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50-706: Late Bronze Age Troy includes parts of the archaeological layers known as Troy VI and Troy VII. Troy VI was built c.   1750 BC . Its final sublayer, Troy VIh, was destroyed c.  1300 BC . The early sublayers of Troy VII were contemporary with the late period of Mycenaean culture and the Hittite Empire . The later layers were contemporary with the Greek Dark Ages and the Neo-Hittite states. Troy VI and VII were given separate labels by early excavators, but scholarly consensus holds that

100-466: A clear view of Trojan plain and the sea beyond it. The citadel was accessed by five gates, which led into paved and drained cobblestone streets. Some of these gates featured enormous pillars which serve no structural purpose and have been interpreted as religious symbols. The halls were built in megaron style, resembling Mycenaean architecture . The lower town was built to the south of the citadel, covering an area of roughly 30 hectares. Remains of

150-601: A common zoomorphic motif in Mycenaean vase painting, appear on Greek megaron frescoes, such as the one in the Pylos megaron , where a bull is depicted at the center of a Mycenaean procession. Other famous megara include the ones at the Mycenaean palaces of Thebes and Mycenae . Different Greek cultures had their own unique megara ; for example, the people of the Greek mainland tended to separate their central megaron from

200-454: A dense neighborhood have been found just outside the citadel walls, and traces of Bronze Age occupation have been found further away. These include huts, stone paving, threshing floors, pithoi, and waste left behind by Bronze Age industry such as murex shells associated with the manufacture of purple dye. The extent of the lower town is evidenced by a defensive ditch cut 1-2 into the bedrock. A wall or palisade may have stood several meters behind

250-524: A distinct Northwest Anatolian cultural group, with influences from the Aegean and the Balkans. The primary local pottery styles were wheel-made Tan Ware and Anatolian Gray Ware. Both styles were offshoots of an earlier Middle Helladic tradition related to Minyan Ware . The earliest gray ware at Troy was made in Aegean shapes, though by 1700 BC it had been replaced by Anatolian shapes. Foreign pottery found at

300-421: A larger length than width are similar structurally to early Doric temples. The construction of the megaron style structure differs depending on the location and the specific example. Recent excavations of the small town of Karataş , Turkey, has led to the discovery of structural evidence that survived the ages, allowing archeologists and scholars to piece together theories as to how they were created. Some of

350-419: A new handmade style sometimes known as "barbarian ware". Imported Mycenaean-style pottery attests to some continuing foreign trade. However, the city's population appears to have dropped, and rebuilding seems to be confined to the citadel. One of the most striking finds from Troy VIIb1 is a hieroglyphic Luwian seal giving the names of a woman and a man who worked as a scribe. The seal is important since it

400-440: A notable slope, similar to those at other sites including Hattusa . However, the walls differ from contemporary Aegean and Anatolian sites both in their lack of figural sculpture and in their masonry . While Troy VI's walls were made entirely of close-fitting ashlars , contemporary sites typically used ashlars around a rubble core . Troy VI's walls were overlooked by several rectangular watchtowers, which would also have provided

450-409: A number of megaron "typing's" which existed through the first, second and third periods of history, and shows how a number of ethnic groups participated in creating the original and archetypal model which later evolved into the classical Greek megaron structure. The Greek megaron style building was initially structurally designed to allow for religious ceremonies to be held in the central room of

500-636: A pottery industry, possibly associated with a wine or oil industry. The style of these pots shows stylistic similarities to other North Aegean sites, suggesting cultural contact. (Because other artifacts do not show these links, archaeologists believe that Greek settlement of Troy did not begin until later.) Both the Troy VI walls and the Troy VIIa Terrace House were reused for worship and communal feasting, as evidenced by animal bones, pottery assemblages, and traces of burned incense. Strikingly,

550-522: Is also notable for its architectural innovations as well as its cultural developments, which included the first evidence of horses at the site. The language spoken in Troy ;VI is unknown. One candidate is Luwian , an Anatolian language believed to have been spoken in the general area. Potential evidence comes from a biconvex seal inscribed with the name of a person using Anatolian hierglyphs often used to write Luwian. However, available evidence

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600-483: Is marked by dramatic cultural changes including walls made of upright stones and a handmade knobbed pottery style known as Buckelkeramik . These practices, which existed alongside older local traditions, have been argued to reflect immigrant populations arriving from southwest Europe. These newcomers may have shared an origin with the Phrygians who initiated similar cultural shifts at sites such as Gordion . This layer

