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BURIALS UPON THE RUINS OF ABANDONED HOUSES IN THE MIDDLE HELLADIC ARGOLID*

Eleni MILKA

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RESUME

Sl2PULTURES Dr\.NS LES RUINES DE iYU\ISONS ABANDONNImS EN ARGOLIDE MESOHELLADIQUE

Les sepultures EM decouvertes en Argolide sont generalement classees en deux categories: a) dans I'habitat, b) hors de l'habitat. Pourtant, nombre d' entre elles n ' etaient pas situees hors de I 'habitatni non plus contemporaines des maisons dans lesqueIIes elles furent creusees. Tout indique plutot qu 'elles furent amenagees dans des maisons en ruines. L' exemple le plus caracteristique est celui du cimetiere du mont Barbouna it Asine : d' abord situe hors de I'habitat, iI setendit jusqu 'aux maisons lorsque celles-ci furent abandonnees. A Leme en revanche. on observe un autre modele: des tombes furent creusees dans les ruines de maisons plus anciennes, puis recouvertes ulterieurernent par de nouvelles maisons. Sur ce dernier site, on vit done it plusieurs reprises des maisons construites, puis detruites et abandonnees, puis des tombes creusees it I'Interieur,

II apparait done clairement que I' opposition binaire entre sepultures it l'Interieur et a I' exterieur de l'habitat ne suffit pas pour rendre compte de la variete des emplacements choisis par les populations EM pour y enterrer leurs morts. On se propose, dans cet article, d' etudier de plus pres Ie contexte des tombes, leur relation avec les maisons, et de determiner combien de tombes HM sont, en Argolide, reellernent contemporaines des maisons dans lesquelles elles furent creusees.

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1. INTRODUCTION

The basic distinction when referring to Middle Helladic burials is between intramural and extramural burials i.e. burials that were situated inside or outside the settlement. However, the actual relation between graves and houses or between cemeteries and settlements is often unclear.

The following questions arise: Were the intramural burials earlier, contemporary or later than the associated houses? Were the extramural burials opened in a previously uninhabited area or upon an abandoned part of the settlement? If the location of the graves has a special significance, and if it is important for our understanding of the Middle Helladic society and of burial ideology of this period, then a more accurate description of the burial place is necessary.

In this article I shall look more closely at the context of the graves and their relation to houses. I shall argue that only a few of the excavated graves in the Argolid were contemporary with the associated houses and even fewer were actually opened inside houses when the houses were still in use.

In order to demonstrate this, three case studies will be used here: the burials in the Barbouna slope in Asine, the burials in the southeast sector in Aspis in Argos and the burials in Area BE in Lerna.

2. BARBOUNA IN ASINE

The Barbouna slope in Asine was first occupied during the later part of the Middle Helladic period.' The only graves contemporary with houses found so far were placed in a terrace above the houses, forming a formal burial place (Graves: BG, B7, Bi1, B12, B15) (Fig. 1). When the houses (Building 1 and Building 2) were destroyed and abandoned in the later part of the MH III period

I would like to thank the conference organizers. Mrs. A. Philippa-Touchais, Prof. G. Touchais, Dr. S. Voutsaki and Prof. ]. Wright for giving me the opportunity to present part of my work. I am extremely grateful to Dr. C. Zerner, Prof. G. Nordquist. Prof. G. Touchais and Mrs A. Phillippa-Touchais for giving me access to unpublished material and discussing the grave context with me.

1. 1. HAGG, R. HAGG (eds.), Excavations in the Barbouna Area at Asine 1 (1973); G. C. NORDQUIST, "Floor Deposits on the Barbouna Slope at Asine", Hydra! (1985), p. 19-29; NORDQUIST, MH Village; R. HAGG, G. C. NORDQUIST, "Excavations in the Levendis Sector at Asine, 1989. A Preliminary

*

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the cemetery expanded over their ruins. Two shaft graves CB30, B32-34) and six more tombs (B18, B28, B26, B30, B33, B35) were opened upon Building 2 (Fig. 2). At least two more graves (Alpha and Beta) were opened upon the partially excavated Building 1. The area was used as a burial place until the LH I period and was not inhabited again until the later Mycenaean period.

