THE EVIDENCE OF MILITARY TRAUMAS IN THE MINOAN AND

MYCENAEAN BURIALS

SPYROS BAKAS
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW
ASSOCIATION OF HISTORICAL STUDIES KORYVANTES

INTRODUCTION
The Mycenaean society was based much on centralized socio-political organization,
hierarchical levels on governing and warfare, with a bold militaristic character. The
sources for military activity of the Mycenaeans can been identified in Linear B tablets,
on artifacts, and by their burials with weaponry. The Mycenaean military structure can
been classified in at least two major classes: a «warrior aristocracy» based mostly on
weapons and other rich goods being found together in graves, and more ordinary
soldiers who have been described in Linear B tablets. Moreover Linear B tablets refer
to the “wanaxes” who were “warrior-kings” [1], to the “lawagetas” [2] and the
“eqetas” [3] who were high-rank warriors and leaders.
Minoan civilization till recently was considered as peaceful society with no significant
militaristic attribution. Modern studies though have proved the opposite as the
Minoans have been revealed to be very familiar to war, with great organizational
structures on massive armor constructions and military activities [4]. This brief study
will try to approach the issue of military traumas and injuries in the Minoan and
Mycenaean World attempting to include all the known archaeological records from
burials.

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

The survived archeological skeletal evidence of militarism in the Bronze Age Greece is
limited and mostly based on individual examples spreaded in few burials across
Aegean area. Moreover the use of the the sword/dagger -the most common weapon
of the Aegean Bronze Age – in battle due to its special technical use cannot provide
us clear results based on the bone marks. As Molloy notes:” In fact, most effective
attacks would have been against soft-tissue targets, such as the flesh of the forearms,
neck, abdomen, or legs, but rarely seeking to injure bones. In relation to osteological
analysis, the repercussions of this are that most forms of sword attack result in soft-
tissue traumas that may be difficult to recognize or differentiate from slight
excavation damage on bones.” [5] Therefore in some cases that are going to be noted
we cannot be certain about the exact causes of some bone marks. Nevertheless there
are several examples of clear bone cuts that can be identified as weapon cuts or
thrusts.
Some of the most significant examples of burials come from the Mycenaean Athens.
In the area of the Athens’s Agora there are forty-four separate tombs or graves, 34 of
which contained human skeletal remains. The majority of the tombs date to the Late
Helladic (LH) III period (1400-1125 B.C.), while three tombs dating perhaps into the LH
I-LH II (1550-1450 B.C.). The burials vary in style, size, and contents.
 The author , wearing the reconstructed “Dendra Cuirass” (15 Century BC) , courtesy
of Association KORYVANTES, testing the usage of the Mycenean Spear “Eghos”
(Greek “Έγχος”). The Skeleton noted as “AA 28″ from Athens could have been
injured by a such weapon.

