Mycenaean chariots: a historical and technological re-evaluation

Gaye Şahinbaş Erginöz & Atilla Bir

The Akhas were believed to have come in mainland Greece from the northern Black Sea or Anatolia at the beginning of 2000 B.C. The civilization established by the Akhas, a Greek-speaking Indo-European tribe, between 2000-1700 B.C. is also called the "Mycenaean" because of the city of Mycenae was a central settlement.

This article review the structure of Mycenaean chariot based on the descriptions of various archeological finds including the fragments of chariots and harness team. The pricipal technical characteristics of the Mycenaean chariot has been examined and re-evaluated in view of history of technology.

The evaluation showed that the chariots of this period can be classified after the wheel number (2,4), spokes number (4,6), beam form and attachment place, the chariot body, passenger capacity (1,2), axe number (1,2) and place, reins and harness team, type and the method of use (war, hunt, religious ceremony) etc.

Key words: chariot, history of technology; history of transportation, Mycenae; Anahtar kelimeler: araba, teknoloji tarihi, ulaşım tarihi, Miken.