The 

Palace of Nestor (Modern Greek: Ανάκτορο του Νέστορα (Dimotiki); Ἀνάκτορον

Νέστορος[1] (Katharevousa)) was an important centre in Mycenaean times, and described
in Homer's Odyssey and Iliad as Nestor's kingdom of "sandy Pylos".[2]
The palace featured in the story of the Trojan War, as Homer tells us that Telemachus:
went to Pylos and to Nestor, the shepherd of the people, and he received me in his lofty house and
gave me kindly welcome, as a father might his own son who after a long time had newly come from
afar: even so kindly he tended me with his glorious sons.[3]
The site is the best preserved Mycenaean Greek palace discovered. The palace is the primary structure
within a larger Late Helladic era settlement, once probably surrounded by a fortified wall.
The palace was a two-storey building with store rooms, workshops, baths, light wells, reception rooms
and a sewage system.
The settlement had been long occupied with most artifacts discovered dating from 1300 BC. The palace
complex was destroyed by fire around 1200 BC.
In June 2016 the site re-opened to the public after the roof was replaced by a modern structure with
raised walkways for visitors.[4][5][6]

Contents

 1Location
 2Excavations
o 2.1The Griffin Warrior Tomb
o 2.2Tablets
 3See also
 4Notes
 5Sources
 6External links

Location[edit]
The site with new roof
The site is on the hill of Epano Englianos, situated close to the road 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south
of Chora and 17 kilometres (11 mi) north of Pylos, at 150 metres (490 ft) above sea level and in an area
of 170 metres (560 ft) by 90 metres (300 ft).

Excavations[edit]
Fresco of hunter and stag, found in room 43

Linear B tablet from the palace at Chora Museum

In 1912 and 1926 two tholos tombs north of the Bay of Navarino were excavated. One contained three
decorated jars and the other a collection of Early Mycenaean and Middle Helladic pots.
A joint Hellenic-American expedition was formed with the Greek Archaeological Service and
the University of Cincinnati[7] and trial excavations of Epano Englianos were started on 4 April 1939.
From the first day stone walls, fresco fragments, Mycenaean pottery and inscribed tablets were found.
During excavation in 1939 around 1,000 Linear B tablets were found. A systematic excavation was
impossible throughout World War II and excavations resumed in 1952.[8] From 1952 to 1966 the Palace
was uncovered with areas around the acropolis being further explored. A breakthrough in translating
them was achieved by Michael Ventris, an English architect in 1952 who found that it was an archaic
form of Greek. The translation of such tablets in the following years showed that they consisted of part
of the royal archive.

The Griffin Warrior Tomb[edit]

Main article: Griffin Warrior Tomb
In 2015 the University of Cincinnati uncovered an extraordinarily rich find not far from the palace.[9] This
undisturbed burial of a Mycenaean warrior, called the "griffin warrior" by the team, yielded gold rings,
bronze weapons, and many other artifacts. The iconography of the artifacts displays a mixture of
Minoan and Mycenaean culture.[10][11]