated both citadels in the late nineteenth century. Because preserved Linear B records from the Argolid are sparse, the region’s administrative and hierarchical organization remains uncertain, and debates about political structures—both within the Argolid and across the Mycenaean world—persist. The close proximity of these two major palatial centers is especially challenging to explain. Were they independent rivals, part of a localized Argolid kingdom dominated by one site, or integrated elements of a single Mycenaean polity spanning the Aegean?
This talk approaches these questions from a stoneworking and architectural perspective, focusing on evidence from the late fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE. I argue that distinct technological and stoneworking parallels between the sites point to episodes of meaningful collaboration. Moreover, I propose that this craft—and likely political—relationship evolved over time. Although Mycenae is often assumed to have asserted regional hegemony by the early fourteenth century, unequivocal evidence for its direct involvement in construction at Tiryns appears only by the mid-thirteenth century. This development coincides with major architectural changes at Mycenae that signal sociopolitical transformations at the site and potentially across the region. My analysis offers a fresh perspective on the shifting dynamics of the Argolid at the height of Mycenaean power.
Nicholas G. Blackwell is Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. His research investigates the archaeology, art, and architecture of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean during the Bronze Age, with particular emphasis on stoneworking, tools, metallurgy, technology, and cross-cultural exchange. He is the author of the forthcoming book Architecture and Politics in Mycenaean Greece: Stoneworking, Labor, and Political Ties in the Late Bronze Age (Cambridge University Press, 2026).
Exactly how Mycenae and Tiryns interacted during the Late Bronze Age has intrigued scholars and the public alike ever since Heinrich Schliemann excavated both citadels in the late nineteenth century. Because preserved Linear B records from the Argolid are sparse, the region’s administrative and hierarchical organization remains uncertain, and debates about political structures—both within the Argolid and across the Mycenaean world—persist. The close proximity of these two major palatial centers is especially challenging to explain. Were they independent rivals, part of a localized Argolid kingdom dominated by one site, or integrated elements of a single Mycenaean polity spanning the Aegean?
This talk approaches these questions from a stoneworking and architectural perspective, focusing on evidence from the late fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE. I argue that distinct technological and stoneworking parallels between the sites point to episodes of meaningful collaboration. Moreover, I propose that this craft—and likely political—relationship evolved over time. Although Mycenae is often assumed to have asserted regional hegemony by the early fourteenth century, unequivocal evidence for its direct involvement in construction at Tiryns appears only by the mid-thirteenth century. This development coincides with major architectural changes at Mycenae that signal sociopolitical transformations at the site and potentially across the region. My analysis offers a fresh perspective on the shifting dynamics of the Argolid at the height of Mycenaean power.
Nicholas G. Blackwell is Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. His research investigates the archaeology, art, and architecture of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean during the Bronze Age, with particular emphasis on stoneworking, tools, metallurgy, technology, and cross-cultural exchange. He is the author of the forthcoming book Architecture and Politics in Mycenaean Greece: Stoneworking, Labor, and Political Ties in the Late Bronze Age (Cambridge University Press, 2026).
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