650-400: Is more evidence towards a pitched or gabled design. A lot of these theories have gained popularity and are widely accepted in the effort to reconstruct the ancient megaron ; however, some scholars such as Carl W. Blegen have argued that both the arguments presented by the lead supporters for the pitched and gabled roofs (Smith and Dinsmoor) provide insufficient evidence for determining what

700-404: Is not sufficient to establish that Luwian was actually spoken by the city's population, and a number of alternatives, such as Greek and Lemnian-Etruscan , have been proposed. Hittite documents found at Hattusa suggest that literacy existed at Troy and that the city may have had a written archive. The Alaksandu Treaty required King Alaksandu to read its text publicly three times a year, while

750-448: Is the only example of preclassical writing found at the site, and provides potential evidence that Troy VIIb1 had a Luwian -speaking population. However, the find is puzzling since palace bureaucracies had largely disappeared by this era. Proposed explanations include the possibility that it belonged to an itinerant freelance scribe and alternatively that it dates from an earlier era than its find context would suggest. Troy VIIb2

800-488: The Milawata letter mentions that the deposed King Walmu was still in possession of wooden investiture tablets. The archive would likely have been housed in the citadel's innermost precinct, whose remains were pushed over the northern side of the hill during 3rd century construction. Despite attempts to sift through the rubble, no documents have been found. Troy VI was destroyed around 1300 BC, corresponding with

850-462: The Archaic and Classical periods. With respect to its structural layout, the megaron includes a columned entrance, a pronaos and a central naos ("cella") with early versions of it having one of many roof types (i.e., pitched, flat, barrel). The roof, specifically, was supported by wooden beams and since the aforesaid roof types are always destroyed in the remnants of the early megaron ,

900-415: The megara of ancient Greece were often created using the construction techniques of " Wattle-and-Daub " and " Pisé ". The megaron is thought to have been used for sacrificial processions, as well as for royal functions and court meetings. However, parts of the megaron functioned as habitable spaces, and were utilized as living quarters prior to the eighth century BC. Numerous sources indicate that

950-403: The megaron could be assembled. In other instances, the inner wood-work of the foundation was held in place with soil and rock, rather than mudbrick. Archeologist are unsure whether to call this a pure "Wattle-and-Daub" technique, or rather Pisé, as there is no indication that the inner saplings were woven together in order to help keep the wall's shape, or if the walls were rather held together by

1000-502: The megaron was used in two central ways: first and foremost, it was used for religious ceremonies, while also being used to support residents as a dwelling space. Additionally, according to Valentin Müller, there is evidence for 32 different types of megaron throughout Greece and parts of Europe and Russia. Their use varied significantly depending on the time periods and locations in which they were built. Remnants of structures related to

1050-522: The Bronze Age they would have been overlaid with wood and mudbrick superstructures, reaching a height over nine metres (30 ft). The walls were built in a "sawtooth" style made up of seven metres (23 ft)-ten metres (33 ft) segments which joined at shallow angles. This characteristic is common in the walls of Mycenaean citadels, though at Troy it is also found in other buildings, suggesting that it may have been decorative. The walls also have

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1100-432: The Mycenaean palaces . The destruction layer shows evidence of enemy attack, including scorch marks. After the destruction of Troy VIIa around 1180 BC, the city was rebuilt as Troy VIIb. Older structures were again reused, including Troy VI's citadel walls. Its first phase, Troy VIIb1, appears to be largely a continuation of Troy VIIa. Residents continued using wheel-made Grey Ware pottery alongside

1150-504: The Terrace House was not renovated when it was adopted as a cult center and thus must have been used in a ruined state, potentially suggesting that the occupants of Troy VIIb3 were deliberately re-engaging with their past. Troy VIIb was destroyed by fire around 950 BC. However, some houses in the citadel were left intact and the site continued to be occupied, if only sparsely. 18th century BC The 18th century BC

1200-430: The actual roofing might have looked like and asserts that more pertinent studies need to be done before any conclusive judgements can be made. As it stands, conceptualization of the megaron style roofing rendered an overall inconclusive understanding among the archeological community and has led to nothing but speculation. A famous megaron is in the large reception hall of the king in the Bronze Age palace of Tiryns ,

1250-430: The building, while the other rooms supported residence dwelling. However, during the eighth century BC, the base layout of the megaron evolved into what is understood to be the traditional structural design: where the central configuration of the building became more strictly associated with worship. The inhabited sections of the structure grew as a subsidiary structure from the traditional megaron design, and became what