Barbouna was the first site where the practice of burying upon abandoned settlement or part of the settlement was clearly demonstrated. Actually, the burial use of abandoned parts of the settlement during the last part of the Middle Helladic period and the LH I period has been suggested also for Lerna,' where no houses contemporary with or slightly earlier than the two shaft graves have been found so far. In addition, the same phenomenon was observed in the south sector of the city of Argos where the MH I and MH II settlement was abandoned and MH III graves were opened upon its ruins.' Furthermore, Nordquist mentions graves in the Lower Town of Asine that were opened in areas of the settlement which were not used for habitation at the time of burial." Maran, based primarily on the data from Pefkakia in Thessaly, argued that the shift from habitation to burial use during the Shaft Grave era was a wide spread phenomenon, covering a large area from Thessaly to at least the Northeastern Peloponnese.'

Consequently, the later burials in Barbouna, although found side by side with houses, can not be characterized as intramural, since the houses were not in use anymore when the graves were dug. On the other hand, if we simply characterize them as extramural we obscure the shift in the use of space from habitation to burial.

Report", OpAth 19 (1992), p. 59-66; G. C. NORDQlJIST, "Intra- and Extramural, Single and Collective Burials in the Middle and Late Helladic Periods", in B. WELLS (ed.), New Research on Old Material from Asine and Berbati (2002), p, 23-29; ead., The Middle Helladic Finds from the Barbouna Slope at Asine, The Excavations 1973-74 and 1989, unpublished manuscript (n.d.); cad" Work in the Barbouna Sector at Asine:Field Report 1989, unpublished manuscript (n.d.); end" Excavations in Area II 1973-1974 [Barbouna], unpublished manuscript (n.d.); Y. BACKE-FORSBERG, G. C. NORDQUIST, Excavations in Area III 1973-1974 [Barboima]. unpublished manuscript (n.d.),

2, DIETZ, Argolid, p, 275, 285.

3. G. TOUCHAIS, "Argos a I'epoque mesohelladique: un habitat ou des habitats?", in Argos golide, p. 71-84,

4. NORDQUIST, MH Village, p. 9'1.

5. J. MARAN, "Structural Changes in the Pattern of Settlement during the Shaft Grave Period on the Greek Mainland", in Poliieia, P: 67-72.

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EJeni JVULKA

3. ASPIS IN ARGOS

Let me now turn to Aspis in Argos and discuss another, perhaps more predictable pattern. In the southeast sector of Aspis 13 burials have been found side by side with MH IlIA and MH IIIB houses (Fig. 3).6 Most of them fit well into the expected pattern for Middle Helladic burials: they were placed under the house floor of contemporary houses (graves TA7, TA8, TAW) or, more often, they clustered in areas between the houses. Some of these graves may have been contemporary with the earlier MH IlIA houses (graves TA3, TA6, TA9, TAl1- 12, TA13), while fewer were contemporary with the later MH IIIB houses (graves TA4. TA5).

However, grave TA1, a cist grave of a probably female adult (actually the only built cist grave in Aspis), pre-dates the MH lIIB House ME, as it was found under the west wall, and it was cut through the floor of the MH IlIA House MA. Although, according to the excavators,' a phase of abandonment does not seem to exist between the two houses, it should be stressed that finding an adult cist grave under a house floor is rather unusual. Furthermore, the exact level from which the grave was opened was not possible to observe, since the wall was constructed on top of it. It could thus be suggested that a short. intermediate phase between the two architectural phases existed, during which the grave was opened. Actually, Dietz has already suggested that this grave post-dated the apsidal house MA, because he dated the cup found in the grave in the MH lIIB period."

To sum up: in Aspis typical intramural burials under the house floor or between the houses have been found. However, it is possible that an intermediate burial phase also existed between the habitation phases. This brings me to the last site I will discuss here, Lerna.

