Archaeological Site of the Mycenean Acropolis of Tiryns

The low hill of Tiryns, at the 8th kilometer of the Argos-Nafplio road, was continuously inhabited from the Neolithic era until late antiquity. During prehistoric times the area flourished mainly during the early and late Bronze Age. In the second phase of the Proto-Hellenic era (2700-2200 BC) there must have been an important center here with a dense population and a uniquely constructed circular building, 27 m in diameter, on the top of the hill. During the late Bronze Age the hill was gradually fortified and surrounded within its “Cyclopean” walls the palace complex as well as other buildings used mainly by the ruling class as places of worship, warehouses and workshops as well as as residences. During historical times, Tiryntha, although it must have had the form of an organized political community, could not compete with Argos, which destroyed it in the first half of the 5th century by banishing its inhabitants.