THE TOMB OF AGAMEMNON.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4980, 9 March 1877, Page 5

THE TOMB OF AGAMEMNON.

Dr. Henry Schliemann, writing to The Times under date Mycenae, November 28, continues 1 the account of his great discoveries I con-' timie the description of the jewels, &c., found with the five bodies in the fourth- tomb. Among the most interesting objects bf this sepulchre, I reckon the magnificently ornamented golden buttons. Twelve are in form of a cross,'and one of them-is 2 l-siri. large and 3ih. long; three are somewhat smaller, and the remaining eight are of a still less size. Of splendidly ornamented round gold buttons were found in all 216, two of which are 2in. in diameter, seven are of the size of a sf. piece, and 207 are. still smaller. All these buttons, the lower part of which consists of a bone button in form of our shirt buttons, must have served on the clothes of the deceased, whereas all which show below only a flat piece of bone or wood have evidently served to decorate the sheaths of swords, lances, &c., to which they had been, soldered with tin or otherwise fastened. There were in all found in this tomb twenty - five two - edged bronze swords, sixteen of which are in a perfect state of conservation ; four of them had handles plated with gold and richly ornamented. There were also found with the swords five large handle-buttons, four of which are of alabaster and one of wood ; all of them are ornamented with golden nails. Further, two ; golden shoulder-belts which were worn on the shoulder across the breast; both are 4ft. long and 1 3-sin. broad. There were further found two large golden girdle-belts ornamented with circles and flowers ; one of- them is'composed of two. pieces. There was also found part of a similar belt and a child’s golden girdle belt; only Ift. 4in, long and 2 l-sin. broad. Further, • a splendidly ornamented large golden handle; probably -of a sceptre. It terminates in a dragon’s head, whose scales seem to; have been imitated by square pieces of rock crystal,-which 1 are inlaid like mosaic. This is an object of marvellous beauty. There were! also■ found seven large and one smallgolden diadems—one of the former is ornamented with golden leaves. ' All'of them show splendid ornaments of circles and spiral lines. Further, f«ur golden ornaments of the hnemides (greaves) almost in form ■ of a bracelet; one comb of bone in' a large handle, or casing of gold, of the usual form, as ladies wear it ; one enormous, most magnificently-ornamented, massive golden bracelet, weighing 360 grammes. In the centre of the ornamentation of. this bracelet is soldered- a separate piece of gold, representing the son with his rays. The size of this bracelet is so enormous that the person who has worn it must have had gigantic arms. It may have been worn on the legs. Quite in opposition to the' size 6b the bracelet are two massive golden 1 seal rings, the opening of which is so small that they would Only fit a child of ten [years. I therefore suppose 1 that'they may have been used as seals only. 1 One of the seals represents two warriors 1 oh a two-wheeled chariotiwith two horses which seem to -run at full gallop ; one of the'warriors Is "holding a bow in his hand and has just shot an arrow at a -stag. The stag'is wounded; 1 and' in anguish turns his head. The other seal ring represents a warrior who has just vanquished his three en'emies, and is in the act 1 of - giving .with his uplifted sword a last blow to one of them wounded and kneeling'before him on one knee ; the latter tries to parry the blow with his uplifted bands and with a lance which he holds in'his right, and seems to throw at his opponent. - Another - seems to be mortally wounded, for he lies on the ground leaning ’on both his hands. The third; who alone of all the four warriors has a helmet with a crest bn his head, is flying under the cover of an enormous shield which reaches from his neck to his heels ; but still he turns his head towards his victorious enemy, and is in the act of throwing a lance at him. The anatomy of all the men is so well observed, their posture is so faithful to nature, and everything is executed with so much art, that, when I brought to light these rings, I involuntarily exclaimed, ‘|The author of the “Iliad” and “Odyssey” can only have been born and educated in a civilisation which could produce such wonders. Only a poet who had masterpieces of art like those continually before his eyes could compose those divine poems.’ At the head of one of the bodies was found a large -and heavy golden helmet, but it had been much crushed, and had become nearly flat under the ponderous weight which pressed upon it. In its present state it is difficult to describe it. On its forepart the openings for the eyes and mouth, as also a protuberance, ornamented with small stars, are distinctly visible, as also, on the top of the helmet, the tube for the crest. The back part is beauti-

fully ornamented with an imitation of the hair. Further, three, very heavy golden breastpins, of which the one is s|, the other 5, and the third 4 J inches long. The last is crowned with a ram, the two others with ornaments in shape of a helmet, and the heads of all the three breastpins are perforated, probably to put in a flower. There were further found two masterly ornamented objects of massive gold in the form of crosses; also a, large golden vase weighing 1| kilogrammes; it has two handles, a large foot, and ornamented with three upper and two lower; parallel lines, between which is a row of 14 stars; further a large golden vase with one handle and an ornamentation 1 representing seven beautiful flowers; another golden vase with two handles ; further, a splendid little golden cenochoe, or wine, can, with an ornamentation of' .spiral lines. Further, six golden drinking cups, one of which is' a dcpas ampMhjpdlori with two handles, oh each of which is a pigeon, each of the two handles being joined to the foot by two separate golden blades. This "goblet reminds us of Nestor’s goblet, which was also ornamented with pigeohs (see ‘ Iliad’ XL, 632-635). One of the other goblets is ornamented with parallel fiutings. There were further found two small golden vessels ; also eight silver vases, three of which are admirably conserved. One of the other five has the bottom and the mouth of bronze ; below its bottom were found 100 of the aforesaid golden buttons. I further found in this tomb 13 large bronze vessels. This kind of vessel was in high esteem in the heroic age, and we see them continually mentioned by Homer as prizes 'in. the games. I suppose that to each hero was given in the grave the goblets and other objects whiqh were deaf to him in his lifetime, having been won by him in the games, or having been given to him by his host as a pledge' of hospitality and friendship. There were further found thirty-five arrow heads of obsidian. Nothing could give a better idea of the great antiquity of these tombs than these stone arrow heads, for the ‘ Iliad ’ seems to know" only arrow heads of bronze (e.g., Iliad XIII., 650 and 662). Probably there had also been deposited boiys and quivers in the tomb, but they would have been of wood, and would have rotted away. To my greatest regret, among the thousands of gold ornaments there is not even a single sign resembling writing,, and it therefore appears certain that the sepulchres belong to' an epoch which preceded the introduction of the Phoenician alphabet. Had the latter been known, the Mycenam goldsmith, whose continual efforts appear to have been directed to the invention of a new ornamentation, would have been very ambitious to show the novelty of the alphabet. A second proof of the immense antiquity of these tombs is the entire absence of any vestige of either iron or ,glass, of of any pottery made on the potter’s wheel. But the hand-made pottery had reached a high degree of perfection, such as has never'heen attained here in later times hy the pottery made on the wheel."