Metals at Mycenae: Database of Metal Artefacts Finds from Mycenae, Greece

One of the key aims of the ‘Forging Society at Late Bronze Age Mycenae: the Relationships between People and Metals’ project was to catalogue, as far as possible, all the metal artefacts excavated at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mycenae, in Greece, since the very first archaeological dig, which took place there in 1876. The settlement of Mycenae was famously described as ‘rich in gold’ by Homer and identified by him as the seat of King Agamemnon, the Achaean leader in the Iliad who besieged Troy to return the beautiful Helen to her husband. Mycenae, which was apparently founded in the Neolithic Period, flourished during the Late Bronze Age, and was home to an extravagant palace, luxurious residences, busy workshops, an array of cult places and well-furnished tombs.Best known for the dazzling gold finds from the shaft graves uncovered by Heinrich Schliemann, this dataset of more than 15000 metal objects from Mycenae has provided a basis to begin an unprecedented investigation into the use of metals across the entire social spectrum of the community. The database combines published information with archival research and the results of first-hand examination of the artefacts. The public database made available here through the Dane Badawcze UW Repozytorium will be expanded and updated with new information gathered through ongoing research of the site.