Three of the skeletons from this cemetery have evidence of trauma that might have
been the result of military activity. According to Kirkpatrick the skeleton noted as “AA
41” is the only one from a burial with weapons that had an injury that might have
resulted from combat. He has a healed fracture of one of the middle ribs on the left
side. An injury to the left side of the body is consistent with an injury from a right-
handed assailant [6]. The skeleton noted as “AA 28” has been identified as a middle-
aged male from tomb XXXVI who according to Angel has a military role :“without
much doubt this Athenian was a warrior: a rounded wound depression in the posterior
rim of the joint socket of the right shoulder-blade might easily result from arrow or
spear thrust from behind” [7]. It is also noted that a healed fracture of the right
radius, which Angel suggests might be the result of a direct force being applied during
a fight.
The skeleton noted as “AA 134” is a 17-19 year old male. He has three head wounds,
two with evidence of healing and one that is perimortem and likely the cause of death.
The healed fractures, on the left frontal superior to the superior margin of the orbit,
and at the left pterion region, have smooth margins with no evidence of infection. As
Kirkpatrick notes “The skeletal evidence indicates that this young man engaged in
combat at least twice in his life”. The two first healed wounds are consistent with
sword wounds, both weapons that are found at the Agora from this time. The third
wound which is a circular depression, is consistent with an injury from a sling stone
while sling stones have not been found at the Agora of Athens [8]. Moreover,
commingled males and females noted as “AA 45” from tomb IV present healed
fractures to left metacarpals I and IV. It is probable that these are both from the same
male individual, but this is not definite. Although those traumas do not have any
evidence of a weapon wound, it is difficult to say how they were broken and if they are
associated for sure with a military activity.
Τhe Mycenaean Citadel and the Grave Circle “A” provide us also additional elements
on this issue. The dead noted as “ N” in Grave III , has been identified as a man aged
between 35-45 years old based on the evidence of cranial sutures. The left ulna of this
man showed stress identifications [9]. This means that the “N” dead systematically
accepted pressures in the left hand. This phenomenon is common in populations have
to do with the handling of weapons, such as swords and shields. Probably he was
carrying one of the heavy Mycenaean “tower shields” or “eight-shaped shields” that
were difficult to be handled without a baldric. The extreme pressure of this massive
equipment would provide serious pressure to his ulna area.
Injuries related to military activities can be even identified from the early Bronze Age.
The human remains from the Hagios Charalambos cave in Crete, dated to the Middle
Minoan period, present a large and unusually well preserved collection of cranial
traumas. It is one of the most critical arguments on the military character of the
Minoan Society, emerging the brutal fighting customs of those times. There are at
least 16 cases of cranial trauma while some of them are certainly deliberate
injuries [10]. The majority of cases involve men. Many injuries are on the frontal or on
the left parietal, consistent with an instinctive rightward turn of the head to avoid
probably a missile or to avoid a blow from a right-handed assailant.
An adult female noted as no 1032 present two shallow depressions/traumas on the
left side of the frontal bone. One is elliptical the shape implies a blow at close range
with an offensive weapon [11]. A female noted as no. 1033, has a deep trauma on the
midline of the frontal bone, caused by a pointed object [12]. The female noted as
8121 sustained a blow to the left side of the forehead above the orbit, inflicted
perhaps by a blunt instrument, causing distortion of the shape of the frontal
bone [13]. One male noted as 8065 has an incision or cut mark over the midline of the
forehead below the hairline, caused by the tip of a blade, which probably only
perforated the external surface of the bone. As Chlouveraki et all note: «The wound
may have been caused by a knife, the tip of a dagger or sword, or possibly even an
arrowhead.”
Α man noted as no 8050 has a slight depression over the right eye with osteitis on
the external surface of the bone and a depression over the right sinus area , while
another male no 8136 has a trauma on the frontal bone [14]. A man noted as no 6000
has a deep circular depressed frontal cranial trauma. The internal cranial table has
been correspondingly displaced inward, apparently without splintering. This person
seems to have survived his injury [15]. A male noted as no AX15/13 provides evidence
for multiple cranial traumas. Two separate depressions, one deeper than the other,
were observed above the corner of the left orbit. On the left frontal, about 2 cm from
the bregma, is a small circular lesion. There is an irregular bone surface on the
anterior right parietal behind the coronal suture. As Chlouveraki et all note again: “A
blow or blows must have come from above” [16]. A male noted as no. AX 14/18 shows
evidence of having sustained a serious cranial injury. A right temporal-parietal fracture
caused by a severe trauma to the right side of the head, which had displaced the
bone inward, had healed [17].
A very interesting example of skeletal evidence of militarism of the Hagios
Charalambpos cave is the male noted as 1012. He presented three traumas on the left
side of the cranium: one is on the left parietal and two are on the left frontal bone.
There are several possible explanations for these wounds. All three wounds may have
been inflicted by an attacker (or attackers) who delivered three separate blows. All
three wounds have porotic lesions and show a similar state of healing at the time of
death, which indicates that they were probably all sustained on the same occasion
and that the man survived these injuries. Chlouveraki et all assume that “the fact that
there are multiple wounds on the left side of the skull suggests that they are unlikely
to have been accidental and must have been caused by deliberate attack” [18]. A
male noted as no 8124 present us a case where a large part of the skull has been
removed. A blow or several blows probably shattered the left parietal, causing inward
displacement of the fractured bone. The extensive shattering necessitated the
removal of a large section of the cranial table. By rotating the bone there are visible
marks and the relatively smooth, remodeled edge of the bone [19].
 Reconstruction of Mycenaean Warrior Armour of Late Bronze Age Era (1300-1200
BC)from a Middle Eastern Colony. The Armour is based onan interpretation of the
“Pylos tablets” and the newly discovered “Thebes Arsenal”. The “Epsilon Blade” Axe
is based on exhibits from the National Archaeological Museum . This type of axe
was used in the eastern Mediteranean from the 2nd millenium BC and could cause
serious damages to the enemy . The man noted as “6000” from the Hagios
Charalambos cave in Crete could have been injured by such a weapon.