6. G. TOUCHAlS, preliminary reports on Aspis excavations in BCH 99 ('1975). p. 707-708; 100 (1976), p. 755-758; 102 (1978), p. 798-802; 104 (1980), p. 698-699; 108 (1984), p. 850-852; 114 (1990), p. 872-873; 115 (1991), p. 682-686.

7. A. Phillipa-Touchais, G. Touchais pers. comm.

8. DIETZ, Argolid, p. 284.

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4. AREA BE IN LERNA

In contrast with Barbouna and Aspis, where only late graves and houses have been found, in Lerna tombs dating from the beginning of the Middle Helladic period until the later part of the LH I period have been found among the houses." The main question then is whether all burials at Lerna should be characterized as intramural or whether they follow one of the patterns described above.

As we have already seen, it has been suggested that during the MH IIIB and the LH I periods the site was exclusively used as burial ground.'? More precisely, the graves were placed upon abandoned houses, as in the case of Barbouna in Asine. This suggestion seems to hold true for the graves of the latest phase, as no houses contemporary with them have been found so far.

At the same time, however, a systematic examination of the preliminary reports and the preliminary publications supplemented with the revised dating of the gravesll revealed that already in the MH II period some graves post-dated the houses in which they were dug (e.g. grave A12 upon House Q; grave BE 30 upon Room 45). In the absence of a published plan showing both houses and burials in each sub-phase, a more detailed analysis based on the preliminary information alone could not be undertaken.

After extensive discussions with Dr. C. Zerner and consultation of the unpublished plans showing the relation between houses and graves in three important excavation areas -namely areas BE, DE and D (Fig. 4J- a new pattern emerged concerning the relation between houses and graves. Here, because of space restrictions, I will concentrate only on one excavated area, Area BE. I should stress however that the same general picture is observed in the other two areas as well.

During the transitional EH III/MH I period two apsidal houses, House 6SA and House 99E, were erected next to each other (Fig. 5). No graves were associated with these houses. Both houses were rebuilt at least once before they were

9. J. L. CASKEY, preliminary reports on Lerna excavations in Hesperia 23 (1954) p. 3-30; 24 (1955) p. 25-49; 25 (1956), p. 1!,7-'173; 26 (1957) p. 142-162; 27 (1958) p. 125-144; E. C. BANKS, The Early and Middle Helladic Objects from Lerna, PhD thesis, University of Cincinnati (1967); E. T. BLACKBURN, Middle Helladic Graves and Burial Customs with Special Reference to Lema in the Argolid, PhD thesis, University of Cincinnati (1970); ZERNER, Beginning.

10. DIETZ, Argolid, p. 275, 285.

'11. Kindly provided by Dr. C. Zerner.

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Eleni MILl0\

replaced in the late MH I period by the apsidal House 9SA, in which Rooms 44 and 45 and a courtyard were incorporated. Only one grave (BE2S: pit, neonate), which was opened in the courtyard area. may have been contemporary with this house complex.

After the destruction of the house complex by fire during the MH II period, a number of graves were opened upon its ruins (BE22, BE23, BE24, BE25, BE26, BE27, BE29, BE30, BE31) (Fig. 6). Actually, the area was used exclusively for burials from the middle part of the MH II period until the transition to the MH III period.

During the transition from the MH II to the MH III period, House 100 was erected on top of the earlier graves. Again, no tombs contemporary with the house were found. After the house was destroyed, tombs dating from the late MH III period were opened upon the ruins (BE5, BE9, BE10, BEll, BE12, BE15?, BE17, BE19?, BE20) (Fig. 7).

Finally, during the transitional MH III/LH I period Room 3 and Room 5 were built west of the former graves. This is the last building activity observed in this area. Although a couple of graves may have been contemporary with these two rooms (graves that cannot be dated accurately), most of the associated tombs date from the LH I period and postdate the rooms (BE2, BE3, BE4, BE6, BE7, BES, BE13, BE14, BE16) (Fig. 8).

