Gla

Measurements: June 2002
Photos: June 7, 2002

*See "The Homeric Hyle" for new color diagrams and corrections.


The hill

The Gla hill is situated about 2.0 km SE of the modern village Kastro at the NE shore of the lake Kephisis (later Kopais) in Boeotia. The lake was drained around 1900, so the hill rises 25-40 m above the plain. Its shape is like a key or a pear and is about 850 m (West to East) amd 570 m (north to South).

The "Mycenaean" fortification around the hill is about 2650 m long. The polygonal walls are 4π MC (5.70 m) thick and have been built with large stones (now broken). In some places there were towers so the thickness there is greater.

The name of this important prehistoric city is unknown. The archaeologist Noack thought that it was the Homeric Arne. However, according to Stephanos Byzantios, Arne was the prehistoric name of Chaeronia, a city on the west side of this lake, west of Orchomenos.

Homer (Iliad 2, 500) mentions the most important Boeotian cities but none of them -except Hyle (Ύλη) fits in the NE end of the lake Kephisis. In Iliad (5, 708) he informs us that the hero Oresbios was living in the city Hyle next to the lake Kephisis. Although there is no proof, I believe that this acropolis is Hyle.

The first excavations on the hill were made by de Ridder (1894) and later by Threpsiades (1955-60) and Iacobides (1980-86). The large "Mycenaean" palace is built on the highest point and has two L-shaped wings with many rooms, corridors and sewers. The northern side is built over a precipice about 35 m above the plain.

The southern Gate

The walls of the Gate (ΑΔ and ΒΓ) are not exactly parallel, so the angle ΑΘΒ is not a right angle. AB is equal to the width of the lintel of the Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae.

There are two rooms for the guards on each side of the Gate. Both of them have the same width but the length of the one on the south side is twice its width.

General plan of the palace

The first part on the eastern side

The second part on the eastern side

The third part on the northern side

The north wall of this wing is built over a precipice about 35 m above the plain. There is a narrow path 1.5 m in width between the wall and the precipice, so it is easy to cross this side from H to K and Λ. The height of the wall above this path is 5-6 m. The NE corner at H is broken and most of the blocks have fallen down.

Although most thresholds are rectangular and their width is equal to the width of the walls, some of them have one of their sides rounded after the lines. The rounded part that is protruding is about 1 d lower than the rectangular part.

The fourth part

There are three thresholds between prodomos and domos without walls.

The perimeter of domos is 25π.

The Treasury of Minyas

Measurements: 18 May and 1 September 2002

Plan of the Treasury of Minyas.

Dromos. The walls of the dromos have been completely destroyed and it is impossible to measure its length and width.

Entrance. The width of the entrance on the threshold is 2.71 m (1.5 cm less than that of the Treasury of Atreus). Schliemann gives 2.71 m too. The arc is 1 cm greater, or 168 d (6 MC). This is three times the width of the threshold (3 x 56 d = 168 d).

Tholos. The length of each stone is given in d as it was measured in cm on the ground. I did not measure the bottom of the second row because it is about the same as the first one. At the corners B, B' of the entrance it seems that the curve of the tholos for the first three rows becomes greater instead of smaller. Then it turns towards the tholos and becomes gradually smaller. The circumference on the ground is about 2705 d, so the diameter is 861 d. According to Schliemann, the diameter is 13.84 m from South to North and 14.05 m from SW  to NE. The average is 13.945 m (or 860 d). I made three measurements of the diameter and found 866 d (14.045 m).

Detail of the corner of the entrance and the tholos.

Each block is different in size and the lines are not exactly parallel. The dashed lines show the points where other measurements were made for the height of two or three rows.

The length of the first block at B is 128 d (1 rod) in the entrance (top), or 3 times the height of the block (3:1).

The ceiling of the Burial Chamber

Taken on May 18, 2002

The entrance of the Treasury of Minyas

Tiryns - by Georg Karo

                                                                                                                       

Tiryns

Measurements: May 19, 2002  - "Metron Ariston" (2003, p. 39).
(See also "The acropolis of Tiryns" posted on 11 May 2012).
Tiryns is a very old city situated about 7 km East of Argos. It was founded in the precataclysmic period by the Pelasgian hero and king Tiryns, a descendant "son" of Argos, "son" of Zeus and Niobe. Later Proetus (or Proitos) became a king of Tiryns and put the Cyclops to build the cyclopean (megalithic) fortification around the acropolis. The hill is about 300 x 100 m.

The Megaron on the acropolis is rectangular and consists of three rooms:  aethousa (hall), prodomos (meaning "before domos" and domos (the king's room). Outside the walls the length is 1599 d (25.93 m) and the width 773 d (12.535 m). Inside the length is 1504 d, but the width is 611 d in the north wall of the domos and 597 d in the beggining of aethousa. (* There is an important reason for all these inequalities in ancient architecture).


We observe that they have used many integral numbers in MC.  The length of the domos is 26 MC (11.804 m) and is divided by the columns into three sections of 7, 12 and 7 MC. The doorposts are 2 MC and the openings 128 d (see the Treasury of Atreus, south wall). Also, the two diagonal lines meet at M (middle) at the beggining of domos.

The eastern side of the pyramid at Hellenikon, Argos, and the entrance.

Mycenae

The acropolis of Mycenae is under the mountain on the white hill near the center of this picture.

The fortification of the acropolis near the Gate of the Lions (24 April 2002).

The Treasury of Atreus.

Detail of the entrance of the Treasury and the gigantic lintel.

The Gate of the Lions.

The Treasury of Atreus (3)

7. Lintel, tholos and burial chamber


The chords mm' and nn' are equal to the radius of the tholos (Ro = 450.5 d).

We observe that if we extend the lines of the lintel in the tholos, the circle KS (R17) is inscribed in them (diameter 2KS = FF').

ON = 91.31 d, but Dd is 93.27 d because it is the hypotenus of a small triangle (see 4).

8. The entrance of the burial chamber.

 In the case of this entrance, we obseve that the lintel consists of two stones and that the length of the second near the antichamber is 66 d. This means that the joint is perpendicular to the walls. Most Mycenaean lintels consist of two or three blocks that have been cut "straight" so that their joints are always perpendicular to the walls. However, the huge lintel of the main entrance consists only of one stone (monolith).

The length of the lintel on the eastern wall (bottom) is equal to the height of the four rows and the length of the fourth row on the western wall
(157 d = 50π). The length of this lintel on the eastern wall (top) is equal to the length on the western wall (bottom).











The Gate of the Lions

From Henry Schliemann's book
Mycenae - London 1878.

The Treasury of Atreus

From Schliemann's book.