Mycenaean Cyclopean Walls

Timeline

1. c. -1400–-1300Tiryns · TirynsThe citadel of Tiryns used irregular dry-stacked megaliths, with walls over seven meters thick at their thickest, containing storage rooms and secret passages, representing early systematic mountain fortress engineering in the Aegean world.
2. c. -1250–-1200Mycenae · MycenaeMycenae expanded its third circuit wall and built the famous Lion Gate with a corbelled arch; the lintel relief and massive gateway created psychological deterrence, and the site layout reflects consideration of passage control and flanking firing positions.
3. c. -1200–-1000Peloponnese Peninsula · PeloponneseAfter the decline of Mycenaean civilization the cyclopean walls still stood, and later Greeks attributed them to the mythical Cyclopes; the surviving fortresses became the support of Dark Age settlements and influenced later imaginings of military engineering in the heroic age.