Lost Palace of Sparta Possibly Uncovered

Updated at 10:45 a.m. E.T. on Aug. 27.

An ancient Greek palace filled with cultic objects and clay tablets written in a lost script may be the long-lost palace of Mycenaean Sparta, one of the most famous civilizations of ancient Greece.

The 10-room complex, called Ayios Vassileios, was filled with striking artifacts, including fragments of ornate murals, a cultic cup with a bull's head, a seal emblazoned with a nautilus and several bronze swords. The palace, which burnt to the ground in the 14th century B.C., also contained several tablets written in Linear B script, the earliest known form of written Greek, the Greek Ministry of Culture said in a statement. The ancient palace was uncovered about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) away from the historical Sparta that arose centuries later.

The discovery could shed light on mysterious period in the history of theMycenaean civilization, the Bronze Age culture that mysteriously collapsed in 1200 B.C. [See Photos of the Spartan Palace and Artifacts]

Mysterious Greek culture

The Mycenaeans, whose culture likely inspired Homer's epics "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," rose to prominence in 1700 B.C. The civilization left behind gorgeous palaces, tombs laden with treasures and a trove of clay tablets holding text in Linear B, which was deciphered in the 1950s.

In one of history's enduring mysteries, the culture disappeared 500 years later and Greece entered a mini-dark age. Researchers, reporting in 2013 in the journal PLOS ONE, pinned the Mycenaeans' downfall on a 300-year drought, whereas other historians have proposed that a massive earthquake destroyed the civilization.

Though archaeologists have a fairly clear picture of the late Mycenaean culture up to around 1200 B.C., they knew relatively little about the centuries beforehand. Then in 2009, archaeologists uncovered the remains of an ancient site that was first erected in the 17th century B.C., according to the statement. The entire complex was likely destroyed in a fire a few hundred years later. [7 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth]

Ancient Spartan palace?

The ruins, which are on a low hill on a Spartan plain that is dotted with olive trees, include what is likely the palace archive. At the time, administrators of the political bureaucracy kept temporary records on unbaked clay tablets, which would then be recycled after a short period, such as a year, said Hal Haskell, an archeologist who studies the ancient Mycenaean culture at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

Though the conflagration destroyed the palatial complex, it also fired the clay tablets, baking the Linear B text into permanence. So far, the team has been able to identify both male and female names, as well as records of financial dealings and religious offerings, according to the statement. The records' complexity reveals a highly sophisticated culture with an intricate bureaucracy, the archaeologists note.

A second structure on the site preserved fragments of ancient murals, while a sanctuary east of the courtyard included cultic religious objects, such as ivory idols and figurines, a rhyton, or drinking vessel, with a bull's head on it, large newts and many decorative gems. 

The palatial complex fills a big gap in archaeology, said Haskell, who was not involved in the current excavation.

"Tradition tells us that Sparta was an important site in the Mycenaean period," Haskell told Live Science.Yet no one had found a palace in the Spartan plain, certainly not one that matched the grandeur of the palaces of Pylos and Mycenae. The new site could be that lost Spartan palace, Haskell told Live Science.

"What's exciting is you do have this middle Bronze Age stuff that suggests it's a site of great significance," Haskell said, referring to the artifacts inside the palace.

For instance, Linear B tablets would only be housed in an administrative center in Mycenaean culture, Haskell said. To really show this is a long-lost Spartan palace, the archaeologists are hoping to uncover the megaron, or the throne room where ancient Greeks held receptions, Haskell said.

The find is "hugely significant," Torsten Meissner, a classicist at the University of Cambridge in England, told Live Science in an email. All of the other famous sites Homer mentioned in his epics have been discovered. "Mycenaean, or Bronze Age, Sparta was the last 'big prize,'" Meissner said.

The early evidence of Linear B tablets at the palace could also force scholars to rethink the time and place where Linear B developed. Historians used to think that Linear B derived from an elusive, still undecipherable text used by the enigmatic Minoan culture known as Linear A, which developed on the island of Crete. The new Linear B tablets at Ayios Vassileios were from 100 years earlier than the next oldest tablets, and given that there is a Minoan settlement near the new Spartan palace, scholars may need to rethink where that language transfer occurred, Meissner said.

Editor's Note: This article was updated to note that the palace complex near Sparta burnt down in the 14th century B.C., not sometime between the 15th and 14th centuries B.C.

by Tia Ghose, Senior Writer   |   August 26, 2015 12:20pm ET

2013 Summer Excavation

The summer of 2013 was an exciting one for LANTIF. Four very generous companies  - EnviroBate, Zive Insurance, The Argyle Bar and Grill, and Mosaik Properties joined our list of sponsors, bringing us closer to our goal of purchasing and preserving the land at Agios Vasilios for archaeological research. 

LANTIF Board Members Jimmy and Sarah Karountzos and Labrini Pappa also had the opportunity to visit the site in early August as the team of archaeologists lead by Adamanatia Vasilogamvrou, prepared to wrap up the dig for 2013. The 2013 excavation at Agios Vasilios is complete, and this year's excavation was marked by exciting finds, international recognition, beautiful weather, and much hard work. 

