April 19, 2005
April 19 Photos: Katherine
Nkosi with two Late Roman bronze statues in the Pylos Museum. The statues probably represent the Dioskouroi.
Across the bay from Pylos lies the island of Sphakteria. In 425 BCE, during the Peloponnesian War, a Spartan force became trapped on the island during an engagement with the Athenians. The Spartan force was eventually forced into a very uncharacteristic move: surrender.
Professor Rutter points out layers of plaster sheathing around a column base in the propylon at the Palace of Nestor. A wooden column would have stood on the base, and the plaster would have helped protect it against rot.
Caleb stands next to a very low rectangular structure at the entrance to the megaron of the palace. This structure has been interpreted as a sentry post.
The back wall of the megaron, which separates this room from the oil magazines behind. The wall was constructed by pouring rubble and plaster into wooden molds, which were later removed. The spaces between these piers were filled with mud plaster, then the entire wall was plastered. This type of construction may be an indication of haste in building.
Abby examines the great hearth in the megaron. The painted flame pattern, which ringed the base of the hearth, is still faintly visible.
This room, near an entrance to the palace, functioned as a washroom or bathroom. The two pithoi, fixed in the corner, may have held hot and cold water for the larnax (tub).
Nkosi and Caleb stand in the entrance to Tholos Tomb IV at Epano Englianos, near the Palace of Nestor.
A reconstruction of the painted floor of the megaron at the Palace of Nestor in the museum at Chora. The floor was of plaster, painted to imitate stone. Only fragments survive. The irregularities of this floor, apparent in the lower portion of the reconstruction, are another indication that the palace was constructed quickly.
Laura and Caleb with a very large lidded pithos from the Palace of Nestor. The clay used to make this pot is very distinctive, and matches a pot found at Kommos, a site we visited on Crete. The clay for both pots may have come from the island of Kythera.
Hundreds of various kinds of drinking vessels were found in the “pantries” of the Palace of Nestor, including these one-handled cups in the museum at Chora.
Gold cups from a Mycenaean tholos tomb at Peristeria, in the Chora Museum.
The group peers into the ruins of a tholos tomb at Peristeria.
We examine the doorway of another, better-conserved tholos tomb at Peristeria.
On the hill built around the tomb, Neha gives human scale for the mostly reconstructed vault.
The view from Peristeria.
The ruins of the Temple of Demeter at Lepreon. At the far right, Peter crouches to get a better view of a column drum.
Jackie sits atop the wall at Lepreon. Tiles are piled in the foreground.
Neha, Caleb, and Laura pose next to a trench along a wall at Lepreon.
An attempted shortcut on the road from Lepreon was frustrated by this wall of cacti.