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--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
· Introduction
0:02 · Tiryns is the most impressive of the
0:04 · Mycenaean citadels.
0:06 · Almost certainly built to guard the port
0:08 · of Mycenae. It occupies a stony ridge that
0:11 · rises like an island from the coastal
0:13 · plane. In myth, Hercules was born here.
0:17 · Historically, it was occupied from the
0:19 · early Mycenaean period onward. Even after
0:21 · the collapse of Mycenaean civilization, its
0:24 · mighty walls continued to attract
0:26 · tourists and settlers. Pausanius who
0:29 · visited in the second century likened
0:31 · Tiryns to the Egyptian pyramids and
0:34 · thought the stones of its walls so
0:36 · massive that only the gigantic cyclopes
0:38 · could have moved them.
0:42 · Here are a few of those cyclopian
0:45 · blocks. The fortress was repaired in the
0:48 · Hellenistic era and again by the Byzantines
0:51 · one and 2,000 years after the Mycenaeans
0:54 · vanished.
0:57 · You can see how Tiryns was elevated
0:59 · above the surrounding terrain. Turning
· Lower Citadel
1:02 · back to the castle itself,
1:04 · you can see that the entrance to the
1:06 · lower citadel was via a steep ramp off
1:09 · to our left here, designed to admit
1:12 · chariots. The long approach and the turn
1:14 · at its end subjected any attackers to
1:17 · withering fire from the ramparts.
1:21 · This is the lower citadel. Once filled
1:24 · with structures whose footprints you can
1:26 · see off to our left, but now largely an
1:28 · empty space.
1:33 · From this corner of the lower citadel,
1:35 · two tunnels led down through the walls
1:37 · to subterranean springfed sistns.
· Walls
1:43 · A bit more background as we approach the
1:45 · upper citadel. Tiryns was the acropolis
1:48 · of a much larger settlement which may
1:50 · have had upwards of 10,000 inhabitants.
1:53 · The mighty fortifications date to the
1:55 · 13th century BC in their present form.
1:59 · They enclosed the entire ridge in a long
2:01 · and narrow circuit. The area within, as
2:03 · you can see, is only about 100 ft wide.
2:06 · The walls were built with local
2:08 · limestone, red and gray, laid in roughly
2:11 · horizontal courses with blocks weighing
2:13 · up to 15 tons.
2:15 · The walls of the lower circuit where we
2:18 · currently are are up to 25 ft thick as
2:21 · you can see up to our left here. In
2:23 · places they stand almost to the original
2:25 · height of about 30 ft.
2:28 · Let's come in a bit closer to see the
2:30 · thickness of that wall.
2:37 · Pretty impressive.
· Upper Citadel
2:39 · We now enter the upper citadel which
2:42 · guarded the palace. The walls of this
2:44 · enclosure are even more massive than
2:46 · those below in places up to 30 ft thick.
2:50 · The outer gateway just ahead of us was
2:52 · closed by folding doors.
2:56 · Unadmiring glance back down the
2:58 · approach.
2:59 · Turning now to the outer gateway. You
3:02 · can see here in the monolithic threshold
3:05 · the post for the gate and just above a
3:09 · slot for the locking crossbar.
3:12 · Any
3:14 · attacker who broke through to the narrow
3:16 · barbkin inside the outer gate would have
3:18 · been exposed to fire from every side.
· Galleries
3:23 · Beneath the barbkin was a gallery with a
3:25 · corbelled vault connected by the doors
3:28 · on our left with six vated chambers.
3:32 · Presumably supplies were stored here.
· Palace
3:54 · Back on the upper level, we now approach
3:56 · the palace.
3:58 · From this small courtyard, we enter the
4:02 · great propylaea, a double porch that
4:05 · serves as an entrance to the palace
4:06 · compound. The stone bases you can see on
4:09 · either side once supported wooden
4:12 · columns.
4:13 · Inside was the palace forcourt now
4:16 · rather nondescript space just ahead of
4:18 · us.
4:21 · There was another series of galleries on
4:23 · this side now unfortunately closed to
4:26 · visitors.
4:29 · The palace was entered through a smaller
4:31 · propylon.