We see, therefore, that in three important areas of the settlement a new practice was introduced during the MH II period: graves were opened upon ruins of earlier houses and these graves were later overbuilt by new houses. This pattern is quite different from what happened on the Aspis slope, in the north sector of the city of Argos, where the settlement expanded over an earlier burial ground." In Lerna there were successive horizons of house construction, house destruction and abandonment, and construction of graves.

It becomes therefore obvious that the general characterization of all burials at Lerna as intramural is neither sufficient nor accurate. I would like to suggest that the cemetery history developed in three stages: 13

12. G. TOUCHAIS (supra. n. 3).

13. S. VOUTSAKI, S. TRIANTAPHYLLOU, A. INGVARSSON-SUNDSTRO!vl et al., "Project on the Middle Helladic Argolid. A Report on the 2005 Season", Pharos 13 (2006), p. 93-'117.

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1) EH/MH I-MH I late: Typical intramural burials. Few individuals, mainly neonates and infants, were buried among or inside houses.

2) MH I late-MH III/LH I: The use of space moves back and forth between habitation and burial. The burials may be considered intramural, as they were situated inside the settlement, but they were mainly placed upon abandoned houses rather than under the floors or in between houses still in use.

3) MH III/LH I-LH I late: Extramural cemetery established upon abandoned houses. The construction of the two shaft graves during the LH I late-LH II period reinforces the hypothesis that the site was exclusively used as cemetery during the Shaft Grave era (at least the part excavated). Shaft graves are always found outside the settled area, on formal extramural cemeteries or upon abandoned settlements, for example in Argos, in Mycenae, in the East Cemetery at Asine and in Barbouna.

5. CONCLUSIONS

Let me summarize my argument: during the Middle Helladic period in the Argolid only few graves were contemporary with the houses into which or close to which they were dug. Only a couple of them were actually opened inside the houses when the houses were still in use. Most of these graves belong to neonates and infants and date from the early phases of the Middle Helladic period. The majority of the Middle Helladic graves were dug upon ruined houses or upon abandoned settlements. In some settlements, and this is important, the use of space altered between habitation and burial.

We see therefore that next to the already known pattern of habitation shifts in Argos and Barbouna, a new pattern of successive episodes of habitation and burial shifts is observed in Lerna and maybe in Aspis. This new pattern of episodes of building and burying activity creates a new temporal scheme in the life history of houses and settlements, different from the one known until now. Consequently, Middle Helladic settlements can no longer be seen as stable and unchanged until the Shaft Grave era.

Furthermore, the wider variety of contexts where a grave was opened and the different degrees of articulation between graves and houses creates larger diversity of burial practices and, therefore, in burial ideology of the period. Our challenge is to understand the special significance of burying upon or inside abandoned houses but also of building upon tombs.

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"'" +

Fig. 1. - Barbouna slope in Asine. In cycle, the extramural graves (after 1. HAGG, R. HAGG [eds.], Excavations in the Barbouna Area at Asine I, 1973, pl. I).

Fig. 2. - Barbouna, Building 2. In square, the area where the graves were opened after abandonment of the house (after NOImQuIs1~ MH Village, fig. 87)

.......

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830

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unexcavated 'omb(?)

2

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3

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4

Fig. 3. - Aspis, SE sector. Graves in relation to MH InA and MH IIIB houses (courtesy Prof. G. Touchais, Mrs A. Philippa- Touchais),

Fig. 4. -CKBURN. Middle Helladic Graves ... 1970. plans 1-3).

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5

+
+
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+
+
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6 + + + + +
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+ + + +
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" . .
+ + + + + Fig. 5. - Lerna, Area BE, Houses 99E and 6SA (after ZERNER, Beginning, fig. VD,

Fig. 6. - Lerna, Area BE, House Complex gSA. Graves opened after the abandonment of the house (courtesy Dr. C. Zerner, BE plan 3).

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7

8

Fig. 7. - Lerna, Area BE, House 100. Graves opened after the abandonment of the house (courtesy Dr. C. Zerner, BE plan 5).

Fig. 8. - Lerna, Area BE, Rooms 3 and 5. Graves opened after the abandonment of the rooms (courtesy Dr. C. Zerner, BE plan 6).

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