The archaeological site at Agios Vasilios is in a beautiful location - perched on a steep hill overlooking the Taygetos mountains and the highest peak in the Peloponnese. As you drive up the hill to the site, the first thing you notice is the view:

Small wonder the ancient Myceneans choose this location for their settlement and palatial centre.

The site itself is nestled in an olive grove near the small church Agios Vasilios that gives the site its name. 

This year archaeologists have uncovered layers of human habitation - an early Mycenean settlement, a more substantial palatial centre, and then the large structures that represent the main period of settlement at the site. Finally, the site was inhabited by humans during the Byzantian period. Each wave of habitation has made its mark on the site, but the major event in the history of the site at Agios Vasilios is the construction of a major palatial structure including a building that is 35 by 28 metres in length, that was destroyed by fire in the late 13th, or early 14th century BC. Traces of the fire are seen throughout the site, including blackened floors and stone split by heat. 

Although throughout Laconia there are sites with linkages to the Mycenean civilisation based in Crete (Laconia being the closest mainland location to the island of Crete via Kithira and Anti Kithira) the site at Ayios Vasilios represents the first time Linear B tablets have been discovered in Laconia. Linear B is the written version of Mycenean Greek - the earliest form of the Greek language. 

 Over 44 new Linear B tablets were uncovered during this year's excavations, including a large number that were found "in situ" providing a context and a date for the tablets. The tablets were stored on an upper floor of the building complex and fell onto a lower floor when the building collapsed.

From left to right Sarah Karountzos, Adamantia Vasilogamvrou.

From left to right Lambrini Pappa, Adamatia Vasilogamvrou and Jimmy Karountzos

These images show the original Mycenean walls, coated in plaster, that have been damaged by fire, and then later on by Byzantinian building on the site.

 Archaeologists at work, under protective sun shades. Earth is excavated by the centimetre - each layer of earth is sifted to ensure that no fragments are missed in the process.

A ruler provides context for rubble that fell from an upper floor onto a lower floor during the catastrophic fire that destroyed these buildings.

This view shows part of the site's major structure - the palace or temple, and its plaster-floored courtyard.

This structure is a bit of a mystery for the site's archaeologists - a raised plaster boundary between the temple/palace courtyard and inner complex. The round structure visible in these images is the base of a wooden column, and the square structure (top of the image) is the base of a marble column.

Human occupation of the site has left its mark over the centuries. This picture shows a Byzantinian pit - likely a rubbish dump - that is cut through layers of the Mycenanean ruins.

 A closer look at some of the rubble.

Another Byzantinian pit showing the layers of occupation. The Mycenian flooring is visible at the mid-point of the pit.

Tools of the trade - brooms picks and trowels. In the upper left hand corner of this image is a screened frame used for sifting earth that has been removed, layer by layer.

The screen balanced on a wheelbarrow.

 Another Byzantianan pit.

 The olive trees surrounding the site are still being cultivated. This year's first linear B tablet was actually found on the surface of the field, tilled up by the farmer when he worked the soil this spring. LANTIF's major fundraising goal is to purchase the land on which the site is located so that the work can continue unhindered.

More work continues around an olive tree.

These are two views of the Mycenean plaster floor. In the second image the damage done by the fire that destroyed the palatial centre is noticeable in the black discolouration.

More work covered by tarps for shade and protection from the elements.

Ancient wood discovered at the site. An expert from Arizona visitied the site this summer and took samples for analysis.

 This asbestos stone was fractured by the heat of the fire that destroyed the temple complex

This image shows the complexity of working at this site. Because it is a working olive grove, archaeologists aren't able to remove trees, even when they cover walls and structures being excavated. Here archaeologists have worked around the base of an olive tree.

A clay pot in in situ.

Examining a map of the site with Adamantia Vasilogamvrou and a tiny, future archaeologist.

Some of the tarps and plastic covering that will protect the site from the winter weather.

These wooden slats and wiring will be covered in plastic to protect the delicate structures. Last year some of the plastic coverings were looted by thieves and needed to be replaced. Once the ancient walls and building materials are uncovered, they are vulnerable to wind and water.

The "cemetery" containing the bones of 7 people. A large number of graves have been uncovered at the site, including one mysterious burial site that contains the bones of two people embracing - as if placed that way for their eternal rest.

 Dental tools are used to gently remove sediment from around the bones.

Adamantia Vasiogamvrou (centre) with visiting archaeologists, Board member Sarah Karountzos (far right) and (left) site archaeologists.

The work at Ayios Vasilios is receiving more international interest. This August the excavation was presented publicly at the biennial Shanghai Archaeology Forum - one of only 11 sites worldwide to receive this recognition.

With work at the site complete for this year, the focus moves back inside - as the findings from this year's work are carefully preserved and cataloged. A full report of this year's findings will be presented later in the fall and will be available here as soon as it is made public.

More information about this year's work can be found here:

In English:

http://www.archaiologia.gr/en/blog/2013/09/12/from-xirokambi-laconia-to-shanghai/

The Selection Committee consists of 40 experts representing different regions in the world:
http://shanghaiarchaeologyforum.org/people/selection-committee/

In Greek:

http://www.ethnos.gr/article.asp?catid=22784&subid=2&pubid=63885166
http://www.naftemporiki.gr/story/695667