4:33 · Although settlement at this site dates
4:35 · back to the Neolithic, the present
4:37 · building was constructed in the mid13th
4:39 · century BC and destroyed by fire a few
4:42 · decades later. The walls of this palace
4:44 · are preserved only to knee height. Above
4:47 · that level, they were sundried brick
4:50 · which has crumbled to dust. A few
4:52 · fragments, however, have been found of
4:55 · the frescoed plaster that decorated the
4:57 · interiors. Here and there, monolithic
5:00 · door thresholds are still in place, as
5:02 · are parts of the mortared pebble floor.
5:07 · This was the court at the center of the
5:09 · palace, ringed by columns on three
5:11 · sides. These likely supported a balcony
5:14 · at the level of the second story. The
5:17 · circular foundation at the center almost
5:19 · certainly marks the site of an altar
5:22 · used in ceremonies staged here.
5:26 · Within the court was the porch of the
5:27 · megaron supported by wooden columns that
5:30 · stood on these stone bases.
5:34 · Three doors opened into the antichamber
5:36 · of the megaron or great hall.
5:41 · Imagine away the wall on the left which
5:43 · is later. The four stone bases you can
5:46 · see on the left and right sides of the
5:48 · screen respectively. These bases here
5:52 · supported the wooden columns that held
5:53 · up the roof of the Megaron.
5:56 · At the center was the great clay hearth.
6:02 · A short distance from the Megaron was a
6:04 · so-called bathroom in the sense of a
6:06 · room for bathing, not a laboratory. The
6:09 · floor was a single huge stone tilted to
6:12 · drain water away.
6:14 · Water ran through this cut
6:18 · and off into that sewer.
6:23 · Next to the main megaron was a smaller
6:26 · one, either women's quarters or some
6:28 · suite of ancillary rooms.
· Postern Gate
6:36 · Try to imagine away the sounds of the
6:39 · modern highway
6:41 · and just look at the stones.
6:45 · [Applause]
6:54 · [Applause]
7:39 · This was a past gate.
8:02 · [Applause]
8:05 · back out the 21st century.
8:10 · Can I look
8:11 · [Applause]
8:19 · Back at Tier.

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
	·	Introduction
0:02	·	Tiryns is the most impressive of the
0:04	·	Mycenaean citadels.
0:06	·	Almost certainly built to guard the port
0:08	·	of Mycenae. It occupies a stony ridge that
0:11	·	rises like an island from the coastal
0:13	·	plane. In myth, Hercules was born here.
0:17	·	Historically, it was occupied from the
0:19	·	early Mycenaean period onward. Even after
0:21	·	the collapse of Mycenaean civilization, its
0:24	·	mighty walls continued to attract
0:26	·	tourists and settlers. Pausanius who
0:29	·	visited in the second century likened
0:31	·	Tiryns to the Egyptian pyramids and
0:34	·	thought the stones of its walls so
0:36	·	massive that only the gigantic cyclopes
0:38	·	could have moved them.
0:42	·	Here are a few of those cyclopian
0:45	·	blocks. The fortress was repaired in the
0:48	·	Hellenistic era and again by the Byzantines
0:51	·	one and 2,000 years after the Mycenaeans
0:54	·	vanished.
0:57	·	You can see how Tiryns was elevated
0:59	·	above the surrounding terrain. Turning
	·	Lower Citadel
1:02	·	back to the castle itself,
1:04	·	you can see that the entrance to the
1:06	·	lower citadel was via a steep ramp off
1:09	·	to our left here, designed to admit
1:12	·	chariots. The long approach and the turn
1:14	·	at its end subjected any attackers to
1:17	·	withering fire from the ramparts.
1:21	·	This is the lower citadel. Once filled
1:24	·	with structures whose footprints you can
1:26	·	see off to our left, but now largely an
1:28	·	empty space.
1:33	·	From this corner of the lower citadel,
1:35	·	two tunnels led down through the walls
1:37	·	to subterranean springfed sistns.
	·	Walls
1:43	·	A bit more background as we approach the
1:45	·	upper citadel. Tiryns was the acropolis
1:48	·	of a much larger settlement which may
1:50	·	have had upwards of 10,000 inhabitants.
1:53	·	The mighty fortifications date to the
1:55	·	13th century BC in their present form.
1:59	·	They enclosed the entire ridge in a long
2:01	·	and narrow circuit. The area within, as
2:03	·	you can see, is only about 100 ft wide.