1300-451: The definite roof type is unknown. The floor was made of patterned concrete and covered in carpet. The walls, constructed out of mudbrick , were decorated with fresco paintings. There were wood-ornamented metal doors, often two-leaved, and footbaths were also used in the megaron as attested in Homer's Odyssey where Odysseus's feet were washed by Eurycleia . The proportions involving

1350-430: The digging site, and even a supposition of the block's use – possibly the remnants of a fallen abacus from the porch of the megaron . The carved fragment of the megaron which he recovered was reportedly "broken into more than forty fragments", and was made from what he assumed to be a sort of reddish sandstone . This archeological fragment is particularly revealing of the history of the megaron of Mycenae, as much of

1400-400: The ditch, as in the outer defenses of other cities such as Qadesh and Carchemish . However, material evidence for such a wall is limited to postholes and cuts in the bedrock. The lower city was only discovered in the late 1980s, earlier excavators having assumed that Troy VI occupied only the hill of Hisarlik. Its discovery led to a dramatic reassessment of Troy VI, showing that it

1450-409: The first several sublayers of Troy VII were in fact continuations of the earlier city. As a result, some researchers have suggested relabeling Troy VIIa as Troy VIi and Troy VIIb1 as Troy VIj, with Troy VII beginning at the sublayer standardly known as VIIb2. Although the substance of this proposal is widely accepted, the original nomenclature is still generally used to avoid confusion. Troy VI–VII

1500-464: The first several sublayers of Troy VII were in fact continuations of the earlier city. Although some scholars have proposed revising the nomenclature to reflect this consensus, the original terms are typically used to avoid confusion. Troy VI existed from around 1750 BC to 1300 BC. Its citadel was divided into a series of rising terraces, of which only the outermost is reasonably well-preserved. On this terrace, archaeologists have found

1550-502: The function of regional capital, its status protected by treaties. Aspects of its architecture are consistent with the Iliad 's description of mythic Troy, and several of its sublayers (VIh and VIIa) show potential signs of violent destruction. Thus, these sublayers are among the candidates for a potential historical setting of those myths. Troy VI and VII were given separate labels by early excavators, but current research has shown that

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1600-467: The ground. Troy VIIa seems to have been built by survivors of Troy VI's destruction, as evidenced by continuity in material culture. However, the character of the city appears to have changed, the citadel growing crowded and foreign imports declining. The city was destroyed around 1180 BC, roughly contemporary with the Late Bronze Age collapse but subsequent to the destruction of

1650-617: The main room of which had a raised throne placed against the right wall and a central hearth bordered by four Minoan-style wooden columns that served as supports for the roof. The Cretan elements in the Tiryns megaron were adopted by the Mycenaeans from the palace type found in Minoan architecture . Frescoes from Pylos show figures eating and drinking, which were important activities in Greek culture . Artistic portrayals of bulls,

1700-546: The megaron at Midea in the Argolid . Archaeologists believe there may have been a royal palace on the highest terrace, but most Bronze Age remains from the top of the hill were cleared away by classical era building projects. The citadel was enclosed by a massive wall whose limestone base is visible to modern day visitors. These walls were periodically renovated, expanding from an initial width of one point two metres (3.9 ft) to five metres (16 ft) around 1400 BC. During

1750-500: The most prominent theories to come from this unearthing are the " Wattle-and-Daub " and " Pisé " construction techniques. In the ancient remains of the Karataş houses, archeologists analyzed the surviving foundations and walls of the megaron framework and observed that within each brick foundation were tightly packed tree saplings. The mudbrick surrounding these saplings provided for a dense and well taught structural foundation in which

1800-470: The other rooms whereas the Cretans did not do this. Notable information about the megaron of Mycenae has been reported by archeologist Hugh Plommer on his findings of a fully intact carved block from the megaron of Mycenae. His publication notes specific in situ measurements, photographs, physical details and descriptions of the stone left behind, along with a brief history of what had happened to

1850-636: The presence of the open portico , generally supported by columns, is particular to the Aegean . Megara are sometimes referred to as "long-rooms", as defined by their rectangular (non-square) shape and the position of their entrances, which are always along the shorter wall so that the depth of the space is larger than the width. There were often many rooms around the central megaron , such as archive rooms, offices, oil-press rooms, workshops, potteries, shrines , corridors, armories , and storerooms for such goods as wine , oil and wheat . Evidence suggests that

1900-455: The remains of freestanding multistory houses where Trojan elites would have lived. These houses lacked ground-floor windows, and their stone exterior walls mirrored the architecture of the citadel fortifications. However, they otherwise display an eclectic mix of architectural styles, some following the classic megaron design, others even having irregular floorplans. Some of these houses show potential Aegean influence, one in particular resembling

