The Tomb of Agamemnon

The Tomb of Agamemnon

The Tomb of Agamemnon or the Treasury of Atreus was built approximately 1350 to 1250 BC at Mycenae, an archaeological site in Greece about ninety kilometers southwest of modern-day Athens. An early example of a tholos, or circular planned tomb without a peristyle. Not surprisingly, its name is a misnomer as it is unlikely to actually be the final resting place of the mythological King Agamemnon. Rather it derives its namesake from its massive proportions and mysterious history metaphorically linking it to a figure of legend. One can easily understand this relationship as one enters its colossal dromos, carved out of the hillside, passes underneath the one-hundred twenty ton lintel spanning the massive eighteen foot doorway. The funerary chamber is over 44 feet high consisting of large roughly carved stones carefully placed to form a corbel vault with a floor diameter over 48 feet wide. When it was constructed the stonework was decorated with bronze rosettes and motifs attached with nails. As if this gigantic vaulted space was not impressive enough, when one remembers that this space is actually a cavity carved into the hillside and one begins to estimate tons of stone, earth and hillside overhead the magnitude of this feat preformed nearly three thousand years ago invokes in the modern visitor even greater awe.

Archaeologist are in disagreement what the space may have functioned as. This particular tholos is actually one of a series of twenty-eight all excavated into the hillside. Many archaeologists suspect that the structures were used as treasuries, others theorize that they were in fact used as tombs for high-ranking peoples.

What’s truly fascinating about these “beehive” tombs, as they are colloquially referred to, is that they embody many architectural motifs but in the most simplified form. For example the dromos preceding the tomb is a pure example of a formal entranceway and as one approaches the height of the walls increase creating a transition and link between the outside space and the interior. Then the interior works off the principles of threshold and surprise, as one passes through the eighteen foot doorway its hard to imagine the space will become much more, yet it does, as the vaulted ceiling jumps to a staggering forty-four feet. It is interesting to note that many modern architects have drawn inspiration or even mimicked the motifs from the Tomb of Agamemnon. For example, in Philip Johnson’s iconic Glass House he introduces the concept of a dromos in the entryway portal as seen below.

Peter Zumthor also seems to take inspiration from the Tomb in his Bruder Klaus Chapel, perhaps less obviously than Johnson, but nonetheless there are definite spatial similarities between his chapel design and the ancient Tomb of Agamemnon.

Works Cited:
"Treasury of Atreus." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016."Bruder Klaus Field Chapel / Peter Zumthor." ArchDaily. N.p., 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2016."AD Classics: The Glass House / Philip Johnson." ArchDaily. N.p., 16 May 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.Watkin, David. A History of Western Architecture. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1986. Print.