CONCLUSIONS
The Greek Bronze Age was a period of significant military activity. The limited
archaeological records on military traumas through burial remnants though , do not
help us on exaggerating generalized results on the type of warfare and the use of the
weapons in battle. Most of the Mycenaean examples of military traumas refer to parts
of the body like ulna, shoulder, rib. The evidence of military traumas from the Minoan
burials mostly refer to the skull , while there are also examples of scull traumas from
the Mycenaean burials(dead noted as “AA 134”). This comes in accordance with what
is thoroughly described by Homer. Even if there will be always a debate on the exact
period of reference of Homer’s Epics we can find interesting correlations regarding the
Late Greek Bronze Age Warfare. A detailed record of the injuries in the Homer’s Epics
prove that the cranial area was one of the most preferred as an attack blow. From the
total 54 injuries described in Iliad and Odyssey, twenty-nine injuries involved the
head, 22 the neck and 3 both areas [20], while another statistic provides us that there
were 39 fatal injuries to the head, face and cervical spine [21].

FOOTNOTES
[1] Fields, N. , “Mycenaean Citadels, c 1350 -1200BC”, Osprey Publishing ,2004, p57
[2] Olsen B. “Women in Mycenaean Greece. The Linear B Tablets from Pylos and
Knossos”. Routledge Publishing, New York,2014, p63
[3] Donlan W. “The Aristocratic Ideal and Selected Papers”, Bolchazy-Carducci
Publishers, Chicago, 1999, p301
[4] Molloy B. “Martial Minoans. War as social process. Practice and Event in Bronze
Age Crete”, the annual of the British School of Athens. Volume 107, November 2012,
p131
[5] Molloy B. “Swords and Swordsmanship in the Aegean Bronze Age”. American
Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 114, No. 3 (July 2010), p422
[6] Kirkpatrick S. “Skeletal Evidence for Militarism in Mycenaean Athens”, Hesperia
Supplements, Vol. 43, New Directions in the Skeletal Biology of Greece” (2009), p104
[7] Angel J.L “Skeletal Material from Attica”, Hesperia 14, 1945, p297
[8] Kirkpatrick S. “Skeletal Evidence for Militarism in Mycenaean Athens”, Hesperia
Supplements, Vol. 43, New Directions in the Skeletal Biology of Greece” (2009), p106
[9] Papazoglou-Manioudaki , 2010, “Mycenae Revisited Part 3: The human remains
from Grave Circle A at Mycenae. Behind the masks: a study of the bones from Shaft
Graves I-VI”. Annual of the British School of Athens, pp 172-175
[10] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p581
[11] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p582
[12] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p582
[13] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p581
[14] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p582
[15] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p583
[16] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p586
[17] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p587
[18] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p589
[19] Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary
Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008), p591
[20] Sapounakis J et all. “Injuries to the head and neck in Homer’s Iliad”, British
Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 45 (2007) p114
[21] Konsolaki E. et all “Cranial trauma in ancient Greece: From Homer to classical
authors”, Journal of Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery (2010) 38, P549
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Angel J.L “Skeletal Material from Attica”, Hesperia 14, 1945
2. Chlouveraki et all, “Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A
Preliminary Report” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical
Studies at Athens, Vol. 77,No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 2008)
3. Donlan W. “The Aristocratic Ideal and Selected Papers”, Bolchazy-Carducci
Publishers, Chicago, 1999
4. Fields, N. , “Mycenaean Citadels, c 1350 -1200BC”, Osprey Publishing ,
2004
5. Konsolaki E. “Cranial trauma in ancient Greece: From Homer to classical
authors”, Journal of Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery (2010) 38
6. Kirkpatrick S. “Skeletal Evidence for Militarism in Mycenaean Athens”,
Hesperia Supplements, Vol. 43, New Directions in the Skeletal Biology of
Greece” (2009)
7. Molloy B. “Martial Minoans. War as social process. Practice and Event in
Bronze Age Crete”, the annual of the British School of Athens. Volume 107,
November 2012
8. Molloy B. “Swords and Swordsmanship in the Aegean Bronze Age”.
American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 114, No. 3 (July 2010)
9. Olsen B. “Women in Mycenaean Greece. The Linear B Tablets from Pylos
and Knossos”. Routledge Publishing, New York,2014
10. Papazoglou-Manioudaki , 2010, “Mycenae Revisited Part 3: The human
remains from Grave Circle A at Mycenae. Behind the masks: a study of the
bones from Shaft Graves I-VI”. Annual of the British School of Athens
11. Sapounakis J et all. “Injuries to the head and neck in Homer’s Iliad”, British
Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 45 (2007)