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The Archaeological Site of Mycenae is located on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece. During the Late Bronze Age,1700-1100 BC, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilisation. Mycenae is mentioned by the epic poet Homer in both the Iliad and the Odyssey. Many experts and scholars did not think Mycenae really existed until the city was discovered by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1870. Schliemann started the complete excavations at Mycenae in 1874. Mycenae flourished roughly from 1700 BC-1100 BC. The Citadel of Mycenae was surrounded by a cyclopean wall made of enormous limestone boulders. Later Ancient Greeks believed that the wall was made by Cyclops, a race of one-eyed giants. The Lions Gate was the main entrance to the Citadel of Mycenae. Just like the Acropolis of Athens and the Hill Fort of Tiryns, Mycenae had its own underground water supply which could be used during a siege. The famous tholos known as the Treasury of Atreus dates from the 14th century BC. The Treasury of Atreus is also known as the Tomb of Agamemnon. Agamemnon was the legendary King of Mycenae, and the commander of the Greek forces in the Trojan War. The tomb is not the burial site of Atreus or Agamemnon, it is more likely the tomb of a ruler from an earlier period. The Mycenae Archaeological Museum is situated on the Archaeological Site of Mycenae. The museum houses artifacts found during the excavations at the Late Bronze Age city of Mycenae, many objects were brought to the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Mycenae is part of the UNESCO World Heritage: Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns. The Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1999.

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   Archaeological Site of Mycenae: The Treasury of Atreus on Panagitsa Hill at Ancien Mycenae dates from approximately the 14th century BC. A 36 metres long path leads to the entrance of the a tholos, a beehive shaped tomb. Above the entrance is a triangle air intake. The lintel stone above the doorway weighs about 120 tons. The Treasury of Atreus is 13.5 metres high and has a diameter of 14.5 metres. The tholos is also known as the Tomb of Agamemnon. The tomb is not the burial site of Atreus or Agamemnon, but probably the tomb of a ruler from an earlier period.

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   Archaeological Site of Mycenae: The Lion Gate was the main entrance to the fortified Citadel of Mycenae. The gate was built around 1300 BC and is known for its imposing sculpted lions above the entrance. The gate was already excavated and restored in 1841 by the Greek archaeologist Kyriakos Pittakis. The German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann started excavations at Mycenae in 1874, he hoped to find the grave of Agamemnon, the legendary king of Mycenae. Mycenae had at least two entrances, the Lion Gate and North Gate, a secondary gate.

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   Archaeological Site of Mycenae: The roof of the tholos tomb of Aegisthus collapsed a long time ago. The tholos tomb of Aegisthus (or Aigisthos) is one of the earliest tombs of Mycenae, it was built in the 15th century BC outside the walls of Mycenae. Nine royal tombs were built around Mycenae in the 15th and 14th centuries BC. The most imposing are the Treasury of Atreus and the Tomb of Clytemnestra. A tholos is a domed tomb in the shape of a beehive. Archaeological Mycenae is part of the UNESCO World Heritage: Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns. 

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   Archaeological Site of Mycenae: The remains of the Tholos Tomb of Aegisthus, the tholos tomb is dated from about 1470 BC. Aegisthus, also known as Aigisthos, was the lover of Clytemnestra, Queen Consort of Agamemnon. Agamemnon was the king of Mycenae and the commander of the Greek army in the Trojan War, a legendary conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans in the 12th or 13th century BC. The tholoi (plural of tholos) were the imposing burial vaults for the upper class of Mycenae. The tholoi are situated outside the citadel of Mycenae.

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   Archaeological Site of Mycenae: Air intake above the entrance of the Tomb of Clytemnestra. The Tomb of Clytemnestra is one of the later tholos tombs of Mycenae, the tholos was built between 1300 and 1220 BC. Clytemnestra was the Queen Consort of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae. Although known as the Tomb of Clytemnestra, archaeologists are not convinced if this is the real tomb of Clytemnestra, it is believed so because of the gold jewelry found inside the tholos tomb. Queen Clytemnestra was a princess from Sparta and the sister of Helen of Troy.

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   Archaeological Site of Mycenae: View of the lower city from the Citadel of Mycenae. Mycenae is situated on the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece, situated on the top of a hill overlooking the fertile plains of Argolis. The remains of Mycenae are surrounded by olive groves. Olive oil was an important product during the Mycenaean period, the Greek poet Homer referred to olive oil as 'liquid gold' and Hippocrates, the father of medicine, called olive oil the 'great healer'. After his initial excavations in Troy, Heinrich Schliemann started his excavations at Mycenae in 1874.

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   Archaeological Site of Mycenae: The secret passage to an underground cistern, the entrance has a typical triangular shape. A steep stairway leads down to a small basin which was supplied with fresh water from the Perseia Spring, it was was named after the legendary founder of Mycenae, King Perseus. The Citadel of Mycenae had its own water supply, this was critically important for survival during a siege. The cistern is located nearby the undecorated Postern Gate or the North Gate, a secondary entrance to Mycenae.

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   Archaeological Site of Mycenae: The roof of this tholos collapsed ages ago. Mycenaeans buried their deceased nobles in large beehive-shaped tombs, called tholos tombs. Tholos tombs were huge circular stone structures with a conical roof. For centuries, the tholoi were buried under a thick layer of sand,  which helped to preserve the tombs very well. Mycenae is mentioned by the poet Homer in his great epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey. The German adventurer Schliemann was inspired by the writings of Homer and started excavations at Mycenae in 1874.

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   Archaeological Site of Mycenae: The interior of the impressive tomb of the Treasury of Atreus. The Treasury of Atreus is a tholos tomb, a circular beehive-shaped structure built of stones, the top of the tholos was closed with a single stone. The huge structure was covered by a thick layer of earth. The tholos tombs of Mycenae were built without the use of mortar or other binding materials. Archaeological Mycenae is part of the UNESCO World Heritage: Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns.

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    Archaeological Site of Mycenae: The walled enclosure contains six shaft graves, where nineteen bodies were buried. The shaft graves were excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876. Among the found objects were gold death masks, one of the masks became known as the 'Death Mask of Agamemnon', the mask adorned one of the bodies in Grave V, one of the royal shaft graves. It is one of the five discovered masks in Mycenae. The 'Death Mask of Agamemnon' is one of the most famous artifacts from the Greek Bronze Age. Mycenae dates from 1700 BC to 1100 BC.

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    Archaeological Site of Mycenae: The gold 'Death Mask of Agamemnon', King of Mycenae, is one of the great artifacts from the Greek Bronze Age. The original mask is on display in the National Archaeological Museum Athens, a replica is on display at the Archaeological Museum of Ancient Mycenae. The museum houses several artifacts that were found during the excavations at the Archaeological Site of Mycenae. The Greek poet Homer described the city as: 'Mycenae, rich in gold'. The Mycenae Archaeological Museum is located at the entrance of the archaeological site.

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    Mycenae dominated the Peloponnese, a peninsula in southern Greece. The Citadel of Mycenae was a military stronghold. Just like Tiryns, the citadel was surrounded by a cyclopean wall made of huge limestone boulders, the ancient Greeks believed that the wall was made by Cyclops, the cyclopean walls were most characteristic for the Mycenaean architecture. Only the upper class inhabited the Citadel of Mycenae, the ordinary people lived outside the cyclopean wall. During the Late Bronze Age, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilisation.