These later kings of the Beehive Tomb Dynasty to whose energy and ability the greatness of Mycenae seems so largely due, were buried in the last group of Beehive Tombs, the Treas ury of Atreus, the Tomb of Clytaemestra, and the Tomb of Genii. These are naturally the best in construction, plan and size, and are built throughout of hard stone, mainly sawn. Each had a door, and a threshold constructed on a wedge principle. The understanding of stresses and of the means to counteract them shows that their architects profiting by earlier experiments per fected their methods and materials, so that two of these tombs still stand almost intact. The Treasury of Atreus is structurally so like the Lion Gate and the palace that it is possible that the royal builder of the two latter prepared the former as his tomb. The same style occurs in the walls and palace at Tiryns which are contemporary. The civilian population of Mycenae must have lived in undefended settlements on the neighbouring hills and the many cemeteries of this date divide into local groups suggesting separate communities. The tombs are carefully hewn in the rock with long narrow entrance passages and were furnished with objects in pottery, bronze, glass, ivory and gold, which show that the culture of Mycenae at its zenith even if less artistic displays wonderful technical ability. During the 14th and 13th centuries B.C. at Mycenae not only were crafts such as the potter's intensively and skilfully practised, but also professions such as those of engineers and architects, for the cyclopean walls and great domes like the Treasury of Atreus imply structural genius.
Troy according to tradition was taken early in the 12th century. Then, as the use of iron spread, the Iron Age began and as the contemporary Egyptian records say "the Isles were restless." This was the age of the Dorian Migration. Then Mycenae fell and the palace and houses were burnt. The walls, however, were not destroyed and as such a stronghold could not be left untenanted Mycenae was inhabited during the early Iron Age, but was of small importance as Dorian Argos usurped her place. As a small city state it preserved its independence and a Doric temple of Athena who ousted the local heroine Mykene arose early in the sixth century upon the ruins of the palace of the Bronze Age kings. Some sculptures from this temple survive. The debris among the ruins proves Mycenae's continuous existence, through the geo metric, orientalising and archaic periods of Greek art down to the Persian Wars. Then Mycenae sent her small contingent to join in resisting Xerxes' invasion. Her men fought at Plataea in 479 B.C. and the name MvKavis can still be read on the serpent column from Delphi now in the Hippodrome at Constantinople. Argive jealousy, however, could not forgive and in 470 B.C. when Sparta was in difficulties an Argive army besieged Mycenae. The citadel was starved out, its walls and buildings were overthrown and the site laid waste.
In 235 B.C. the Argive tyrant Aristippos was murdered at Mycenae which like other small towns dependent on Argos was probably reoccupied by the Argive tyrants of the third century B.C. during their struggles with the Achaean League. The walls of the citadel were repaired and part of the hillside on the south was walled in to make a lower town. In this lay a small theatre directly above the Tomb of Clytaemestra and by it was a gym nasium. The Doric temple, which the Argives had perhaps spared in 470 B.C., still stood on the summit of the citadel. Inscriptions dating probably from 194 B.c. and referring to Mycenae's relations with Argos and Nabis of Sparta give some details of its govern ment. After Argos was freed from Nabis Mycenae vanishes from history and Pausanias in the second century A.D. makes no mention of inhabitation. A few remains of the Roman period have been found so it cannot have been entirely deserted, but the depopu lation of Greece must have affected Mycenae and a few inhab itants among ruins so famous would give every impression of desolation. Soon of ter it must have been completely deserted, for there are no traces of Byzantine or later occupation.
The site of Mycenae was never forgotten as Pausanias who saw the Lion Gate shows and when Greece began to be revisited by travellers from western Europe it became a place of pilgrim age. Excavations were begun by Schliemann who made sound ings in 1873, but conducted his epoch-making campaign in 1876 when he found the royal Shaft Graves. Stamatakes followed from 1877 to 1879 when he found the sixth Shaft Grave and cleared the Treasury of Atreus. From 1886 to 1902 Tsountas in a fruitful series of excavations cleared several houses, and found the palace, three beehive tombs, and a large number of private tombs. Rodenwaldt did valuable work on the frescoes in the palace between 1912 and 1914. From 192o to 1923 Wace ex cavated here for the British School at Athens, when many tombs were found and new and important results were obtained from the Grave Circle, the Beehive Tombs and the palace.