Lerna — House of the Tiles, Argolid
Lerna House of the Tiles · Myloi Lerna
Early Bronze Age Early Helladic II (c.2500–2300 BCE, site 4000–1200 BCE)·Early Helladic (Proto-Urban Aegean, Argolid)·🇬🇷 Peloponnese, Argolis, Myloi, Gulf of Argos, Lerna marsh plain, Greece
About
About Lerna — House of the Tiles, Argolid
Lerna (Neolithic–Mycenaean, House of the Tiles Early Helladic II c.2500–2300 BCE) is a low tell 6 m high on the Argolid's Lerna marsh plain near Myloi, capped by the House of the Tiles 25 × 12 m: an early monumental corridor house with tiled roof, wooden doors and 70 clay sealings indicating administration. Excavated by J. L. Caskey (American School) 1952–58, the tiled house burnt c.2300 BCE over a fortified Early Bronze circuit wall; underlying Lerna III Early Helladic and above Middle Helladic graves document the Argolid urban trajectory to Mycenae.
Why it mattersType site Early Helladic corridor house; earliest tiled roof in Europe.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Seventy sealings — chiefdom or proto-palace?
Theories
- 01House of Tiles as mainland corridor-house palace foreshadowing Mycenaean megaron
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Corridor houses c.2600 BCE; House of Tiles c.2500 BCE
- Period
- Early Bronze Age Early Helladic II (c.2500–2300 BCE, site 4000–1200 BCE)
- Culture
- Early Helladic (Proto-Urban Aegean, Argolid)
- Builders
- Early Helladic
- Purpose
- Fortified Early Bronze administrative corridor-house centre managing Argolid plain
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.2500 BCE
House of Tiles and corridor houses built in fortified Lerna IV
c.2300 BCE
Violent fire destroys House, sealings baked
1952–58
J. L. Caskey American School excavation; tile typology
1968
Caskey publication; Lerna typology anchors EH chronology
On the ground
Structures & features
37.5500° N · 22.7167° E · 10 m · 2 mapped features
House of the Tiles — Corridor Building
palace25-m corridor house 12 m wide with tiled roof debris and 70 seal impressions archive behind doors
37.5505° N · 22.7170° ELerna Early Fort Wall — Circuit
fortificationEarly Helladic fort wall 2 m thick circuit 150 m enclosing Lerna IV town beneath House
37.5495° N · 22.7163° E
Gallery