1950-597: The site includes Minoan, Mycenaean, Cypriot, and Levantine items. Local potters also made their own imitations of foreign styles, including Gray Ware and Tan Ware pots made in Mycenaean-style shapes, particularly after 1500 BC. Although the city appears to have been within the Hittite sphere of influence, no Hittite artifacts have been found in Troy VI. Also notably absent are sculptures and wall paintings, otherwise common features of Bronze Age cities. Troy VI

2000-529: The stone was also reportedly blackened around its edges, indicating that at some point there was a fire which raged through the building. After much archeological analysis, Plommer concluded that the abacus of the megaron was likely "80 cm" in both length and width, creating a solid square base linking the roof to the supporting pillar. One source written by Valentin Müller claims that there are 32 recorded types of megaron found throughout Greece and parts of Europe. These structures are understood as variations of

2050-475: The sublayer known as Troy VIh. Damage in the Troy VIh layer includes extensive collapsed masonry and subsidence in the southeast of the citadel, indicative of an earthquake . Alternative hypotheses include an internal uprising as well as a foreign attack, though the city was not burned and no victims were found in the debris. Troy VIIa was the final layer of the Late Bronze Age city. It

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2100-457: The surrounding mud, as done in typical Pisé fashion. There are a number of different theories about the architectural design of megaron roofing; consequently there is much contention as to what type of roofing was actually used in ancient Greece . Some scholars suggest that the traditional megaron roof was flat , while others, prominently Baldwin Smith and Dinsmoor respectively, believe there

2150-543: The traditional Greek megaron style buildings can be found in Thessaly dating back to the Neolithic Era . Müller asserts that these are some of the first known megaron , classifying them with the designation "Type 1" megarons . These initial structures were somewhat similar in design to those found in ancient Greece, but different in their material and roofing style and complexity. Müller has classified and archived

2200-482: Was a major Late Bronze Age city consisting of a steep fortified citadel and a sprawling lower town below it. It was a thriving coastal city with a considerable population, equal in size to second-tier Hittite settlements. It had a distinct Northwest Anatolian culture and extensive foreign contacts, including with Mycenaean Greece , and its position at the mouth of the Dardanelles has been argued to have given it

2250-469: Was a rectangular hall that was supported by four columns, fronted by an open, two-columned portico , and had a central, open hearth that vented though an oculus in the roof. The megaron also contained the throne-room of the wanax , or Mycenaean ruler, whose throne was located in the main room with the central hearth. Similar architecture is found in the Ancient Near East , though

2300-568: Was built soon after the destruction of Troy VI, seemingly by its previous inhabitants. The builders reused many of the earlier city's surviving structures, notably its citadel wall, which they renovated with additional stone towers and mudbrick breastworks. Numerous small houses were added inside the citadel, filling in formerly open areas. New houses were also built in the lower city, whose area appears to have been greater in Troy VIIa than in Troy VI. In many of these houses, archaeologists found enormous storage jars called pithoi buried in

2350-659: Was destroyed around 1050 BC after an apparent earthquake. Troy VIIb3 dates from the Protogeometric era. No new buildings were constructed, so its existence is known primarily from artifacts found in the West Sanctuary and terraces on the south side of the mound. These areas were excavated in the 1990s, surprising the archaeologists who had assumed that the site was abandoned until the Archaic Era. Locally made neck-handled amphoras show that Troy still had

2400-470: Was later known as an oikos in ancient Greece . Rectilinear halls were a characteristic theme of ancient Greek architecture. The Mycenaean megaron originated and evolved from the megaroid , or large hall-centered rectangular building, of mainland Greece dating back to the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age . Furthermore, it served as the architectural precursor to the Greek temples of

2450-479: Was over 16 times larger than had been assumed, and thus a major city with a large population rather than a mere aristocratic residence. However, only 2-3% of the lower city had been excavated as of 2013, and few architectural features are likely to exist. Almost 2m of the surface has eroded, likely removing much of the evidence that hadn't already decomposed, been built over, or reused in later construction . The material culture of Troy VI appears to belong to

2500-450: Was the century that lasted from 1800 BC to 1701 BC. c.  1750 BC : Hammurabi ( middle chronology ) 1764 BC: Yarim Lim 1 The Great King of Yamhad Megaron The megaron ( / ˈ m ɛ ɡ ə ˌ r ɒ n / ; Ancient Greek : μέγαρον , [mégaron] , pl. : megara / ˈ m ɛ ɡ ər ə / ) was the great hall in very early Mycenean and ancient Greek palace complexes. Architecturally, it

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