2:06	·	The walls were built with local
2:08	·	limestone, red and gray, laid in roughly
2:11	·	horizontal courses with blocks weighing
2:13	·	up to 15 tons.
2:15	·	The walls of the lower circuit where we
2:18	·	currently are are up to 25 ft thick as
2:21	·	you can see up to our left here. In
2:23	·	places they stand almost to the original
2:25	·	height of about 30 ft.
2:28	·	Let's come in a bit closer to see the
2:30	·	thickness of that wall.
2:37	·	Pretty impressive.
	·	Upper Citadel
2:39	·	We now enter the upper citadel which
2:42	·	guarded the palace. The walls of this
2:44	·	enclosure are even more massive than
2:46	·	those below in places up to 30 ft thick.
2:50	·	The outer gateway just ahead of us was
2:52	·	closed by folding doors.
2:56	·	Unadmiring glance back down the
2:58	·	approach.
2:59	·	Turning now to the outer gateway. You
3:02	·	can see here in the monolithic threshold
3:05	·	the post for the gate and just above a
3:09	·	slot for the locking crossbar.
3:12	·	Any
3:14	·	attacker who broke through to the narrow
3:16	·	barbkin inside the outer gate would have
3:18	·	been exposed to fire from every side.
	·	Galleries
3:23	·	Beneath the barbkin was a gallery with a
3:25	·	corbelled vault connected by the doors
3:28	·	on our left with six vated chambers.
3:32	·	Presumably supplies were stored here.
	·	Palace
3:54	·	Back on the upper level, we now approach
3:56	·	the palace.
3:58	·	From this small courtyard, we enter the
4:02	·	great propylaea, a double porch that
4:05	·	serves as an entrance to the palace
4:06	·	compound. The stone bases you can see on
4:09	·	either side once supported wooden
4:12	·	columns.
4:13	·	Inside was the palace forcourt now
4:16	·	rather nondescript space just ahead of
4:18	·	us.
4:21	·	There was another series of galleries on
4:23	·	this side now unfortunately closed to
4:26	·	visitors.
4:29	·	The palace was entered through a smaller
4:31	·	propylon.
4:33	·	Although settlement at this site dates
4:35	·	back to the Neolithic, the present
4:37	·	building was constructed in the mid13th
4:39	·	century BC and destroyed by fire a few
4:42	·	decades later. The walls of this palace
4:44	·	are preserved only to knee height. Above
4:47	·	that level, they were sundried brick
4:50	·	which has crumbled to dust. A few
4:52	·	fragments, however, have been found of
4:55	·	the frescoed plaster that decorated the
4:57	·	interiors. Here and there, monolithic
5:00	·	door thresholds are still in place, as
5:02	·	are parts of the mortared pebble floor.
5:07	·	This was the court at the center of the
5:09	·	palace, ringed by columns on three
5:11	·	sides. These likely supported a balcony
5:14	·	at the level of the second story. The
5:17	·	circular foundation at the center almost
5:19	·	certainly marks the site of an altar
5:22	·	used in ceremonies staged here.
5:26	·	Within the court was the porch of the
5:27	·	megaron supported by wooden columns that
5:30	·	stood on these stone bases.
5:34	·	Three doors opened into the antichamber
5:36	·	of the megaron or great hall.
5:41	·	Imagine away the wall on the left which
5:43	·	is later. The four stone bases you can
5:46	·	see on the left and right sides of the
5:48	·	screen respectively. These bases here
5:52	·	supported the wooden columns that held
5:53	·	up the roof of the Megaron.
5:56	·	At the center was the great clay hearth.
6:02	·	A short distance from the Megaron was a
6:04	·	so-called bathroom in the sense of a
6:06	·	room for bathing, not a laboratory. The
6:09	·	floor was a single huge stone tilted to
6:12	·	drain water away.
6:14	·	Water ran through this cut
6:18	·	and off into that sewer.
6:23	·	Next to the main megaron was a smaller
6:26	·	one, either women's quarters or some
6:28	·	suite of ancillary rooms.
	·	Postern Gate
6:36	·	Try to imagine away the sounds of the
6:39	·	modern highway
6:41	·	and just look at the stones.
6:45	·	[Applause]
6:54	·	[Applause]
7:39	·	This was a past gate.
8:02	·	[Applause]
8:05	·	back out the 21st century.
8:10	·	Can I look
8:11	·	[Applause]
8:19	·	Back at Tier.